fermenters and windows

[frenchc]

Does anyone have any fermenters next to outside windows? I'd like to have the windows there so that the tanks are viewable from the outside as people go by, but I'm a little unsure how the change in temperature that would impact temperature inside the fermenters. Anyone have any thoughts, experience or advice to share? To what degree would it matter if a glycol chilled fermenter was placed next to an outside window? The location would be on the west/south west side.

[TGTimm]

With glycol cooled, jacketed and insulated ferms. no problem whatsoever. It's been in the high double- to low triple digits here lately, and the two ferms we have sitting in front of a south-facing window keep as cool as any others. Our cooling load is higher than in winter, but that's probably because our beer demand is higher than in winter and we've usually got half our ferms at high kreutzen and the other half crashing.

[poltz]

Does anyone have any fermenters next to outside windows? I'd like to have the windows there so that the tanks are viewable from the outside as people go by, but I'm a little unsure how the change in temperature that would impact temperature inside the fermenters. Anyone have any thoughts, experience or advice to share? To what degree would it matter if a glycol chilled fermenter was placed next to an outside window? The location would be on the west/south west side.

Red Oak doesn't seem to be concerned...see attached...

[william.heinric]

Our glycol system was undersized to begin with, and we have east facing windows behind the FVs. When we opened, the tanks would spike to 90+ F during fermentation, and we lost a couple batches.

The short term solution was to have the windows tinted, which greatly reduced the load on the glycol and the HVAC. Long term, we are upgrading our glycol capacity dramatically.

One story I heard from a former coworker was that he had problems with the beer above the jackets cooking in the afternoon sun. Admittedly, it was high desert, but he had to dump a batch because the yeast at the top during fermentation was dramatically hotter than the beer in the middle. Blinds that they closed in the afternoon alleviated the issue, I believe.

Moral of the story, it is doable if you're conscious of the potential problems, and head them off at the pass.

Bill

[NigeltheBold]

I will definitely agree with the previous poster. We have one jacketed and insulated fermenter next to a window, and we had problems at first. During the middle of the day, the fermenter shell would get so hot that you could not even touch it without "feeling the burn". The sun might not heat up the beer as much, but it WILL heat up the glycol in the jacket. So if the glycol sits in the tank jacket for awhile (let's say the tank is empty), the glycol will heat up and the second your solenoid valve opens and sends that hot glycol back to the chiller, the whole supply of glycol will increase in temperature. This caused the head pressure in the chiller to increase and cause the chiller to short-cycle.

Long story short, we installed a tinted film on the window and it helps tremendously. It does obscure the view a little bit, but not much. You can get different shades of tinted film. I can't remember what percentage ours was, but I think it was pretty low (15-25% or something like that).

[TGTimm]

Much of this issue has to do with what kind of windows you have. If they are modern, double-pane, low-E windows, your problems will be negligible, as the coatings on these windows reflect some incredible fraction of the IR in sunlight.

[frenchc]

Great feedback, thanks to all.

[BugHunter]

All of our fermenters are situated right next to our floor-to-ceiling windows and between the glycol jackets and a slightly polarized winterizing film on the windows sunlight is absolutely no problem. My tips would be to make sure your glycol chiller is big enough to handle the thermal pressure and if that's not enough, or your jackets don't reach the top of your fermenters, tint your windows to prevent 100% direct sunlight.

Dustin Metzger
Pearl Street Brewery
La Crosse, WI

[owenbrau]

My first brewpub, we had a massive problem with the morning sun heating up the fermentor shells. The glycol system could keep up, but it cost money and was a hazard (the surfaces got above 140F). It took more than two years to convince the owner he needed awnings to shade them in the morning.

[lhall]

Don't forget your own comfort. It's hot enough in a brewery without having the sun baking you all day.