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  • GF CoolFit Install

    I am looking for a crew to install 63mm GF CoolFit on nine 20 bbl fermenters, two 20 bbl Brites, one 10 bbl Brite, and a heat exchange. The brewery is roughly 2,000 square feet. I am in a remote location in the Northwest panhandle of Florida. The GF Coolfit seems easy enough to install, but with very little plumbing experience we are more concerned with downtime, loss of income, and decreased production. I have only received one bid, which was more than the price of the materials(which is not cheap). Is the GF Coolfit as easy to install as it seems? Does anyone have any comparison/time frames it took to complete their GF Coolfit project? Bid quotes for installation? We are most likely going to do it ourselves now, but I am trying to go in as prepared as possible.

    Thanks.

  • #2
    GF will provide onsite training on installation, at least they did for our installer.

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    • #3
      we swapped out our original insulated copper for cool fit about 4 years ago and did the whole install ourselves. GF sent a rep out to train us, and we've never looked back. We've sinced moved the location of and upsized our chiller and added an entire second cellar area, so had to build a new loop plus run cool fit from the new chiller location to the original cellar loop. The hardest part about cool fit is making the decision to spend the money, installing is relatively easy. You have to be well thought out and prepared with some extra parts in case you change your mind or run into unforeseen obstacles, as these parts are not readily available at any plumbing store. I've probably done close to 1000 linear feet of cool fit headers and have plumbed in dozens of tanks with just me and a helper. Obviously you'll get better as you go, but one of the biggest deciding factors we had in doing it ourselves, was that it's a unusual and not commonly used system so no local installers had any experience with it. So we were going to pay them a ton and they may or may not have done very well (or at least no better than us). We joke now we're the foremost coolfit experts on the east coast, but I don't think that's too far from the truth... but again it's not hard.

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      • #4
        The pipe is easy enough to install, it's the prep work and layout that you need to make sure you have a handle on. Getting your hangars installed correctly is harder than glueing up the pipe. Depending on your location requirements, you may have to have lift certification and what not to rent a skyjack and harness set.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Scott M View Post
          GF will provide onsite training on installation, at least they did for our installer.
          Thanks. We live in a pretty remote area, but I️ believe I️ have made some headway in getting them down here. Thanks again.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by GlennL View Post
            we swapped out our original insulated copper for cool fit about 4 years ago and did the whole install ourselves. GF sent a rep out to train us, and we've never looked back. We've sinced moved the location of and upsized our chiller and added an entire second cellar area, so had to build a new loop plus run cool fit from the new chiller location to the original cellar loop. The hardest part about cool fit is making the decision to spend the money, installing is relatively easy. You have to be well thought out and prepared with some extra parts in case you change your mind or run into unforeseen obstacles, as these parts are not readily available at any plumbing store. I've probably done close to 1000 linear feet of cool fit headers and have plumbed in dozens of tanks with just me and a helper. Obviously you'll get better as you go, but one of the biggest deciding factors we had in doing it ourselves, was that it's a unusual and not commonly used system so no local installers had any experience with it. So we were going to pay them a ton and they may or may not have done very well (or at least no better than us). We joke now we're the foremost coolfit experts on the east coast, but I don't think that's too far from the truth... but again it's not hard.
            This sounds exactly like what we are about to get ourselves into. We are prepared to spend the money, but not prepared for too much down time. Thanks for your words of encouragement. Like we always do, I’m sure we’ll figure it out!

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            • #7
              Originally posted by mswebb View Post
              The pipe is easy enough to install, it's the prep work and layout that you need to make sure you have a handle on. Getting your hangars installed correctly is harder than glueing up the pipe. Depending on your location requirements, you may have to have lift certification and what not to rent a skyjack and harness set.
              That’s what we’re worried about. The possibility of not having all the required parts in while attempting to do the install, this causing us more downtime. We already have good solid hangers in place with our current pvc system. Thanks again!

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              • #8
                Installation is easy enough. You'll be fine.

                Do make sure you double/triple/quadruple check the parts list they quote you. I ended up being shorted by about 1/3 of the header pipe that I needed, despite giving scaled drawings to the "Cool Fit Expert" (that was actually his title on his emails). We also ended up with significantly more connection pieces than were needed.

                Do the math and map out all the connections yourself before placing the order- waiting on those extra lengths of pipe was pretty frustrating.

                All that said- the system is great and I'd do it over again on another brewery...after double checking "the expert's" work.
                Jonathan Newman
                The Virginia Beer Company
                Williamsburg, VA

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                • #9
                  It's not very difficult to assemble. Like others have said, making sure that you have all the parts needed is critical. Also, I have found that assembling a lot of the header down on the ground, and then lifting it up into place and connecting it together, helped me make sure everything was aligned.

                  I went with the uninsulated coofit and then just used 1" armaflex insulation as we put it together. Also switched to copper pipe for each tank drop, thinking that the pipes around the tanks would be the ones that we would most likely hit with a ladder or something, and copper would be easy enough to repair in an emergency.
                  Linus Hall
                  Yazoo Brewing
                  Nashville, TN
                  www.yazoobrew.com

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