Anvil fermentor cooling system review and glycol chiller attempt

[highland_brewer]

I recently got the new Anvil Brewing fermentor cooling system in for review. See the link below. I also tried to put a mini fridge to use as a glycol chiller, (also in the video) Curious on thoughts to improve the mini fridge performance. I am going to try to get the evap/freezer coil in the reservoir and see if that makes a difference or not.

 

[Prodigalx2]

I recently got the new Anvil Brewing fermentor cooling system in for review. See the link below. I also tried to put a mini fridge to use as a glycol chiller, (also in the video) Curious on thoughts to improve the mini fridge performance. I am going to try to get the evap/freezer coil in the reservoir and see if that makes a difference or not.

I think that's probably the best thing you can do for that fridge to give it a fighting chance at getting the glycol cold enough. A dorm sized freezer would work better (something like this https://m.lowes.com/pd/Hotpoint-3-6...RmpFDnH6A4loRvhizpu-6mjYj0Nm4kQxoCQ5UQAvD_BwE).

The benefit to Glycol is that it has a freezing point at -74 degrees Fahrenheit, WAY lower than a freezer can get down to. So the colder you can get the Glycol, the more efficiently it will cool whatever system you're working with, and the fewer the chances for the reservoir heating up due to recirculation.

Sorry if any of this is old news to you.

I've been putting my eye toward doing a project like this, which is why I got so excited when I saw Anvil had a chilling solution. Sounds like you're going to make a significant improvement on their idea though!

Thanks For all you do!
Pete T

 

[Prodigalx2]

Excuse me while I take my foot out of my mouth... Looks like commercial brewers cut the glycol 2 parts water 1 part glycol, which maintains a freezing temp at 1 degree F. Target temperature is 27 degrees F.

(https://www.probrewer.com/library/refrigeration/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-glycol/)

I think a freezer would still work better, but putting the fridge coil in the reservoir sounds much more reasonable now.

Sorry about that.

 

[highland_brewer]

I think that's probably the best thing you can do for that fridge to give it a fighting chance at getting the glycol cold enough. A dorm sized freezer would work better (something like this https://m.lowes.com/pd/Hotpoint-3-6...RmpFDnH6A4loRvhizpu-6mjYj0Nm4kQxoCQ5UQAvD_BwE).

The benefit to Glycol is that it has a freezing point at -74 degrees Fahrenheit, WAY lower than a freezer can get down to. So the colder you can get the Glycol, the more efficiently it will cool whatever system you're working with, and the fewer the chances for the reservoir heating up due to recirculation.

Sorry if any of this is old news to you.

I've been putting my eye toward doing a project like this, which is why I got so excited when I saw Anvil had a chilling solution. Sounds like you're going to make a significant improvement on their idea though!

Thanks For all you do!
Pete T

Pete,

All good stuff! I do not have a ton of knowledge of glycol systems. I do understand the principles but I am far from an expert! I am going to see if I can get the glycol chilled down farther by putting the "freezer" coils in the liquid. Worst case scenario, I do have a practically new 7 Cu ft freezer that I can re-purpose as my reservoir. I would like to keep it compact at this point if I can. We shall see! Should be a fun project though. thanks for the tips!

 

[highland_brewer]

Excuse me while I take my foot out of my mouth... Looks like commercial brewers cut the glycol 2 parts water 1 part glycol, which maintains a freezing temp at 1 degree F. Target temperature is 27 degrees F.

(https://www.probrewer.com/library/refrigeration/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-glycol/)

I think a freezer would still work better, but putting the fridge coil in the reservoir sounds much more reasonable now.

Sorry about that.

LOL no problem man! I am running about a 30/70 or 2/1 as you say glycol to water mix right now. Won't hurt anything to try maybe I will be successful to some degree.. Cheers!

 

[Alex4mula]

Maybe I am missing something, but can I just put the whole Anvil fermenter in a freezer (assuming I have one already) and control the fermentation cooling with an Inkbird controller? What would be the benefit of the small fridge to cool down the glycol versus having it all inside? I have that Anvil fermenter ordered and should receive soon. Thanks.

 

[NewJersey]

Maybe I am missing something, but can I just put the whole Anvil fermenter in a freezer (assuming I have one already) and control the fermentation cooling with an Inkbird controller? What would be the benefit of the small fridge to cool down the glycol versus having it all inside? I have that Anvil fermenter ordered and should receive soon. Thanks.

people like to overcomplicate things

 

[highland_brewer]

Maybe I am missing something, but can I just put the whole Anvil fermenter in a freezer (assuming I have one already) and control the fermentation cooling with an Inkbird controller? What would be the benefit of the small fridge to cool down the glycol versus having it all inside? I have that Anvil fermenter ordered and should receive soon. Thanks.

