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Using a commercial walking freezer for glycol tote storage?

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  • Using a commercial walking freezer for glycol tote storage?

    Hi,
    I have a question regarding a cooling setup I am thinking for my 4 10bbl fermenters and 1 10bbl bright.

    I currently have a walk-in freezer at my location and was thinking of placing a 200/300 Gallon plastic container holding the water/glycol mix.
    I would then rig this reservoir to my normal glycol piping setup.

    Do you think it would be sufficient to cool and crash the fermentors?
    My brew/ferm room is temp controlled as well. Will be around 18-20C year around.

    I am just wondering if the heat exchange will be good enough in the tank/freezer.

    Anybody ever had a similar setup or thought?

  • #2
    Originally posted by BlackBook View Post
    Hi,
    I have a question regarding a cooling setup I am thinking for my 4 10bbl fermenters and 1 10bbl bright.

    I currently have a walk-in freezer at my location and was thinking of placing a 200/300 Gallon plastic container holding the water/glycol mix.
    I would then rig this reservoir to my normal glycol piping setup.

    Do you think it would be sufficient to cool and crash the fermentors?
    My brew/ferm room is temp controlled as well. Will be around 18-20C year around.

    I am just wondering if the heat exchange will be good enough in the tank/freezer.

    Anybody ever had a similar setup or thought?
    If your plan is to use the coldroom to chill the glycol, it wont keep up. you will still and a chiller to keep up.

    Comment


    • #3
      [QUOTE=BlackBook;244057]Hi,
      I have a question regarding a cooling setup I am thinking for my 4 10bbl fermenters and 1 10bbl bright.

      I am just wondering if the heat exchange will be good enough in the tank/freezer. /QUOTE]

      No it wont.

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      Pro Refrigeration Inc, manufactures, and distributes state-of-the-art chiller systems for the dairy, craft brewing, wineries, & many more!

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      Brewmaster, Minocqua Brewing Company
      tbriggs@minocquabrewingcompany.com
      "Your results may vary"

      Comment


      • #4
        As the others have said this will not work very good to drop temps on the tanks for crashing. Typically you run the glycol loop a couple degrees below freezing temp. With a large tote you would never get there and as a result will not be able to crash the tank effectively. You would be far better off getting a bit larger chiller and using that for your cooler cooling need s than trying to cool the glycol with the cooler.
        Another option is a hacked apart air conditioner in a glycol bath if you don’t want to buy the chiller. You can search around on here for a bit more details but essentially take the evaporator and throw it in a glycol bath with a temp controller on the ac unit and pump from there. It works but can be a pain in the ass and from experience would highly recommend getting a proper chiller if at all possible. You can usually crash a tank at a time and hold one maybe two others while you crash.

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks for the feedback.
          I was looking into skimping on the chiller to start (save on startup) since the walk-in freezer (10'x10') is already available and setup in the facility.
          It's quite good to lower the temp it's actually set at -4F and can probably go lower.
          Maybe having some coils hanged up / on floor - before or after (or both) to exchange more heat could help.
          Maybe not in a tote but a rectangular less wide container.
          What could be the best amount of glycol to achieve this.

          It's actually a 500-1000$ setup VS a 10 000$.

          I do know that a chiller is the best but still double checking if this could work...

          Comment


          • #6
            As others have said, and despite your response, It won’t work. Your cooling capacity in the brewery is one of your most valuable assets. When you have plenty, things run well. When you don’t, everything grinds to a standstill. Don’t hamstring yourself right out of the gate.
            Last edited by TonyT; 09-19-2018, 05:53 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              air is an insulator, you wont get cold glycol with air as your transfer medium. the only way to make it work like you are trying to do is the cut up the existing ac circuit and get it physically into your glycol reservoir. or run it through a heat exchanger and pump your glycol through it to cool.

              but unless you have dual AC on the walkin, you've lost your cooling from walkin and sent it to glycol.

              if you really insist on being a cheap bastard about it then i'd recommend that you simply build your own glycol chiller. find a medium or low temp compressor that can put out enough btus at glycol temps to cover your loads, with a little extra breathing room, and have it plumbed into a heat exchanger. add a pump and a reservoir and you've got yourself a glycol system.

              its that simple. and basic. can probably find everything on ebay for less than $3-5k for new or mostly new parts.

              but you're missing the alarms, the low/high temp shutoffs, and all the other safety/relief/efficiency stuff in a real glycol chiller. design your system accordingly. but your original idea isnt gonna cut it.

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