After almost 6 weeks of intentions I finally got around to putting my CFC together.
The biggest problem I had was finalising the design, there's so many different builds out there that I ended up getting too confused. Sourcing parts was also an issue, in particular 3/8" compression fittings. I also went with some 5/8" heater hose coz I didn't think the 1/2" garden hose provided enough room around the 3/8" copper. I finished it with a homemade thrumometer and some quick-connect nylon fittings (thank you ciderhead). I tested it over the weekend to ensure there was no leaks, unfortunately I didn't do a full brew but just gravity fed hot water through it and it seemed to work very nicely.
I haven't kept full track of the spend but I reckon I spent about €100 overall on the project but it could be done for cheaper as I included my original amount spent on a shite brupacks immersion chiller.
Please excuse the solder job also, I'd never soldered before and made a complete mess of it. i found out after that I needed to clean the pipe a lot more than I had. Anyway, I'll be using sugru to completely cover all seams for a fail-safe and to make it look a bit better.
Job! Looks great man.
nice job gonna build me one of them soon. let us know how it works out on brew day
It's worked well so far but the gravity system has been very slow. Can't wait to get some pumps hooked up to it.
I'm also refining the method, I think I might switch to a recirculation cool to avoid cold break in the fermentor.