schedule 80 vs. coolfit

[redlodge.sam]

hello all,

we are planning our glycol lines for our new brewery. the people we bought our chiller from recommend "coolfit" (pre insulated ABS) instead of PVC. they say pvc isnt meant for glycol refrigeration applications and can fail over time. the problem is coolfit is ungodly expensive.

i have personally used schedule 80 PVC on my current glycol system for almost seven years with no problems. has anyone had schedule 80 PVC fail in a glycol application and if so, how many years after it was installed?

thanks,
sam

[jimvgjr]

The attached post has quite a bit of discussion on different piping options.

http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=8344&highlight=glycol+piping

Keep in mind the CoolFit piping is available with, and without, insulation. I believe the non-insulated is is comparable in price to schedule 80 PVC.

The man to speak to about Coolfit is Dan Stromberg.
GF Piping Systems
Georg Fischer LLC
2882 Dow Avenue, Tustin, CA, 92780
Tel. (714) 368-4196, Fax. (714) 368-4197
Cellular. (951) 642 2339

Their products are being distributed by Ryan Herco Co.

Good luck,
Jim

[gitchegumee]

Most often you get what you pay for. I've had PVC fail in every brewery I've used it in. Not everywhere, but no matter it seems to fail where you least want it to and at the worst time. It seems to become brittle after time. I haven't used CoolFit products, but would consider it if it's cheaper than copper. One batch of glycol down the drain would have paid for a secure piping system. Good luck!

[BrewerTL]

I've seen PVC get brittle and crack, too. It's just not made for this application.

We did a modest expansion in our brewpub and looked at copper and Cool-Fit. We went with Cool-Fit and it changed everything for us. We didn't have to change chiller units, but now my cold liquor can cool fast enough to double brew in one day....something we couldn't do before. In summer, water comes into our brewery around 92*F, so that's no small task to cool H2O to a solid 45*F for a second brew.

It's also nice in the fact that it doesn't sweat. ;-)

TL

[beermkr]

I used CPVC when I built alewerks figureing that the heat rating would translate to a cold rating. Seemed to work just fine. We have been running for over 2 years with it.

I recently moved to a new brewery and we are building a jacketed cold liquor tank out of a poly tank and wrapping in in Wirsbo PEX. I spoke to the PEX engineers and they told me that PEX has no lower limit (at least not one we can reach) and that it should be fine. I expect that you can get PEX in much larger diameters than I used so it might be an option for you.

Mike

[Todd]

Using uninsulated ABS will be cheaper than using Cool-Fit ABS, whether it's insulated or not. I recommend using ABS piping and insulating it yourself.