Fermenter Design: Glycol Jacket Placement

[Rob_]

Hi,

I am having some 4000L fermenters (5400L total capacity) designed with 3 jackets and I need to them to be able to ferment 1/2 fills. Originally the drawings came back with the top and cone jacket placements ok, but the 2000L fill line ran through the middle of the center jacket; half of the jacket would be expose on a 2000L fill. I got them to redesign them keeping the same cooling surface area (6m2) as the original design, but to do so they have made the middle jacket tiny and basically the whole cone one big jacket.

I'm curious what percentage of a tanks surface area should be jacketed for optimal performance? Is 6m2 totally overkill for 4000L? And what is the generally accepted distribution of cooling jackets? I need three jackets to allow me to ferment with the tank half full, but it seems potentially too much with nearly the entire cone wrapped in a jacket, no?

Appreciate your thoughts,
Rob

[Natrat]

Sounds to me like a 2 zone jacket should be sufficient for you. Wrapping the whole cone is good...then having a BIG upper jacket above the manway for double batching. Should give you enough flexibility...and should be plenty of area for a decent crash.

[Rob_]

Seems like a waste to have exposed jacketed areas of the tank and better if they are split up to ensure they are submersed according to the fill line. Or do most people not worry about having cooling jackets running but not submerged?