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Most people use a copper coil, but checking at Bunnings and for 12m and fittings, will be $65....has anyone used anything else.??? hose pipe.?? not being a chemist i would not know the dangers of boiling hose or whatever else would bring the cost down.???

I used a 20 metre coil I bought from Bunnings, for about $100 or so, to make an immersion chiller. I used about 15 metres, and used the rest to make a pre-chiller.
It works fine for me.

I don't think a hose would work, as you wouldn't get the temperature exchange you would get from copper. A plastic hose pipe does not conduct heat very well, unlike copper, which is right up there with the best.

Now, that's for an immersion chiller. You could use the hose for a counterflow chiller, but you would still need to insert a smaller copper pipe into the hose, and the plumbing of it all gets much more complicated.

Unfortunately there isn't really a cheaper answer to chilling your wort, if you want to do it with the necessary efficiency.
You could invest in a plate chiller, I think DrSmurto uses one, but you are up for a reasonable amount again.

The cheapest option might be to consider "no chilling". Here's a link to AHB about that:
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... article=56

I have been thinking of similar ideas to get a cheaper immersion chiller but you just have to bite the bullet and go to bunnings my friend,
get a tradie mate to get a discount if ya can.