Does DIY Glycol really work?

I seem to find conflicting info on DIY glycol. I just can't justify spending $1000 on a chiller. I am contemplating a 17ft. run from my garage to my kitchen. I am starting from scratch. I initially planned to purchase a two tap kegerator but have since seen that a remote system *might* be possible.

I've seen that one forum member has a successful setup with the glycol bath in the keezer. If I am going to go this route over buying a complete kegerator I definitely think that my glycol needs to reside in a freezer where I can get lower than beer temps for the cooling lines. I can get a top/bottom fridge from craigslist or the bulletin board at work so I am leaning towards that route.

I want to know if their are any plans available or do you guys have any advice?

I plan to buy a pre-built trunk with 4 supply lines and only use two for now. If you were starting from scratch what would you do?

Thanks!

I just recently completed my own DIY on glycol-esque cooling lines. My run length wasn't nearly what yours is. If you're going to buy premade lines the hard work is over. I made my own 3-supply line (since no-one makes this - and I made it at 10% the cost of premade) and just installed it this past weekend.

I'm using just water right now and the 5 Gal supply bucket lives in the Keezer with the kegs. I have a good pond pump that turns on when the Keezer turns on to cool down. Since most keezers turn on every hour or so this is more than adequate to pump enough "new" water through the lines to cool the surrounding beer lines for the few minutes it's running every hour. I'm using water since the Keezer never gets below freezing and water is thermally better for transferring cold than Glycol is at above freezing temps.

One thing to think about with the cooling lines is that you can also use them to run past/around the tap shanks to help keep them cooler for proper beer dispensing. Just be sure to have some extra polyethylene tubing and all the splices/elbows to make the connection.

My advise is two pronged:
1: Depending on how/where you are going to install the trunk line make sure any holes you have to drill are larger (by a 1/4" or so) than the trunk line so you don't tear the insulation around the line. You don't want a tight squeeze on your trunk line and tear the insulation. (Also - if you're going to run through wall/ceiling studs I would rethink it. You don't want to drill a 2.5" hole through studs - it just totally compromises the structural integrity of the wall.)
2: Once you have an idea of your line install layout be sure to invest in a decent pond pump. The pump strength/GPH rating (Gallons per Hour) should be rated to be more than adequate to deal with the total height that your line is running from where your supply liquid is located (where the pump will be submerged in). I would try a water supply in the keezer first and see how the system functions before moving to an actual freezer and glycol mix since that complicates things because of the separation of the cooling lines from the beer lines that are going to different starting locations.

Hope that helps. If needed I can try to get some decent pics of my setup to show details.

Merlin-CO said:

I just recently completed my own DIY on glycol-esque cooling lines. My run length wasn't nearly what yours is. If you're going to buy premade lines the hard work is over. I made my own 3-supply line (since no-one makes this - and I made it at 10% the cost of premade) and just installed it this past weekend.
Hope that helps. If needed I can try to get some decent pics of my setup to show details.

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Awesome Merlin, this is just the kind of thing I want to hear! Although your 10% of the cost comment is making me rethink my decision to buy premade line... OK, that only lasted a second, if I wasn't new to this I'd make my own, I think the safe route is for me to buy it.

I'd appreciate the pics! BTW, I'd never drill through studs etc... I don't want Mike Holmes on my back!

Thanks again for renewing my confidence, I was starting to slip into that "Just go buy a kegerator and be done with it" mentality, and where is the fun in that.

tlh1005 said:

Awesome Merlin, this is just the kind of thing I want to hear! Although your 10% of the cost comment is making me rethink my decision to buy premade line... OK, that only lasted a second, if I wasn't new to this I'd make my own, I think the safe route is for me to buy it.

I'd appreciate the pics! BTW, I'd never drill through studs etc... I don't want Mike Holmes on my back!

Thanks again for renewing my confidence, I was starting to slip into that "Just go buy a kegerator and be done with it" mentality, and where is the fun in that.

Click to expand...

It does work - I like mine, and building the trunk was a piece of cake. The worst part was keeping all the hoses aligned while I wrapped them. For that I just used cable ties to hold them together, and cut them off as I wrapped with stretch wrap.

Another thought - Keep an eye on eBay and CL. I've seen a LOT of chillers go for less than $300. I'll bet I have at least $200 in my DIY chiller after buying the pump, plumbing, fan, tranny cooler, copper, etc. While it works, it's not that much cheaper than a good deal on a used glycol system.

I purchased a MicroMatic chiller and after you get past the price, it is fantastic. Using a bucket in my fridge, I never could get the water temperature below the mid 40s over an extended period of time. That will most likely warm up your beer which won't do. I know others have had better success (and thanks to Sweet Sounds for trying to help me before) than I.

The key is that if your water reservoir is in your keezer, it will never be colder than your beer. The goal is to try to just get it close. If you get an upright fridge, I've seen designs that put glycol in the freezer and the keg in the fridge part. That's still not an easy conversion. I think the username was "Kal" but I could be wrong. I saw it on the MicroMatic board.

With a commercial chiller, I set my coolant to 26 and it works great. I can go away for the weekend and when I get back days later, it still pours perfectly on the first pull. Since you have a longer run like I did, research the material of your beer line (as I did NOT). I used Bev Seal Ultra 235 and FORTUNATELY, it has an unusually low pressure drop (.4PSI / ft). By dumb luck I was OK, but do the math on balancing your line. What's your total distance?

