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  • Dry Ice chiller tank

    Can I use dry ice and place it in one of my stacked 7 bbl BBT to chill the whole BBT and actually adding chilling back to the glycol loop, thus chilling the over all system?

    Unfortunately we still can't seem to our the system below 55 degree's F. I think the lines have to travel to far, 30 yards in a parking garage, and back behind our kettles, and then have to fill:

    (2) 15 bbl FV, (1) 7 bbl FV, and then (1) triple stacked 7 bbt.

    Is dry ice a solution so that I don't need to use an additional chiller for the triple stacked BBT, and can supply me with co2 to carb our beer.

    The thing with dry ice is that is sublimates with oxygen at a rate of 5lb per 24 hours. But what if I run the current glycol system, purge the tanks with co2 after they've been filled with only dry ice, and either just vent off the co2, gas a beer, or collect the gas.

    The biggest issue is a situation where the tank is completely sealed. But I feel that the tanks could handle the pressure and I have a safety air lock.

    Another situation is I make a dry ice bath with-in a BBT allow the dry ice to sublimate and then have a coolant reservoir that chills the tanks in a more manageable method. I could refill the tank periodically.
    Last edited by Dirty Water; 04-05-2018, 12:53 PM.

  • #2
    I'm struggling to think of a situation where this would make any sense... nope, nothing.

    Why not invest about a month's worth of dry ice purchases in getting your chiller system working?
    Timm Turrentine

    Brewerywright,
    Terminal Gravity Brewing,
    Enterprise. Oregon.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by TGTimm View Post
      I'm struggling to think of a situation where this would make any sense... nope, nothing.
      I've invested of 2 months in labor and time to try and get the glycol system working and in one after noon with just ice sitting in a FV i've dropped the whole system ten degrees overall.

      I can get a pound of dry ice for .75. In a regulated system I don't think that the dry ice will sublimate very quickly, especially if its kept in a slightly pressurized system.

      I think even just one week with the dry ice, I can add enough cold energy back through the system that I dont think i'll have to do it very often. And if I can use the off gas co2 then ill save money on gas.

      Either way after todays test with just ice ill be trying dry ice tomorrow.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Dirty Water View Post
        I've invested of 2 months in labor and time to try and get the glycol system working and in one after noon with just ice sitting in a FV i've dropped the whole system ten degrees overall.

        I can get a pound of dry ice for .75. In a regulated system I don't think that the dry ice will sublimate very quickly, especially if its kept in a slightly pressurized system.

        I think even just one week with the dry ice, I can add enough cold energy back through the system that I dont think i'll have to do it very often. And if I can use the off gas co2 then ill save money on gas.

        Either way after todays test with just ice ill be trying dry ice tomorrow.

        Can you move the chiller closer somehow? That's a crazy run. Even if it heats up the inside of your space a bit getting it closer would be a net positive it seems.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by briangaylor View Post
          Can you move the chiller closer somehow? That's a crazy run. Even if it heats up the inside of your space a bit getting it closer would be a net positive it seems.
          NO the unit has to remain below in a parking garage. Maybe 40 yards away?

          The brewery is in a tiny space that doesn't have much room. So I dont really have a place for a chiller unit.

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          • #6
            You wont be able to just cool it for a week and then be ok. This will be a constant endeavor, time consuming, wasteful, and expensive. I think Timm is correct on this one, you need to make sure that your glycol pipes are properly insulated, the chiller is properly sized and functioning properly. Another option is to use a split chiller system. Instead of pumping all that glycol around, pump the refrigerant around and put the heat exchanger inside the brewery. You are incorrect in thinking that a purged CO2 environment will slow the sublimation. Dry ice doesn't sublime more because it is in an environment with lower CO2, it does it because its warmer and at a lower pressure. Your tanks will not hold enough pressure to create a significant change in the rate, and even at freezing, the vapor pressure would be several hundred PSI. So, I think, and I'm sure others will echo this, your best bet is to get the system working as it should, rather than limp along.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Dirty Water View Post
              NO the unit has to remain below in a parking garage. Maybe 40 yards away?

              The brewery is in a tiny space that doesn't have much room. So I dont really have a place for a chiller unit.
              Are you getting good flow from the chiller? If it’s down ina parking garage your flow could be way too low, even if your chiller is sized properly. May just need a bigger pump.
              Thanks,
              Eulie

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              • #8
                Dry ice--at any pressure near ambient--vaporizes at -78.5C, -109F. Your glycol is likely mixed around 3:1 H2O/Glycol, with a freezing point around -18C, -1F. If you make your mix much stronger on glycol, you lose heat carrying capacity. A 1:1 mix, like what we use in our cars, will get you down to -35C, -31F.

                Attempting to raise the vaporization point through pressure will result in a ruptured tank. Violently. Our 50lb CO2 cans run between 800 and 1,200 psi, depending on ambient temperature. A Dewar flask, which is self-refrigerating, runs about 200-300 psi. Your ferm is likely rated at less than 2 bar, or 30 psi. Most are half that.
                Timm Turrentine

                Brewerywright,
                Terminal Gravity Brewing,
                Enterprise. Oregon.

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                • #9
                  curious to know how this little experiment is working out for you? our little nano in baja could use some temporary cooling boosts every once in a while. dry ice and co2 are dirt cheap down there....

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by eulielee View Post
                    May just need a bigger pump.
                    I've been going through the chillers specs and have to agree with this.
                    I can't tell what the return temp is, but I bet its of by 20 + degrees.
                    Having to go upward I bet slows the flow.
                    Im gonna suggest we need a bigger pump.
                    Or a booster pump.

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