2bbl Blichmann Conical Temperature control help wanted

Ok I need some ideas for my next project. Below you will see the new extension for the Blichmann 42 gallon conical which makes it into a 96 gallon Conical. Our first run showed about a 5 degree temperature change which is a couple over the same brew in a 42 gallon unit. When we go to a big beer with an OG of 1.08 and up we expect much higher temperature changes and would like to control it better. The room is temperature controlled at 65-68 degrees.
First I need to put a temperature probe in. What type and how to install it?
Second I have to provide some cooling somehow.
I am thinking either inside coils or outside coils.
This conical is too big to move into a cold room even if I had one.
Currently we do not larger or crush but it would be a nice option to have
As you can see the Blichmann conical can be disassembled into 3 pieces for cleaning. You can also see that we have very little head room left.

How about adding your own jacket like this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hows-jacketed-fermenter-275448/

Interesting option

Boar Beer said:

Interesting option

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Clamp on cooling belts are readily available.

The home made belt linked to was well made, not functional in my opinion like commercial belts.

A cooling belt has an upper and lower half and the cooling fluid has to go around the belt before it can exit, like a loop.


Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Yes i agree about the linked to cooling belt. It looked like a lot of work I am looking for some commercially made ones but have not found any as of now. I will keep looking.

ClaudsiuB I have found a link for a POLI Cooling Band made in Italy.
Does any one have any experience with this product?

http://www.pacificwinemaking.com/catalogue/c56/c97/p319

How about other supplyers

That is f*****g beautiful. :cross:

Sorry, I have nothing relevant to add to this conversation, I just wanted to point that out.

Boar Beer said:

ClaudsiuB I have found a link for a POLI Cooling Band made in Italy.
Does any one have any experience with this product?

http://www.pacificwinemaking.com/catalogue/c56/c97/p319

How about other supplyers

Click to expand...

More wine used to sell clamp on cooling belts.

ClaudiusB said:

More wine used to sell clamp on cooling belts.

Click to expand...

I studied their web site and got some good information.

Boar Beer said:

I studied their web site and got some good information.

Click to expand...

One more option
http://www.gwkent.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cooling+plates

Shape wise you have a commercial conical but much smaller. With commercial conicals there are multiple temp sensors at different heights and individual cooling bands at each level. The temperature will not be the same at each level. With different yeasts the temperature stratification will be different.

I would look at putting either at 3 different thermowells, weldless are fine, and 3 different clamp on coolers or 3 different internal coils at different heights. Have each chiller controlled by their own temp controller.

cfrazier77 said:

Shape wise you have a commercial conical but much smaller. With commercial conicals there are multiple temp sensors at different heights and individual cooling bands at each level. The temperature will not be the same at each level. With different yeasts the temperature stratification will be different.

I would look at putting either at 3 different thermowells, weldless are fine, and 3 different clamp on coolers or 3 different internal coils at different heights. Have each chiller controlled by their own temp controller.

Click to expand...

cfazier77
I don’t doubt that a big conical would have different temperature stratifications but when I think of watching a 6 gallon glass carboy fermenting at high level with clumps of yeast rising and swirling around mixing in every direction I wonder just how big you need to be to get the stratification.
Having said that I would love to put in three sensors and test the theory. We just filled our second conical with a OG 1.072 brew and will monitor its temperature rise.
I have been unable to get any good stats on the efficiency of the POLI Cooling band which is the method I am leaning toward because one system could be easily moved from one conical to the other and not be a cleaning/contamination problem.

I use a 22 gallon Brewhemoth and with it full I get different temps from different heights. I get this especially with top cropping yeasts. I have a long thermowell, triclamp, in the side of it. It has a 45 angle bend so I can rotate it so that the sensor is in the middle of the beer column. This helps, but I am not nearly as vertical as you are have as many yeasties going at it. Also, most micro brew conicals are shorter and wider. At a couple different breweries in St. Louis, not THE big one, they have one jacket on the cone and another on the vertical wall. At THE big brewery they have multi story high fermenters to get more barrels in a given footprint. During the tour they said that there are many different cooling bands to deal with the different temps.

Thanks cfrazier77 now just how to monitor the temp. I guess i have to punch a hole into the center and put in a thermowell and find a probe of some nature to use.

That is the best way. Also, you can put your sensor against the outside wall and cover it with foam or cardboard, it will not be as accurate though.

Boar Beer said:

Ok I need some ideas for my next project. Below you will see the new extension for the Blichmann 42 gallon conical which makes it into a 96 gallon Conical.

Click to expand...

Where did you get this?! I need one!

nvrstck said:

Where did you get this?! I need one!

Click to expand...

You can get it from Blichmann. I know you cant see it on the web site but just ask for one.
good luck

They finally added it to their site. Thanks!

cfrazier77 said:

Shape wise you have a commercial conical but much smaller. With commercial conicals there are multiple temp sensors at different heights and individual cooling bands at each level. The temperature will not be the same at each level. With different yeasts the temperature stratification will be different.

I would look at putting either at 3 different thermowells, weldless are fine, and 3 different clamp on coolers or 3 different internal coils at different heights. Have each chiller controlled by their own temp controller.

Click to expand...

The few commercial breweries I have looked at up close, including St. Arnold's and one of my close friend's pro brewery, there is a single thermowell with a Ranco controller controlling whether the glycol is pumping into the jacket.

These were both on 30 bbl fermenters. The jackets cooled the tops of the fermenters down to the top of the cone. I think the temp. stratification is not an issue to be overly concerned with, but we,as homebrewers and smaller scale prop brewers seem to concern ourselves with it, I understand.