Glycol chilling of 55 gallon drum with stainless coil

Hi there,

I am about to start brewing in large quantities to fill 55 Gallon plastic drums. The drums will be replaced by 60 gallon plastic conicals later on (it takes a while for orders to be fulfilled). I will need temperature control, and I will have access to glycol system designed for beer lines. I was thinking of using this stainless wort chiller inside the drum to run the glycol through.

My main question is how I could secure the chiller through the lid of the barrel in an airtight way. I am thinking perhaps some kind of compression fitting. I will need to be able to disassemble the whole thing for each brew in order to properly clean and sanitize everything.

Here's what the drum looks like:

On the top of the lid I'll also have a bulkhead installed to which I'll attach a blowoff tube.

Any ideas about how to secure the stainless coil?

As a plumber my first thoughts are purchasing a couple running thread brass nipples, 4 brass flanged backing nuts, and 4 female x compression adapters...siliconing the penetration so when both backing nuts tighted to each side of the lid it creates an air tight seal.

Thanks. I'm not super familiar with plumbing fittings but I think I get most of it. I guess I'll need to make sure they match or are larger than the outer diameter of the stainless.

As far as silconining the penetration goes, do you mean adding silicone to the lid? or do you mean adding it to the stainless tubing?

sohara said:

Thanks. I'm not super familiar with plumbing fittings but I think I get most of it. I guess I'll need to make sure they match or are larger than the outer diameter of the stainless.

As far as silconining the penetration goes, do you mean adding silicone to the lid? or do you mean adding it to the stainless tubing?

Click to expand...

Ill track down some pics of these fittings. Unfortunately Im not at the shop, but I'll find some online to help a bit more.

Basically my thoughts are to drill two holes in the lid for the nipples. Holes tight enough, where the nipple hand threads into the plastic. With equal amounts of the nipple sticking through top and bottom of the lid, apply silicone where the nipple meets the lid on both top and bottom. A flanged backing nut would then be tighted against the lid from both sides (flange side of the nut against the lid).

As for the the female x comp adapters, Id use teflon tape when tightening them onto the nipple. Reason being, even tho pipe dope is NSF 61 spproved, I wouldnt want it coming in contact with my beer.

I cant find a picture of a flanged backing nut....its a commercial part typically included with commercial back mount faucets for stainless sinks etc. Id say using a normal brass backing nut with a set of washers (also typically used for mounting faucets) wouldnt make a difference. Just go to your local plumbing supply house. Theyll know what youre asking for. Skip the home stores...

Running thread nipple (important that its running thread)


Female x Compression adapter

Thanks. I'll give that a go. The only downside is that the the wort chiller I was planning to buy comes pre-bent at the top. I guess I can hack those parts off.

Are you concerned about submersing the entire chiller in the fermenter?
If not, it seems easy (and cheap) to just drill two holes and use rubber grommets the size of the tubing.
Like the rubber grommets you would use on a bucket fermenter, just larger.

You mean like a rubber bung that people usually attach their airlock to? I guess that would be feasible. But I am concerned about it being really secure in place and also very airtight. On the other hand, it would be easier to disassemble and clean.

Not an bung, but a grommet... like these guys.


As long as you get the right size for the OD if the tubing and drill the correct hole size in the lid, they should be secure enough to get you by.

Interesting. Never knew those existed. I'll see where I can find something like that. It would definitely save a lot of time and money, especially considering I'll probably only use the drums until I can get properly set up with conicals.

If you have an Ace hardware nearby, they have a bunch of different sizes near the screws and bolts. Usually around 20 cents a piece.

No Ace (I'm in Canada) but we have Home Depot and other places. Or ordering on-line. Thanks!

krazydave said:

Not an bung, but a grommet... like these guys.

As long as you get the right size for the OD if the tubing and drill the correct hole size in the lid, they should be secure enough to get you by.

Click to expand...

Hey theres another good idea!....I'd think that be air tight as well.

Couple thoughts I have to add with grommets tho-

1) The 3/8" tube would have to fit tight enough within the grommet to keep the weight of the coil supported off the bottom of the barrel, unless the coil can rest on the bottom.

