I need to step up my wort chilling and am looking at the Hydra chiller by JaDeD, or possibly one of their other options, or would consider similar products if they get me the result I need. Can anyone who’s used one of their immersion chillers share your experience? I’m working with well water that can be 85 degrees in the summer. I’m currently working with a basic single copper coil chiller and started running a pre-chill coil through an ice bath in a cooler to try to gain some advantage. My chill times are waaaayyyy too long. I want to pause a moment and get some other folks’ input before I’m going to drop something like $150. Incidentally I ran across mention of shortening the garden hose I’m feeding the chiller with to reduce some of the pressure drop from a long hose and increase my flow rate - - but that alone ain’t gonna cut it. Thanks!
I’ve used a Hydra for at least a couple years. I love it and it’s so effeddtive I have away both the plate and CFC chillers I had. The Hydra is as fast with a lot less maintenance. With my groundwater temp I can take 6 gal. from boiling to 60F in 6-10 min. depending on time of year. Your water temp is about like Drew’s so maybe he camm chime in about his experience. I also recommend you talk to Clay at Jaded about your needs. Hes really committed to making sure you get the right product for your situatipn.
Great to hear Denny. Thanks. And yes, maybe I’ll reach out to Jaded to discuss my needs. I moved from Colorado where I was using ground water that was notably cooler even in summer so didn’t encounter this issue until moving to New Mexico. An issue I’ve really noticed is that I get alpha acid conversion from late hops additions because I can’t drop my wort temps fast enough. It’s playing havoc with trying to nail down my desired bitterness levels, besides which I’m sitting around way too long waiting for chilling to happen, even if I agitate the chiller in the wort and stir.
The area, delta T, and flow are what you want to increase. The Hydra will help with the area and maybe the flow, less restriction. It won’t fix you delta T (temp difference), so keep the prechiller.
I like the shorter hose idea, I will try that from the faucet to the chiller.
When I got my Hydramm Jaded asked me how far I was from a water source ao they could supply an appropriate hose. They also supply a short output hose, which I guess cuts down on resistance.
Yeah, I think the prechiller seems to contribute at least some advantage - that was my observation when I added that step. My output hose is short, like 4 foot and not a narrower diameter than my chill coil, so I’m inclined to worry least about that part of the equation. I have quite a long hose run that has to come around from the side of the house which is not helped by the fact that that hose is laying in the hot sun so the water flowing through it may actually gain a few degrees getting heated as it goes that distance.
I love my Hydra. Once the 60 min boil is complete, the wort is cooled by recirculating tap water thru the Hydra immersion chiller to steep temp. If no hop steep is used, I cool to ~90-100F. Once the steep is complete or it is at ~100F, because I have warm ground water, the wort is further cooled to pitching temp by using a pond pump in a bucket of ice water to recirculate the ice water thru the immersion chiller and occasionally gently stirring the wort with it.
I tried a prechiller by running tap water thru an old immersion chiller in a bucket of ice water prior to the hydra, but found it didn’t work nearly as well as simply running the ice water through the Hydra itself though it did require buying a pond pump.
I don’t have the same kind of chillers, but I do use very warm well water and will say that chilling the wort as low as possible first then running off through an ice bath to the fermenter was much more efficient for me. In other words, ice bath after the wort is cool was more effective for me than cooling the water first.
I love my Hydra. If there is a con, it is heavy.
I’ll trade heavy for slow any day. Could be the best exercise I get on brew day other than pint curls ;D
No one has said it yet- probably because its obvious to many- it helps to get your wort moving around your immersion chiller to maximize your delta-T. I use a mash paddle, others with pumps recirculate their wort for this.
I use a whirlpool arm that Jaded makes for the Hydra.
I saw that Jaded makes the recirculation arm, and read a Brulosophy article where Marshall Schott tried one versus agitating the wort manually with the hydra. I’ve always done some wort agitation to promote even heat exchange, mixing wort around by moving the chiller coil fairly vigorously side to side and vertically in the wort.
As stated in #7 above: I gently stir the wort with the IM to create circulation. Works great at no additional cost.
So based on input from folks here as well as checking with members of my brew club - two of them have given a thumbs up to the hydra - I’m thinking I’ll probably get myself one. Now it’s just a matter of how soon. Or… let’s see, fathers day is coming up. I could drop a hint. Anyhow, I think a hydra is in my future. Thanks to all for chiming in!
I love my Hydra immersion chiller. Worth every cent!
I’ve had a Hydra for about 4 years now and really like it. I generally run the cooling water through the stainless steel immersion chiller that it replaced first, putting it in a bucket of ice. I brewed a cream ale two days ago and cooled it from boiling to 68 degrees in 12 minutes.
When I changed to electric brewing, I called JaDeD and asked about using the Hydra, and wound up buying an “electric chair” from them that raises the chiller up above the heating element - still works fine.
I heard some rumors that JaDeD will be offering a stainless steel Hydra - check with them if you think you might want to go that route.
That’s his data point. Mine is that the arm is faster and easier. If you already have a pump, the arm is well worth the $15.
I do not have a pump, though appreciate your experience on this Denny. I’m thinking I’ll get the hydra, can then add my existing chiller as additional coil in my pre-chill ice bath (maybe gain a tiny bit more cooling there??) and see where that lands me, then consider whether advancing to a pump and circulation arm seems necessary/worthwhile.