Do You Keep Your Flooder On Or Off ?

[mark.farrell1]

Hello

I was just wondering if any off you who have flooded fonts allways keep them on or do you only turn them on when you are serving beer. I figure it wouldn't take long to cool the font. But I have no idea about font setups but am currently in the research phase of my chesty convert.

Cheers :beer:

mark

 

[Linz]

Ive got a flooded font, but never hooked it up to chill it..

 

[Batz]

I turn mine on only when serving beers.
They really make the freezer work hard to keep the font cold,in fact I notice my mashmaster shows the temperature raises couple of degrees when I have it running for extended periods.

Batz

 

[sqyre]

My system runs a high volume pump which can be turned on to serve a beer then off again.. or left on for extended periods.
I takes about 5 seconds to drop the font down to the preset temp...
(looks cool on humid day as it frost forms on the ends and moves into the middle over a period of about 20 seconds)

My glycol tank has a low glycol mix in it which freezes up to form a 50litre ice pack during off hours but when left running sustains a cold font up to 24 hours depending on the ambient temp.

Sqyre...

 

[sah]

My system runs a high volume pump which can be turned on to serve a beer then off again.. or left on for extended periods.
I takes about 5 seconds to drop the font down to the preset temp...
(looks cool on humid day as it frost forms on the ends and moves into the middle over a period of about 20 seconds)

My glycol tank has a low glycol mix in it which freezes up to form a 50litre ice pack during off hours but when left running sustains a cold font up to 24 hours depending on the ambient temp.

Sqyre...

Hey Sqyre,

How does that all work, can you give a little more detail? 50L seems like a lot.

regards,
Scott

 

[Batz]

Hey Sqyre,

How does that all work, can you give a little more detail? 50L seems like a lot.

regards,
Scott

You need a bit Scott,mine is only water in the actual keg freezer,it's 25lt.

Batz

 

[Pumpy]

Ive got a flooded font, but never hooked it up to chill it..

Then HTFU Linz you are lettin the (MALE )side down.

Perhaps we should be adding the 'FE' to our club logo

Flooded Exempt Macarthur Ale and Lager Enthusiasts ( FEMALE )

pumpy

 

[sqyre]

Hey Sqyre,

How does that all work, can you give a little more detail? 50L seems like a lot.

regards,
Scott

Hey Scott, i made up a "glycol Tower" that runs from my keg fridge downstairs up to my font upstairs.

Instead of running a Python line (or whatever you call a glycol line up the guts) i encased 6 stainless beerlines in a 50mm pipe that is pumped full of glycol and chills the beer in transit.

My Keg fridge is set at about 3 degrees and the glycol which is contained in a seperate refrigerated coldbox at around -3.
It was an experiment at a sort of an in-line "temprite" but still works ok as an extreme font chiller.(a lot of work that could have really been achieved by running a python line)
And due to the fact i only had 5 litres of glycol to add to the 50 litre tank at the time (actually it could be 70) it eventually frose into a solid block with about 15 litres staying liquid to circulate on startup...So by accident i made an effective ice bank..

One benefit i have noticed is, if my kegs are slightly overcarbed (which often happens from the extra pressure required to push beer up 4 meters) the drop in temp from the keg to the tap seems to reduce the amount of frothing to almost none compared to pouring with the glycol off..(and i still get a good head)

The other benefit is i can turn it on, pour a beer,walk away.. no waiting for chilling down..


But thats about it... so dont bother doing it this way..lol

Sqyre...

EDIT: Oh, and sometimes it does come in handy as with a moderate pour it can bring a room temp keg down to about 6-7 degrees at the tap...

 

[sah]

Wow!!

That's Top Gear!

Scott

 

[Linz]

Then HTFU Linz you are lettin the (MALE )side down.

Perhaps we should be adding the 'FE' to our club logo

Flooded Exempt Macarthur Ale and Lager Enthusiasts ( FEMALE )

pumpy

I bet Mr Hewitt wished He had a serve like that!!!

 

[danial]

Okay Im going to stir things up alittle here,

Im running my glycol thru a bar fridge with a res that fills the frezzer. Im not using food grade glycol but just some car collant antifreeze/antiboil and I've watered it down lots.

Now people will say you have to use food grade or its going to spoil your beer? Well I have a sealed anadle 4 tap unit, and if the glycol leaks into the beer its not going to matter. Who is going to drink beer with glycol added to it? Gycol is a glycol far as Im concerned atm but hey 4 weeks ago I didnt know what this was.


Im running a 750lph pump from bunnings, all my lines are insulated running from rear panel out of my bar fridge. Okay Im not here to prove any of you guys wrong. I am controlling my glycol with a simple inline tap controlling the flow rate of the glycol, I figure it this way. The faster the gycol pumps the more agittated the mix becomes making it harder to freeze. If you were trapped in a cool room and you sat in the corner curled up wouldnt that make you so much easier to freeze? Where as if you jumped up and down moved around all the time everytime your particles/matter came close enough to bond you break that bond. In the end you would freeze, you would shut down.

I figure it this way, as long as I can keep glycol/water moving it will not freeze. How fast I pump it will make up the font temp,

Why would you turn it off? Keep it flowing its using less power than a 100watt light globe. Im looking across at my bar setup looking at a icey font, if I change the flow rate I change them temp of the font. Slower flow colder font, faster font warmer font.

 

[yoey]

hey danial,

sounds like a great setup!

what are you using to hold the glycol in the freezer?

cheers,
yoey

 

[KGB]

I turn mine on only when serving beers.
They really make the freezer work hard to keep the font cold,in fact I notice my mashmaster shows the temperature raises couple of degrees when I have it running for extended periods.

Batz

Good reason to turn it off when not in use - its very hard work for your freezer. The font is basically transferring the heat from outside into the freezer.

 

[T.D.]

Yep, I only turn mine on when pouring. And even then most of the time I don't bother. I generally only turn it on these days if I know there will be a few beers consumed.

 

[frogman]

On 24/7 for a year and a half now.
Should turn it off when not in use, just too damn tempting to have a beer when I enter the garage after arriving home from work and see that sexy font all covered in condensation....

God I love GOOD beer.

FROGMAN....

 

[danial]

Lets see the pics guys!