SS Brewtech 1/2 BBL Chronical Fermenter

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caney

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Hello Good Thanks,
I'm looking to buy on of these ATM, because my back doesn't like my arms handling a 60 litre fermenter in and out of a chest freezer to keep at a cool 18 degrees.

So, the epic question, how do I keep this 17 GAL fermenter at 18 degrees? Gets quite warm in central NSW, so I really need an option for cooling.
I am going to purchase this fermenter with the FTSS system, so it will have immersion coils to cool the wort.

Has anyone got a cooling system for this fermenter? Tap water is too warm, fans system wont get cool enough, so it needs to be a refrigerated system.

Ran through some options but too expensive such as large fridge, cool room, glycol chillier etc.
Next was running a fridge or freezer with large water reservoir, use a submersible pump to cycle the cool water through immersion chiller. Pump would run off temp controller on fermenter. This seems inefficient.
Next was an aquarium chiller but they are bullshit expensive.

So, my thoughts are:
I managed to find a water bubbler, at zero cost, the refrigeration system still functions A1. A water bubbler contains approx. 2 Litre reservoir internal.
I can adjust the thermostat on the bubbler to control the temperature of fluid in reservoir, was thinking in the minuses.
Fill the reservoir with glycol.
Fit submersible fountain pump in the reservoir, and run this pump from the temperature controller on the fermenter, so it will react with wort temp and cycle on and off as required.
Cycle the glycol through the immersion chiller circuit, and dump back into the reservoir in the water bubbler.

What are your thoughts on this guys? I am planning on tackling this very soon, and will create a post of the unit once complete.

Caney.

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Nice idea. But maybe super chilled coolant might be unkind to the yeast (extreme temp change at the coil/beer interface) and is perhaps overkill on such a small volume of beer.

An alternative might be to store a large cube (or two connected in series) of 18 C water in a temp controlled fridge an cycle it permanently through your heating/cooling coils in the fermentor with a low cost 12v pump. You might need to insulate the outside of the conical to create a closed system whereby heat cannot enter the fermentor (in warm weather) or leave (in cold weather).
 
Feldon said:
An alternative might be to store a large cube (or two connected in series) of 18 C water in a temp controlled fridge an cycle it permanently through your heating/cooling coils in the fermentor with a low cost 12v pump. You might need to insulate the outside of the conical to create a closed system whereby heat cannot enter the fermentor (in warm weather) or leave (in cold weather).
That's basically what the system that I have does - a 5lt tank/reservoir with about 5% glycol/water mix that uses a refrigerant circuit (and a heater) via an Omeron E5CC PID to control/maintain the fermenter temperature within your set point range This temperature controled mix is then pumped around the insulated fermenter. Get it right and you can control your fermenter temperature between 1C and 30C and it will crash chill your brew etc.

Wobbly
 
Couple things to consider.
Your ambient temps
Your 2l reservoir does not seem adequate
The heat output of the submersible pump in the reservoir
Heat produced from fermentation
Drainage for the condensation
A bunch of science relating to the above

It's totally doable and done able but in all my experimentation and my absolute love affair with water/glycol cooling and a shed full of disappointment, I recommend getting a temp controlled fridge/ freezer as the most efficient setup for a home brewer.

Your water bubbler or an aquarium chiller won't do the job in summer.

Just my opinion given my environment.
 
Ever thought about just putting it in a fridge/freezer?
I'm looking at getting a Malt Mechanics 1/2 Barrel conical fermenter and will just be sticking it in my fermenting freezer
 
I'll be honest... Over the long term I haven't been over the moon with my ftss 1/2 barrel setup.

Rust has been a major issue despite my high level knowledge of passiviation procedures and stainless steel care. Good thing is; the internal surfaces have always been great.

With respect to the ftss, the extension arms are crucial.

I'm using a 30L reservoir in a freezer with a coil sitting in ice on the return so that liquid returning to the reservoir is cooled down. I can ferment in the lager range in summer but definitely cannot cold crash, even in winter. I would go with a fridge with a brewpi and some mechanism to lift the fermenter the 100mm or so to wheel it into the fridge. Way more versatile option.

In saying this, I'm in no hurry to change my setup as the main thing it's missing is cold crash.
 
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