The mini fridge is just an attempt to make a glycol chiller, not everyone has the space for a freezer, people might also use a chest of ice like I did in the video. I wanted to test the small fridge aspect to see if it would work. if I were to make a glycol chiller from a window unit, I could see running multiple fermentors off of the same glycol reservoir. Which would take up a lot less space than the same size freezer needed.

After this video, I was able to get the glychol reservoir down to sub freezing temperatures and get the fermentor to 47 degrees.

Based on my experiment with the mini fridge, I think I will definitely be making a glycol chiller out of a window unit so that I can run them multiple fermentors at once at different temperatures, which is something you can't do with a freezer.

Cheers
Brian

 

[Lefou]

people like to overcomplicate things

Maybe ... or they re-engineer what they have on-hand with less expensive parts because it's a challenge.
I give this two thumbs up for ingenuity. It's all about options because not everyone can get those shiny, automated turn-key systems nor do they want them. I'll be looking for that AC window unit video, it will be interesting.

 

[Alex4mula]

The mini fridge is just an attempt to make a glycol chiller, not everyone has the space for a freezer, people might also use a chest of ice like I did in the video. I wanted to test the small fridge aspect to see if it would work. if I were to make a glycol chiller from a window unit, I could see running multiple fermentors off of the same glycol reservoir. Which would take up a lot less space than the same size freezer needed.

After this video, I was able to get the glychol reservoir down to sub freezing temperatures and get the fermentor to 47 degrees.

Based on my experiment with the mini fridge, I think I will definitely be making a glycol chiller out of a window unit so that I can run them multiple fermentors at once at different temperatures, which is something you can't do with a freezer.

Cheers
Brian

Ok. I understand better now and see the other uses. Just wanted to be sure that I was not missing something with my original plan. I am super new to all this so I'm looking to learn. Thanks.

 

[LittleRiver]

You should be able to put a fermentation heater wrap or flexible germination heat mat underneath the neoprene, and plug it into the unused heat channel of the Inkbird. That would give you complete control of temps, even if you ferment in a cold basement or garage. The heat those mats give off is very gentle, and the thermal mass of the fermenter is going to buffer any heat buildup, so unless I'm missing something I can't see a problem with it.

 

[highland_brewer]

You should be able to put a fermentation heater wrap or flexible germination heat mat underneath the neoprene, and plug it into the unused heat channel of the Inkbird. That would give you complete control of temps, even if you ferment in a cold basement or garage. The heat those mats give off is very gentle, and the thermal mass of the fermenter is going to buffer any heat buildup, so unless I'm missing something I can't see a problem with it.

I actually did just that in further testing! And I was able to get the fermenter 12 degrees above the ambient of 65 degrees with a 17.5 watt germination mat like you suggested.

Great suggestion!
Brian

 

[LittleRiver]

Thanks for the review of this chiller. By looking at the size of the coil I would not have expected it to perform well, but it did. For $129 for the complete kit (minus the fermenter, which is also $129), that's pretty tempting for anyone who is thinking about setting up multiple fermenters.

 

[Wildbillpb]

The mini fridge is just an attempt to make a glycol chiller, not everyone has the space for a freezer, people might also use a chest of ice like I did in the video. I wanted to test the small fridge aspect to see if it would work. if I were to make a glycol chiller from a window unit, I could see running multiple fermentors off of the same glycol reservoir. Which would take up a lot less space than the same size freezer needed.

After this video, I was able to get the glychol reservoir down to sub freezing temperatures and get the fermentor to 47 degrees.

Based on my experiment with the mini fridge, I think I will definitely be making a glycol chiller out of a window unit so that I can run them multiple fermentors at once at different temperatures, which is something you can't do with a freezer.

Cheers
Brian

So were you only able to get the fermenter down to 47 degrees with the glycol with below 32 degree temperature? So what were you able to get the temperature down to steadily with ice water? Does the pump run constantly to keep the temperature? My concern is, I do not want to build a glychol chiller, and that coil is tiny, will it be constantly running to keep the temperature down to 50, will it even get down to 50 with ice water? Ambient temperature being around 68 degrees. I am guessing cold crashing in it is out of the question?

Right now I use a temp controlled freezer to control my ferm temps. But I would like to move to a cheap alternative and turn my freezer into a keezer, and get rid of my kegerator. Not sure if the Anvil cooling coil will get me there.

 

[highland_brewer]

Have not tried ice water to get that low. I made some modifications to the mini fridge after the video. I current have a beer "cold crashing" at 47 degrees with the glycol at 30 degrees. I did wind up putting the "freezer" coil down in the reservoir and I am able to hold the 47 degrees (beer temp) without either the fridge or cooling system pump having to run all the time. I did install a wave maker pump in the reservoir to keep the glycol moving all the time. I am currently on the hunt for another fridge on Craigslist to do a complete demo video. It is what seems to me to be a good cheap way to maintain ale temps, While it won't lager, I'm bit disappointed with the performance of it. If you are interested in seeing some of the pics and short videos, I shared quite a bit on Instagram @shortcircuitedbrewer and also on Facebook Facebook.com/shortcircuitedbrewers I will post the video link to the chiller build once I get it done. I do think you could accomplish ale temp control with the mini fridge and only water in the reservoir set to 33 degrees.

