Grainfather Glycol Chiller

[paulyman]

I managed to score a GF glycol chiller this week when they released a small batch prior to the full release! I have a saison on currently, so it was going to be an extreme baptism of fire for the chiller. Yesterday I asked it to chill the beer from 32C to 28C... yes my house saison mix prefers to finish nice and warm. It took the unit 1.5 hours to chill but it wasn't overly stressed though out, never venturing outside the range -4C to -1.5C. Today I dropped the beer from 28C to 24C, this time it only took 45 minutes and again the unit didn't stress about it. On both days the unit only turned on once every 15-20 minutes on average for maybe 5 minutes to cool the glycol mixture back down. I'll run a third test tomorrow from 24C to 20C and will then be in the typical ale temperature range.

Based on the current 45 minute 4C drop and the fact the unit isn't really stressed out I feel it will happily maintain that average for a few hours. So far it seems (yet to be confirmed), that the unit could drop a beer from 20C to 4C in about 3 hours and will only be actively on for probably 1/3 of that time. That seems reasonable to me and would compare favourably with a fridge. Adding a second or third fermenter at a different temperature also seems quite feasible and I'm looking forward to the possibility of running a lager and ale at the same time in the same space as a kegerator.

 

[Lionman]

looks flash as.

 

[Bridgey23]

Mine will get its maiden run this weekend with a pilsner in one fermenter and an IPA in the other. I can't wait. It's better than xmas.

Also if anyone is interested in Grainfather equipment they are having a 20% off everything sale this weekend. Good savings to be had. Spewing I pulled the trigger s couple of weeks ago.

 

[Blind Dog]

Laser eyed cat is pretty cool too

 

[Pnutapper]

Laser eyed cat is pretty cool too

It will give me nightmares tonight.

 

[Coodgee]

wow that's some fancy **** right there. I want one.

 

[Lionman]

4 of those babies lined up next to the chiller would look **** hot.

at 20% off it would be about 4k for the kit.

 

[paulyman]

4 of those babies lined up next to the chiller would look **** hot.

at 20% off it would be about 4k for the kit.

If I hadn’t been explicitly told that I cannot spend anymore money this year on the brewery I would totally be grabbing a few more!

 

[Lionman]

If I hadn’t been explicitly told that I cannot spend anymore money this year on the brewery I would totally be grabbing a few more!

Shame, think of all the money you could save by brewing extra beer.

 

[Pnutapper]

4 of those babies lined up next to the chiller would look **** hot.

at 20% off it would be about 4k for the kit.

4 laser eye cats? That would be just a bit too creepy.

 

[Lionman]

4 laser eye cats? That would be just a bit too creepy.

 

[hezzer]

I managed to score a GF glycol chiller this week when they released a small batch prior to the full release! I have a saison on currently, so it was going to be an extreme baptism of fire for the chiller. Yesterday I asked it to chill the beer from 32C to 28C... yes my house saison mix prefers to finish nice and warm. It took the unit 1.5 hours to chill but it wasn't overly stressed though out, never venturing outside the range -4C to -1.5C. Today I dropped the beer from 28C to 24C, this time it only took 45 minutes and again the unit didn't stress about it. On both days the unit only turned on once every 15-20 minutes on average for maybe 5 minutes to cool the glycol mixture back down. I'll run a third test tomorrow from 24C to 20C and will then be in the typical ale temperature range.

Based on the current 45 minute 4C drop and the fact the unit isn't really stressed out I feel it will happily maintain that average for a few hours. So far it seems (yet to be confirmed), that the unit could drop a beer from 20C to 4C in about 3 hours and will only be actively on for probably 1/3 of that time. That seems reasonable to me and would compare favourably with a fridge. Adding a second or third fermenter at a different temperature also seems quite feasible and I'm looking forward to the possibility of running a lager and ale at the same time in the same space as a kegerator.

Hello Bridgey23 and Paulyman
I've got a GF chiller with two CF and am finding some problems. Basically the chiller is fine with one fermenter all the way down to 4 degs but add a second one and then the difficulties start. Yesterday I had one fermenter at 16 degs with a lager on diacetyl rest and the other had chilled down from 20 to 11 for the start of another lager. When it came to chill the first lager down to 4 degs off it went but the other lager started climbing from 11. Switching the supply line for the poor performer, changing the temp controllers over, selecting Cool Only, checking the beer temp was what the controller said, all achieved nothing. OAT were between 25 and 29 degs. I then swopped the output lines over - basically whatever was attached to output 2 worked and the other (output 1 or 3, I didn't bother trying 4) went into poor performance role.
I've got a conical coat on one and a foam 20mm jacket on the other. The chiller's set at the company recommended level of -2.8 to -2.0.
I know that you have two fermenters Bridgey - have you tried two lager type operations at once? I have had no hassles with two ales, even when it comes to a final chill for one, with the other still at 18-20. I'm wondering if the chiller has enough guts to take two down to single figures in the summer here in Queensland.

 

[TheBBQMole]

Hi Guy's Just wanting to know if these GF glycol Chillers are a very noisy when they start up? I have my brewery backing onto the master bedroom and the mrs would be pissed if the think is kicking in and out all night. Are they as quite as a fridge?

 

[hezzer]

Hi Guy's Just wanting to know if these GF glycol Chillers are a very noisy when they start up? I have my brewery backing onto the master bedroom and the mrs would be pissed if the think is kicking in and out all night. Are they as quite as a fridge?

No BBQ, they are not as quiet as a modern fridge. I haven't used mine for a couple of months and have a new replacement one sitting in its wrapper in the garage as I've just moved home. Brewery should be up and running in a week or so and I'll try and remember to put an iPhone decibel app onto it for you.