Chiller in or out side of the cold room

[patolucas]

Hi, I want to know about install the chiller inside or outside of the cold room, some people tell me that inside is better for efficiency, it is true?

Thanks

Pato

[BelgianBrewer]

What part of the chiller are you talking about, the condensor or the evaporator?
Condensor typically goes outside, the evaporator typically inside. Some units combine these two steps and are typically placed outside.

BelgianBrewer
www.sbmbrew.com

[fcaseyf]

Outside, it generates heat.

[jimvgjr]

Typically if any part of the chiller is placed in the cold room, it is just the glycol reservior and possibly the evaporator (the glycol/refrigerant heat exchanger).

All of the heat that is removed from your beer, plus heat from the chiller system motors, will be discharged into the cold room if you place your entire chiller system in there. Plus it will not be real fun to service in a 38 F cold room.

Good luck,
Jim

[patolucas]

is the the glycol/refrigerant heat exchanger only, but is pretty big 3 square meters aprox.
What about electrical parts? can be damaged them by humidity?
Thanks

[jimvgjr]

Humidity can definitly cause some issues, but many of the evaporator components are designed to be installed in cold rooms. I would consult with the contractor installing and see what they suggest, it really depends on the type of componets they are using.

Good Luck,
Jim

[gabewilson50]

Unfortunately, I don´t think that Pato gave enough information for any of you to give us informed opinions. We have a 1st generation glycol chiller (see chiller history on probrewer refrigeration page) that has the evaporator inside a LARGE glycol/ice reservoir. The only thing that I was proposing placing inside the cold room was the reservoir unit (cold side), and obviously the condensing unit would go outside. This way, our losses in efficiency due to heat creep through what is now cracked insulation will be minimized. I talked to the brewer who used the chiller most recently, and he in fact verified that when the unit operated outside, the unit was covered in condensation (i.e. heat gain). Since unfortunately getting a new chiller is out of the question, and we forsee a fair amount of expansion in the future (new jacketed ccv´s replacing the 3 jacketed dish bottom fermenters that exist in the conditioned ¨fermentation room¨), I wanted to make sure that we were operating this old gal as efficiently as possible to squeeze as many BTUs out of her as possible.

Does anyone have any comments on this set-up (Jim, help please)? I don´t necessarily see much downside to the proposition, but I proposed it. Are there things I should truly be concerned about? From what it appears to me, the control panel that is on the reservoir unit is at least NEMA-4.

Thanks,

--Gabe

[jimvgjr]

Thanks for the additional information. I was hesitant to post a reply because of the lack of information, I suspected the situation was as you describe. I don't see any issues with your plan, it definitly makes sense to me. I worked with two breweries here in the Seattle area that both operated with this exact type set up (until we updated their systems).

If the enclosure is Nema4 rated, moisture shouldn't be an issue. I think you'll be fine.

Give me a call when its time to expand!!

Thanks,

Jim