Hope that helps
Brian

 

[Wildbillpb]

Have not tried ice water to get that low. I made some modifications to the mini fridge after the video. I current have a beer "cold crashing" at 47 degrees with the glycol at 30 degrees. I did wind up putting the "freezer" coil down in the reservoir and I am able to hold the 47 degrees (beer temp) without either the fridge or cooling system pump having to run all the time. I did install a wave maker pump in the reservoir to keep the glycol moving all the time. I am currently on the hunt for another fridge on Craigslist to do a complete demo video. It is what seems to me to be a good cheap way to maintain ale temps, While it won't lager, I'm bit disappointed with the performance of it. If you are interested in seeing some of the pics and short videos, I shared quite a bit on Instagram @shortcircuitedbrewer and also on Facebook Facebook.com/shortcircuitedbrewers I will post the video link to the chiller build once I get it done. I do think you could accomplish ale temp control with the mini fridge and only water in the reservoir set to 33 degrees.

Hope that helps
Brian

Yeah I watched a few of the videos. My concern was how much it would run, because that coil is small, and how low it could keep a temperature consistently. If I can get it down to the low 50s to ferment then I can lager in a keg.

 

[yowzers]

Good review. I love Anvil stuff. I've been using a similar cooling coil from a different company because they make one that fits my Fermonster. www.ballandkeg.com
I've been able to lager down in the high 40's quite nicely using ice jugs. I find that two liter ice jugs are better than buying ice and I only have to change one out every 12 to 24 hours depending on whether I'm doing Ale or Lager temps. I would say that I definitely insulate my fermenter better than you did with the Anvil jacket. I wrap the whole fermenter in an old blanket. That seems to make a difference. You might want to try that to achieve lower temps with your 32 F glycol.

 

[WesBrew]

thanks for the review. I was thinking about a cool zone or brew jacket but they are too pricey. this one will fit my anvil 7.5 and I wont have to go back to cleaning out the annoying carboy. giving it a shot with the bucket of ice to supply chill.
I have a kegerator/fridge that can sometimes be used for temp controlled fermenting, BUT ITS FULL OF BEER!

 

[Tyler Hurst]

thanks for the review. I was thinking about a cool zone or brew jacket but they are too pricey. this one will fit my anvil 7.5 and I wont have to go back to cleaning out the annoying carboy. giving it a shot with the bucket of ice to supply chill.
I have a kegerator/fridge that can sometimes be used for temp controlled fermenting, BUT ITS FULL OF BEER!

I am actually using my serving keezer (kept at 36*F) to cool my reservoir for my anvil bucket fermenter cooling kit. I just got it and haven’t been able to test it out yet.
I have the fermenter wrapped in a heating wrap and the jacket with a 10”(H)x4”(W)x12”(D) waste basket filled with water in the keezer. I have sanitized freezer bags that come from meal delivery kits (filled with sodium Polyacrylate) which I plan to change out daily with the rest of the reservoir filled with water. I’m asking, would t make sense to add a 2:1 water to glycol ratio for this set up if my reservoir temp will never be below freezing or just continue to use water? Also does anyone foresee any problems with this besides the fact that I won’t be able to keep more than 2 kegs in my keezer afterwards?

 

[highland_brewer]

I am actually using my serving keezer (kept at 36*F) to cool my reservoir for my anvil bucket fermenter cooling kit. I just got it and haven’t been able to test it out yet.
I have the fermenter wrapped in a heating wrap and the jacket with a 10”(H)x4”(W)x12”(D) waste basket filled with water in the keezer. I have sanitized freezer bags that come from meal delivery kits (filled with sodium Polyacrylate) which I plan to change out daily with the rest of the reservoir filled with water. I’m asking, would t make sense to add a 2:1 water to glycol ratio for this set up if my reservoir temp will never be below freezing or just continue to use water? Also does anyone foresee any problems with this besides the fact that I won’t be able to keep more than 2 kegs in my keezer afterwards?

If you're not dropping below freezing I don't see a reason to use glycol. I would just use distilled water.

 

[Tyler Hurst]

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate your videos. I’ve learned a lot from you about electric brewing. Since I don’t plan on lagering and use the same keezer (at 36F) for cold crashing, I think this will work nicely.

 

[highland_brewer]

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate your videos. I’ve learned a lot from you about electric brewing. Since I don’t plan on lagering and use the same keezer (at 36F) for cold crashing, I think this will work nicely.

