Glycol pump for two 7 bbl jacketed tanks

[KTY]

Apologies for the NOOB questions here:

Trying to rig up this glycol system to two 7 bbl jacketed conicals. I don't have the schematic in an electronic file right now but the way they have it shown to rig up they expect us to run both conicals at the same temp. Obviously I need more control than this.

I have two electronic valves attached to each fermenter with a thermowell into each tank, but not a way to shut off the pump. This got me to thinking maybe I just need 2 pumps, or is there something I'm missing? I'm not comfortable leaving the pump just running with back pressure continuously but not sure what I need to do to wire it so that it doesn't run when not need.

Also, the pump that supplies the glycol moves 17 GPM. I need that output for my plate chiller, but is this really needed for the tanks?

[froptus]

In a standard glycol chiller setup the one glycol pump is always running and the temp. controllers and the solenoids (electronic valves) control the flow to the tank. When there is no flow to the tanks the pump moves glycol thru an internal bypass so that the pump never runs dry. If you have this kind of setup then you should be fine.

Not all setups are like this however. We currently have a setup where each tank has its own pump and the temp controller turns the pump off and on as needed. Hopefully you dont have this setup because it sucks and is alot more difficult to maintain.

So if you only have one pump running all your tanks and that pump has an internal bypass then you're fine. If you have something like the second setup you can just wire the pump directly to the temp controller. One of our tanks has the temp controller wired to a standard outlet and the pump for that tank is plugged into the outlet. Works fine.

One caution: If you have the second setup you dont need and shouldn't have a solenoid because if the solenoid gets stuck closed for some reason ( it does happen) the pump will be running but no glycol will be flowing. The pump will be running dry.

Hope this helps. I don't know the answer to your second question.

[froptus]

In a standard glycol chiller setup the one glycol pump is always running and the temp. controllers and the solenoids (electronic valves) control the flow to the tank. When there is no flow to the tanks the pump moves glycol thru an internal bypass so that the pump never runs dry. If you have this kind of setup then you should be fine.

Not all setups are like this however. We currently have a setup where each tank has its own pump and the temp controller turns the pump off and on as needed. Hopefully you dont have this setup because it sucks and is alot more difficult to maintain.

So if you only have one pump running all your tanks and that pump has an internal bypass then you're fine. If you have something like the second setup you can just wire the pump directly to the temp controller. One of our tanks has the temp controller wired to a standard outlet and the pump for that tank is plugged into the outlet. Works fine.

One caution: If you have the second setup you dont need and shouldn't have a solenoid because if the solenoid gets stuck closed for some reason ( it does happen) the pump will be running but no glycol will be flowing. The pump will be running dry.

Hope this helps. I don't know the answer to your second question.

[revival]

Check this out for how you should set up your cooling lines:

http://www.prochiller.com/files/AllAboutGlycol.pdf

There is a diagram at the end that shows you a basic setup and how it should be piped.

We installed one of these at the end of our supply header, so that when all the solenoids are closed, this valve is pushed open and continues to circulate until the tank(s) needs cooling and the flow is redirected:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/487/=g3qzqw

There are a lot of great threads on here about glycol/cooling, so do some searching. If you contact Jim at Pro Refrigeration, he always has helpful information for specific questions about anything glycol/chiller related.

[KTY]

Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks guys!