Copper Pipe cut up to replace Ceremic Surge Boil Pieces in Turbo Boiler

olskoolsoulja

Hi,

Would there be any benefit using cut sections of copper pipe as a boil surge protector? Maybe the pieces could do some science before the love even starts?

grim

@punkin mentioned this in the other thread - what makes you think you need it?

My usual abrasive comment is that copper is a crutch for people that can't manage a fermentation correctly - which is exactly what it is. It is an attempt to fix a problem that shouldn't have ever been there in the first place.

But yeah, you can throw in a bunch of cut up copper pipes if you want.

olskoolsoulja

@grim, look at the question.

grim

The bottom of that thing is stainless? Just take a scrubber to it and put some scratches in it, there you go, more nucleation points than you will ever need.

The reason boiling chips are used in chemistry is that new glassware is devoid of nucleation points (small rough surface where bubbles can form during boiling). You risk flash boiling - where you put in something like a stirring rod, and the thing explodes because the water is superheated. A still boiler does not even remotely compare to a piece of brand new high quality glassware.

So, this won't happen in stainless, especially after you've cleaned it a few times and put micro-scratches in it.

If you want to experiment, take a stainless pot, put it on your kitchen stove, start it boiling. Stare at the bottom of the pot like your life depends on it. When the first tiny bubbles of a simmer start to dance on the bottom, watch them closely, they are on all the scratches.

I think this whole ceramic boiling chip nonsense was drummed up by retailers hoping to have you keep buying boiling chips from them, since in most cases most of them get dumped out with the wash.

Yeah, copper pipe works just fine. Will it make magic? Probably not. You could throw in some rusty nails, your car keys, scrap metal, whatever, and it wouldn't do much.