New kettle / wort chiller

Why would it matter if the wort chiller is completely emerged?

 

You want to chiller to be taller than the kettle because the tops have 90 degree elbows/angles. If they didn’t the hose would crimp.

 

A whirlpooler/recirc arm added to your immersion chiller will raise it and have the added benefit of moving your wort without stirring when you are ready to start recircing.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/i...-superchiller-50-ft-12-recirculation-arm.html
or
https://www.morebeer.com/products/wort-chiller-recirculation-package-5-gallon.html

 

Getting a false bottom should work to correct this problem. However, if your chiller is copper tubing you can stretch out the coil to the height you need it to be. But I'm guessing that stainless steel is too rigid to do that if that is what you have.

 

Just use high-temp silicone tubing (which you should be using anyways) and make sure it’s clamped down well.

 

I'm sorry I misunderstood. I thought you meant the coils were completely submerged and not the entire chiller with all the connections, my bad.

 

I like the flash bottom idea, and stretching the coils is a good idea as well, but I personally don't like my chiller to hit the bottom and disturb the trub. Mine just rests atop the kettle lip and hangs down about 2-3" above the bottom. Perhaps you could rig something up to do that with your set up, maybe just two pieces of wood would work, suspending it so that the hoses don't get in?

 

This seems as though it would work. If you put the basket in while the wort is at or near boiling, you don't need to worry about sanitizing it, but obviously it should be clean when you add it. It might impede circulation of the wort a little bit, but that's a relatively minor consideration.

That said... did you try stretching the coils a bit? The copper on my wort chiller is ductile enough that it's easy to extend it by a few inches.

 

No harm in doing it this way, but in terms of sanitization, 15-20 minutes is more than enough. Personally, I wouldn't bat an eye at putting it in within a minute or two after turning off the heat at the end of boil. Anything that can hurt your beer will die awfully fast in ~200°F wort. So if you forget to put it in, or if it's convenient to wait, I wouldn't worry about adding the basket considerably later than you're currently planning.

[edited for clarity]