Glycol System Specs

[Blktre]

Hi,
We picked up two 2.2bll double jacketed Specific fermenters. Ive never setup a glycol system before and have been having trouble finding someone to help with chiller specs. because of the small size of these fermenters.
What we have are two 2.2bll double jacketed fermenters. Each jacket holds approx. 4-6gallons each. What im looking for is recommendations on what size chiller and thoughts on the minimum bath size that would be able to use these fermenters to cold condition ales and possibly lager. One fermenter would be used for just that and the other as a cold conditioning tank.

Ive seen 1/3 to 1hp chillers that say they can chill 240g but the specs list used for a 5-12g bath. Such as the ones B3 offer. http://morewinemaking.com/search/102755
The bath size just seems to small to me.....any help would be appreciated.....Thanks in advance....

Andy

[jimvgjr]

There was just a post from another small pilot size brewery:

http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9314

Please see the load scenario and the suggestion, basically we came up with very small load in the 2,000 BTU/HR range. I think he found a 1/2 HP chiller system with a rating around 3,4000 BTU/HR built for tapline cooling by microstar.

My opinion is that the bath size is less critical than having enough compressor capacity to do the job. A larger reservior does eliminate spikes and you definitly don't want too small of a reservior, but I have also seen systems with oversized glycol reserviors connected to an undersized refrigeration system. When the load was larger than the compressor capacity, we not only had to overcome the product load, but also had this large mass of glycol/water to cool before being of service to the brewery.

I think for something in the 1/2 HP range a reservior in the 10-15 gallon range would be adequate, but smaller might also be OK. I would share your concern with the manufacturer.

Good luck,

Jim

Pro Refrigeration Inc.

[Blktre]

Thanks Jim. Sounds like good advice and helps me get started!