2) If using compression fittings to connect the tubing to the glycol cooling setup (tubing above the lid), then the lid cannot be completely separated from the tubing without cutting the tube. Reason being, with a compression fitting the ferrule basically crimps itself onto the tube to where the nut and ferrule cant removed.

Not trying to be a putz here, know-it-all, whatever....just discussing

Another option is a all in one setup. Available in Comp x Comp, Comp x MPT and Comp x FPT. Available in other sizes as well.
http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/12-Bulkhead-Connector-with-Gasket-and-Washer_p_109.html

or buy/make something like this:
http://brewhemoth.com/immersion-chiller

StainlessBrewing said:

Another option is a all in one setup. Available in Comp x Comp, Comp x MPT and Comp x FPT. Available in other sizes as well.
http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/12-Bulkhead-Connector-with-Gasket-and-Washer_p_109.html

Click to expand...

Ah, yes, I think that's more along the lines of what I originally had in mind. I think I'll try the grommet approach first since the cheapest and simplest, but perhaps upgrade to a proper bulkhead connector at some point. Thanks!

Grommet is a great idea and super cheap too! Maybe you could have some type of collar with a set screw or something around your tube on the oustide to be able to adjust the chiller up and down. Let us know how it works out.

Yes, I'll probably use some kind of collar to control the vertical adjustment of the chiller.

I'll also need a thermowell for my temp probe in this setup. Does anyone know a cheap way to get a stainless steel tube that is sealed at one end? I've bought one from morebeer in the past, but I'm wondering if there's a way that doesn't require mail order.

sohara said:

Yes, I'll probably use some kind of collar to control the vertical adjustment of the chiller.

I'll also need a thermowell for my temp probe in this setup. Does anyone know a cheap way to get a stainless steel tube that is sealed at one end? I've bought one from morebeer in the past, but I'm wondering if there's a way that doesn't require mail order.

Click to expand...

Do you have a way to get the stainless tube locally?

It looks like there are industrial suppliers but I'm not sure they sell me just two feet or so. Might just be easier to order on-line. I was hoping there was something at home depot, etc. that is stainless tubing for some other application, but it doesn't seem so.

Actually, the place I'm getting the chillers from sells the straight tubing as well. Are you thinking stainless soldering?

Or just find a food grade cap. If it comes down to it, stick the end in a vice and crank it down. Can you put a tee at the bottom port in the picture you provided and install it there?

StainlessBrewing said:

Or just find a food grade cap. If it comes down to it, stick the end in a vice and crank it down. Can you put a tee at the bottom port in the picture you provided and install it there?

Click to expand...

I was thinking of installing it from the top, the cover of the drum. I figured the cooling source would be at the top and I could measure from the top as well. If I measure form the bottom, the wort at the top might be a lot warmer.

A stainless cap would be ideal, I think. I haven't come across any yet, but I'll be looking.

Uniseals also, come in all sizes.......
n expensive bulkhead when you can use a Uniseal®? Just drill a hole in the pipe, tank or bucket, insert a Uniseal®, then put some window cleaner on the end of the pipe and push it in. It's that easy!

Feel like rubber, but they are made of DuPont Alcryn® rated to 40 psi and warranted for 25 years. They are immune to cold, will not harden and hold pressure and vacuum. The sizes below correspond to standard Schedule 40 PVC pipe. Fit tank wall thicknesses up to 1/2". Made in USA.




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picture.. you can use these on angled/rounded surface

I'm not sure if your still interested but I recently came into a large stash of stainless compression fittings. They are very high quality parker and hoke brands, used in pharmaceutical manufacturing. These are part of an auction purchase I made. I have most sizes from 1/8" - 3/4" compression x 1/4" - 3/4" mpt, fpt, flare - tees with 2x compression & 1xmpt - lots of stuff. I also have some triclamp stuff. I'm planning on selling all of it on either ebay or amazon but have not gotten around to it yet. Let me know if you are looking for a particular

vinper said:

picture.. you can use these on angled/rounded surface

Click to expand...

I forgot about those. I ordered some of these when I was building my reef tank for the overflow.