Another option you could look into is to use a computer water cooling rig, some of them can get cold enough for your application. Just not sure if it'd be any cheaper than haunting Ebay for a used chiller.

SweetSounds said:

It does work - I like mine, and building the trunk was a piece of cake. The worst part was keeping all the hoses aligned while I wrapped them. For that I just used cable ties to hold them together, and cut them off as I wrapped with stretch wrap.

Another thought - Keep an eye on eBay and CL. I've seen a LOT of chillers go for less than $300. I'll bet I have at least $200 in my DIY chiller after buying the pump, plumbing, fan, tranny cooler, copper, etc. While it works, it's not that much cheaper than a good deal on a used glycol system.

Click to expand...

I searched ebay for the past few weeks, most of what I have seen are huge industrial size chillers (some really old). I am not opposed to finding one, but I am guessing if I don't end up with a smaller sized chiller rated for 75' or less it will cost me a fortune to run in the long run, more so than just buying new.

I really like your build. I wish I wasn't planning to keep the beer in the garage, if it wasn't for that the decision would be easy. I'd go your route in a heartbeat.

HeyNoPie said:

I purchased a MicroMatic chiller and after you get past the price, it is fantastic. Using a bucket in my fridge, I never could get the water temperature below the mid 40s over an extended period of time. That will most likely warm up your beer which won't do. I know others have had better success (and thanks to Sweet Sounds for trying to help me before) than I.

The key is that if your water reservoir is in your keezer, it will never be colder than your beer. The goal is to try to just get it close. If you get an upright fridge, I've seen designs that put glycol in the freezer and the keg in the fridge part. That's still not an easy conversion. I think the username was "Kal" but I could be wrong. I saw it on the MicroMatic board.

With a commercial chiller, I set my coolant to 26 and it works great. I can go away for the weekend and when I get back days later, it still pours perfectly on the first pull. Since you have a longer run like I did, research the material of your beer line (as I did NOT). I used Bev Seal Ultra 235 and FORTUNATELY, it has an unusually low pressure drop (.4PSI / ft). By dumb luck I was OK, but do the math on balancing your line. What's your total distance?

Click to expand...

I would definitely have to go the route of putting the reservoir in a freezer for the reasons you mentioned, and I know the user Kal's conversion you are talking about, that is the one that got me a little scared that it wouldn't be as straightforward as I'd like.

lutinplunder said:

Another option you could look into is to use a computer water cooling rig, some of them can get cold enough for your application. Just not sure if it'd be any cheaper than haunting Ebay for a used chiller.

Click to expand...

I'm very skeptical of using the computer chillers since I am cooling a 15-20' run and the majority of it will be in my garage where there is no climate control.

I am appreciate all of your suggestions and comments. My opinion changes day to day and you all make good points for both options.

For a short run with minimum turns you may want to consider air cooled lines. You could purchase the blowers and pipes commercially or homebrew it. A PVC pipe within a pipe powered by a blower in a freezer might be strong enough.

Merlin-CO said:

I just recently completed my own DIY on glycol-esque cooling lines.

I'm using just water right now and the 5 Gal supply bucket lives in the Keezer with the kegs. I have a good pond pump that turns on when the Keezer turns on to cool down. I'm using water since the Keezer never gets below freezing and water is thermally better for transferring cold than Glycol is at above freezing temps.

Click to expand...

Excellent! I thought that water would work, but hadn't seen anyone try it.
Think this would work to chill fermenters by coiling copper pipe around them?

Tom said:

Excellent! I thought that water would work, but hadn't seen anyone try it.
Think this would work to chill fermenters by coiling copper pipe around them?

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Already ahead of you...
I am using it to chill a fermenter at the moment. I'm not using copper pipe (though you could), but since the Polyethylene pipe is already pretty good at cold transfer I just have it running in and then out of the waterbath I have the fermenter sitting in before heading back into the keezer and the main supply water pool.

I set it up a few days ago and it holds temp fairly well for ales (at about 72F, since it's pretty warm out - even in my basement) and I only have the pump turning on when the keezer, so I'm sure you could get it colder. If you use copper you may make it even more efficient (and I may look into this).

SweetSounds said:

It does work - I like mine, and building the trunk was a piece of cake. The worst part was keeping all the hoses aligned while I wrapped them. For that I just used cable ties to hold them together, and cut them off as I wrapped with stretch wrap.

Another thought - Keep an eye on eBay and CL. I've seen a LOT of chillers go for less than $300. I'll bet I have at least $200 in my DIY chiller after buying the pump, plumbing, fan, tranny cooler, copper, etc. While it works, it's not that much cheaper than a good deal on a used glycol system.

Click to expand...

One month too late on this one:

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/bfs/1829831926.html

tlh1005 said:

I am contemplating a 17ft. run from my garage to my kitchen.

If I am going to go this route over buying a complete kegerator I definitely think that my glycol needs to reside in a freezer where I can get lower than beer temps for the cooling lines.

Click to expand...

How did this turn out?

A bit late to the party but keep in mind 17ft of 3/8in ID line has a volume of 369ml, so about 4/5ths of your first pour are gonna come from the line itself. Might not want the cooling lines to be that much colder than the beer...

Assuming you use a pump that just runs 24/7, a properly sized reservoir in the keezer could be just the ticket

Cheers
D

I got a chiller from an old copelands restaurant that closed down for $75. just needed a new compressor and good cleaning. Look around in your area for closed restaurants or bars.

dang.. just realized the date of the posting lol