so we have some 4 and 5 bbl fermenters. dual zones, but thermowells only have them at the top of the cone just below where it meets the body. the temp differential between what we get out of the sample valve and what the controller shows is about 5.6F on the 4bbls with both zones cooling during first week of fermentation.
upon discussions here we were advised to stop using the cone and just cool with the upper jacket. so we tried it in our 5bbl with no cone cooling and the differential there was actually worse, +/- 9.6 to 12.1, averaging 10.5F. now i assume the sample port will always be a few degrees higher since it sits in a hole in the jacket, but an average differential of 10.5F seems like alot.
at first glance it appears that using only the jacket zone and not the cone made the problem worse. so maybe thats not a great idea. easily fixable. but i cant add thermowells at the top to monitor the beer up there. im stuck with one thermowell.
so i either target my temps for the cone as we've been doing up to now, or i switch gears and try and target the temps at the top of the beer.
for instance, if my numbers in the 4bbl vessels say there's a 5.6 degree differential, maybe i lower my target(cone) temp by only 2-3 degrees from where i'd really want it. (some of the difference being attributable to the sample port location outside the jacket)
if the 5bbl stays at a 10 degree differential, then maybe i undershoot my target temp by more like 5-6-7 degrees to keep the beer on top from getting too hot.
anybody who regularly deals with lagers want to chime in here with an opinion-? (remembering that i only have a cone thermowell, and two jackets) i feel like the bulk of the beer is in the top jacket and should get the temp targeting, but lager yeast does seem to floc early and settle down low. which makes me a bit worried to ignore it, and cooling it too far could stall things.
upon discussions here we were advised to stop using the cone and just cool with the upper jacket. so we tried it in our 5bbl with no cone cooling and the differential there was actually worse, +/- 9.6 to 12.1, averaging 10.5F. now i assume the sample port will always be a few degrees higher since it sits in a hole in the jacket, but an average differential of 10.5F seems like alot.
at first glance it appears that using only the jacket zone and not the cone made the problem worse. so maybe thats not a great idea. easily fixable. but i cant add thermowells at the top to monitor the beer up there. im stuck with one thermowell.
so i either target my temps for the cone as we've been doing up to now, or i switch gears and try and target the temps at the top of the beer.
for instance, if my numbers in the 4bbl vessels say there's a 5.6 degree differential, maybe i lower my target(cone) temp by only 2-3 degrees from where i'd really want it. (some of the difference being attributable to the sample port location outside the jacket)
if the 5bbl stays at a 10 degree differential, then maybe i undershoot my target temp by more like 5-6-7 degrees to keep the beer on top from getting too hot.
anybody who regularly deals with lagers want to chime in here with an opinion-? (remembering that i only have a cone thermowell, and two jackets) i feel like the bulk of the beer is in the top jacket and should get the temp targeting, but lager yeast does seem to floc early and settle down low. which makes me a bit worried to ignore it, and cooling it too far could stall things.
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