Preparing immersion chiller for first use

[Patrick]

Hi there

I made an immersion chiller from 12.7mm OD soft copper. I have seen some articles that recommend boiling it in a solution of vinegar before first use. Is this really necessary, and if so, what ratio of vinegar:water should I use?

I have all my equipment now and I am picking up my ingredients tomorrow, going to brew on Sunday afternoon.

[Reviled]

I just gave mine a rub down with white vinegar to clean it then rinsed it off with the garden hose :o)

Then to make sure it doesnt infect my beer with anything I put it in with 30 mins to go on the boil...

[Patrick]

Yeah, I might just do the same. Surely 10 minutes in the boil is as good as 30? Don't suppose it matters too much.

[Reviled]

10 mins should be fine, id go 20 just to be sure tho :o)

[jt]

Don't know why - but I add it at 15

[James P]

Ditto.

The first time I used mine I washed it the the vinegar solution Rev said then chucked it in at 15. Although I thought it was bright when I cleaned it the first time it came out of the boil it looked like gold!

[Patrick]

Interesting, I wil let you know how it goes, I am making a real simple beer so hopefully nothing too much can go wrong.

[denimglen]

15 for me.

I never bother with vinegar when I've made them, I just use a tiny bit of soap to make sure there's no grease or anything on it.

Unless the copper is old, discoloured or oxidised then I use vinegar.

[martin w]

mine just lives in the boil kettle as it seems to be the most convenient place to store it, so it also gets the full boil duration as a side benefit

[sid]

I added mine the first time 15 minutes before the end of the boil, and this dropped the the temp enough to stop the the rolling boil, which screwed up my time schedule......................so watch out for that.
I now just chuck it in, right at the end of the boil and let it sit for 10 minutes, the malt is still hot enough to kill off anything.