How to upcycle a broken beer chiller.

[LordEoin]

Hi there Folks!

I helped clear my parents' garden and we found an old beer chiller hidden in the overgrowth. It's way beyond repair, but I've been waiting for a chance to rip a few coils out of one, so here we are.
I figured there'd be a few other broken beer chillers around the country that could do with a bit of ripping apart, so I took some photos in case someone else wants to follow suit.

Why would I want to do this?
You can get 2 or 3 professional quality stainless steel chilling coils, already bent and designed for beer. Homebrew shops sell similar for about €60 each.

What can i use the coils for?
Immersion wort chiller, HERMS system, etc

How does a beer chiller work?
Beer chillers are made up of 2 parts, the cooling 'bucket and the refrigeration unit. The refrigeration unit chills a copper coil that chills the bucket of water. The beer lines coil through this bucket of very cold water, chilling the beer

NB - the refrigeration unit contains harmful gas. Treat it like an old fridge or freezer. do not break the copper coil.

OK, how do do it?
First of all, open the box. There are generally a few screws holding on a lid.
Look inside and you'll see this:


Note the refrigeration unit on the left and the insulated bucket on the right. Also, check out the garden hose barman plumbing!
Undo the screws on the lid of the insulated bucket and you'll see all the coils internally.


Next you'll need to remove any zip ties and fasteners and simply pull the stainless coils all out.


At this point they kinda look like a sci-fi prop!
Separating the coils is a bit fiddly but remember that they're like a spring and can be stretched and bent a bit. So long as you don't overdo it they'll bend back into shape themselves.


Mine was a 3 line chiller, so I have 3 nice coils to use in other projects.
A good scrubbing, a boil and plenty of boiling water pushed through and they'll be grand

[Shanna]

What would the danger be to breaking the copper coil (other to the environment) if you were to break the coil outdoors? I assume that there is some kind of refrigeration coolant in it.

Shanna

[DEMPSEY]

What size are the stainless steel pipes

[Shanna]

What size are the stainless steel pipes

They are the standard John guest fitting size by the look of it as the pipes are those that contain the beer that you hook incoming and outgoing beer lines to.

Shanna

[DEMPSEY]

That would be 10mm so however the pipes look bigger in the photo 

[Leann ull]

What would the danger be to breaking the copper coil (other to the environment) if you were to break the coil outdoors? I assume that there is some kind of refrigeration coolant in it.

Shanna

You kill a penguin and condemn us to wet summers for the rest of our lives.
You don't want to get that stuff in your eyes, causes temporary blindness, (speaking from experience)

[Will_D]

That would be 10mm so however the pipes look bigger in the photo 

Bloody Napolean and his metres. They are 3/8" (9.525mm), a 10 mm fitting may work but stick with imperial!

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

What would the danger be to breaking the copper coil (other to the environment) if you were to break the coil outdoors? I assume that there is some kind of refrigeration coolant in it.

Shanna

You kill a penguin and condemn us to wet summers for the rest of our lives.
You don't want to get that stuff in your eyes, causes temporary blindness, (speaking from experience)

Plus  never smoke or use a naked flame eg oxy acetylene torch in the vicinity of the gas it's a major carcinogenic when burned.

[Leann ull]

With a penguin near by for the ricochet

[Fal]

On a similar note (recycling stuff not shooting penguins) I have a couple of really old single fridges being dumped from work. I've already robbed the thermostat for my kegerator. But is there anything else pipe work etc from a broken fridge that is of use?

[Motorbikeman]

Interesting. 

Searched eaby and you can buy the things cheap enough new. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BEER-LINE-COOLER-INSERT-/262269136877?hash=item3d10756fed:g:H-EAAOSwwPhWhoIP

[LordEoin]

wow, those inserts are cheap and compact

[jawalemon]

Would those inserts be long enough for a jockey box?