This is a very good question, and coincidentally one that has crossed my mind in the past few weeks. I've recently bought a 3 tap flooded font and am considering how I'll hook it up.
There is plenty of information on the AHB site about flooded fonts and how to cool them using glycol solutions and aquarium pumps, and I think that is all pretty well understood. I haven't been able to find too much about iced fonts, though. I'd be very interested if anyone on here is successfully using an iced system.
I have a
theory on iced fonts which I'd like to share - please feel free to shoot me down if you think I'm talking crap :unsure:
1. Beer, due to the lovely alcohol contained within, has a lower freezing point than water. Obviously, higher alcohol brew will have lower freezing points. A 5.0% beer will have a freezing point around -2.5C.
2. Grade Four Science told us that water freezes at 0C.
3. Glycol mixes have a significantly lower freezing point dependent upon their concentration.
4. From my
extensive research, it appears most commercial glycol systems operate at around -4C at the outlet of the glycol block.
As the glycol leaves the block at -4C, it will warm as it travels towards the font. When it floods the font ,the temperature will rise further as the warmer metal of the font transfers it's heat into the glycol.
So, I see the aim of the glycol system to maintain the temperature below 0C (so that the font ices up with condensation from the air), but above -2.5C to stop the beer freezing in the lines. These are reasonably tight tolerances, which calls for temperature control of the glycol and is why, I believe, an iced system is beyond most home systems - and why I'll probably be content with condensation on my font rather than that schmick ice look.
Very interested in any other input - and if anyone is successfully icing their font.
Cheers :chug:
Peter
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