Why spend $50-90 on purchasing a wort chiller when you can build one for about $25.
Benefits to using the chiller is that you reduce the chilling time from hours to minutes.
Materials needed:
Copper tubing 3/8 Outside Diameter (OD)
Vinyl tubing 3/8 Inside Diameter (ID)
Tube clamp
Compression fitting to garden hose
Building the Chiller:
Forming the Coil
Take the coil of copper tube and stretch it out about 2-3 times the height of your pot. Start at one end and slowly start bending it up so it will be able to exit the pot. Now work your way to the other end of the coil slowly opening the coil wider and bringing the current coil closer to the last without letting them touch. When you reach the end pull the last bit up to match the height of the other end. Some adjustments may need to be made to get the tube to fit in the wort tub. Aim to have the tube 1.5-2″ away from the sides of the pot but make sure the have as much of the tube submerges as possible.
Adding connections
Now that the coil has been made its time to add the hose connector. Place the nut on the copper tube and connect the ferrule and tighten the nut to the threaded end of the hose connector. The last connection to be made it the hot water exit tube, for this we are using vinyl tubing and a clamp. Slide the clamp on to the copper tube then slide the vinyl tube over the copper tube and tighten the clamp to hold the tubes securely together.