Forgive me if this is answered elsewhere. If so, please post the forum link and I'll hop on over to it.
I'm opening a 1 to 2 BBL nano and am trying to add glycol, but am on an extreme budget (or else, why would I be opening a nano!?).
I'm thinking to start at least with a jacketed brite tank for tax determination/conditioning and therefore need some chilling. I would like to be able to add on jacketed fermenters as budget allows.
My questions are:
1) If I find a used chiller that is bigger (or even much bigger) than I need, will that work? Or will the "overkill" aspect somehow be bad? I'm worried that running at far under capacity could somehow damage the chiller unit. But if that is not a worry, such a unit would be something I could grow into for a couple or more years before having to get a bigger unit.
2) Can the beverage line chillers be used for 1 to 2 BBL jacketed tanks? If yes, any special considerations or equipment needed?
3) It seems that chillers can be run with just water. Is this true? What kind of differences can I expect from water vs a water/glycol mix?
4) What else do I need to know to make the right decision?
5) As an aside, I've seen people using non-jacketed fermenters (such as the Blichmann) and placing them inside upright freezers. This would seem good from a cost perspective. Any recommendations for freezer models that are sized right for the 42 gallon Blichmanns?
Thank you all very much. Cheers!
I'm opening a 1 to 2 BBL nano and am trying to add glycol, but am on an extreme budget (or else, why would I be opening a nano!?).
I'm thinking to start at least with a jacketed brite tank for tax determination/conditioning and therefore need some chilling. I would like to be able to add on jacketed fermenters as budget allows.
My questions are:
1) If I find a used chiller that is bigger (or even much bigger) than I need, will that work? Or will the "overkill" aspect somehow be bad? I'm worried that running at far under capacity could somehow damage the chiller unit. But if that is not a worry, such a unit would be something I could grow into for a couple or more years before having to get a bigger unit.
2) Can the beverage line chillers be used for 1 to 2 BBL jacketed tanks? If yes, any special considerations or equipment needed?
3) It seems that chillers can be run with just water. Is this true? What kind of differences can I expect from water vs a water/glycol mix?
4) What else do I need to know to make the right decision?
5) As an aside, I've seen people using non-jacketed fermenters (such as the Blichmann) and placing them inside upright freezers. This would seem good from a cost perspective. Any recommendations for freezer models that are sized right for the 42 gallon Blichmanns?
Thank you all very much. Cheers!
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