Hello All,
So we have four 14 bbl fermentors, and two 14 bbl brite tanks, all in a row, with the first tank receiving the first drop from the chiller but with it's return being the last in line to return. Our loop has been working fine for the past 4 years. We've recently been having problems with the first and last tank. The first tank is having trouble coming down to temperature after we set up a gradient crash, and the last tank is having trouble maintaining temperature of 38F (creeps up to 43F, glycol valve says it's open 100%). All tanks in between are fine with temperature regulation.
Just wondering, before I dump a bunch of money, time, and mess in testing the solenoid valves on these tanks, is there something happening here or a "best method" of diagnosing this problem without a glycol mess on my hands? I have ball valves at each tank, so switching out the solenoids wouldn't be too messy. I would just hate to replace the solenoid valves only to have that do nothing. Is there a life-expectancy on solenoid valves? Any way to test them?
Thanks for any input you may have.
Cheers,
Bill
So we have four 14 bbl fermentors, and two 14 bbl brite tanks, all in a row, with the first tank receiving the first drop from the chiller but with it's return being the last in line to return. Our loop has been working fine for the past 4 years. We've recently been having problems with the first and last tank. The first tank is having trouble coming down to temperature after we set up a gradient crash, and the last tank is having trouble maintaining temperature of 38F (creeps up to 43F, glycol valve says it's open 100%). All tanks in between are fine with temperature regulation.
Just wondering, before I dump a bunch of money, time, and mess in testing the solenoid valves on these tanks, is there something happening here or a "best method" of diagnosing this problem without a glycol mess on my hands? I have ball valves at each tank, so switching out the solenoids wouldn't be too messy. I would just hate to replace the solenoid valves only to have that do nothing. Is there a life-expectancy on solenoid valves? Any way to test them?
Thanks for any input you may have.
Cheers,
Bill
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