Sure! Thanks for the comments!

 

[BassBeer]

Thanks for the great review. I'm considering buying the fermenter and cooling system, but curious: has anyone had success holding temperatures in the high 40's-low 50's with the cooler and ice water method? I mainly want this so I can step up my lager game. Thanks

 

[yowzers]

Thanks for the great review. I'm considering buying the fermenter and cooling system, but curious: has anyone had success holding temperatures in the high 40's-low 50's with the cooler and ice water method? I mainly want this so I can step up my lager game. Thanks

I don't use the Anvil system, but I use a similar coil from www.ballandkeg.com. With good insulation on my fermenter (a blanket wrap), I've been able to maintain mid-40's temps in the summer when my house is in the mid to high 70's. I go through two Ice jugs per day (2 liter jugs) to maintain these temps. Their system is quite a bit cheaper and may fit your current fermenter if you want to try it. You do have to buy a controller and pump separately.

 

[WesBrew]

I’ve been fermenting a lager with it for the last 10 days at 60 degrees (Florida). The controller and pump work perfect. You are only limited by your ability to supply cold cooling water. I have only a small 2 gallon cube cooler and been swapping out frozen 1/2 gal bottles of water 3x a day. Struggled with the cooler first few days buts it’s going great now. Have to completely wrap that cooler to keep water colder longer. I have the fermenter overfilled nearly 7 gallons beer, when I can keep the cooler water in the low 40s , when the pump turns on, it cools the beer pretty fast, .5 degrees 15 minutes , less time when water is in the 30s

 

[WesBrew]

This would have been easier with a 5 plus gallon cooler full of ice. now that my ice/cooler game is improved, going to see if I can drop to low 50s for a while. Still limited by small cooler.

 

[BassBeer]

Yowzers what size cooler are you using and about how much water? I don’t mind swapping out frozen water bottles if that will keep the temp in the 40s. My ambient temp is about 66 so seems like this should work great.

 

[Tyler Hurst]

In using mine I would suggest a large water reservoir with large amount of ice. Expect to change it frequently at first as the temp is dropping and less once you are just maintaining. I use other cooling sources like (sanitized) ice packs which won’t melt as quickly which has been successful for me. I keep a reservoir in my keezer (@36F) with ice packs in it which last about a week once I’m maintaining after getting to my set temp. The lower the temp of course the faster the degradation of your cooling medium.

 

[WesBrew]

Got it down to 55 last night no problem but temp didn’t hold over night. The cooling water got too warm. The pump running longer (I’m sure puts off a little heat) and undersized cooler just wouldn’t work

 

[WesBrew]

In using mine I would suggest a large water reservoir with large amount of ice. Expect to change it frequently at first as the temp is dropping and less once you are just maintaining. I use other cooling sources like (sanitized) ice packs which won’t melt as quickly which has been successful for me. I keep a reservoir in my keezer (@36F) with ice packs in it which last about a week once I’m maintaining after getting to my set temp. The lower the temp of course the faster the degradation of your cooling medium.

Hmmm. Maybe I could use my mini keg as reservoir in the kegerator, run lines out to the fermenter. No more cooler hassles if it’s doable

 

[yowzers]

Yowzers what size cooler are you using and about how much water? I don’t mind swapping out frozen water bottles if that will keep the temp in the 40s. My ambient temp is about 66 so seems like this should work great.

I use one of those styrofoam coolers that come from Omaha Steaks. I punched holes in it for the silicone lines in and out of the cooler so I can leave the lid on. I only put a gallon or so of water in the bottom (3 inches) or just enough to cover the submersible fountain pump I bought from Lowes. Two, two liter jugs of ice will last 24 hours when I'm lagering in the low to mid-50's, but I insulate my fermenter well with a blanket. My blanket may be much better than the Anvil insultation as that doesn't even cover the top of the fermenter. Again, I'm not using the Anvil system (using the cooler from www.ballandkeg.com) so maybe my fountain pump is better, not sure. Mine is rated at 80 GPH flow. Also, my water in the cooler is right around 32 to 34 F once I have it running so I don't understand why folks are having issues getting the cooling water down to close to freezing temps. Maybe my cheap ass styrofoam cooler is better and the small amount of water I use is easier to cool down.

 

[WesBrew]

Must be the cheap ass cooler, I cant maintain anywhere near that with my crappy cube

 

[BassBeer]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m going to try running the pump inside my chest freezer in a bowl with some water so I don’t have to worry about swapping ice or frozen bottles. The freezer hovers right around 33 so should be plenty cold. I’ll report back when I get there.

 

[WesBrew]

I use one of those styrofoam coolers that come from Omaha Steaks. I punched holes in it for the silicone lines in and out of the cooler so I can leave the lid on. I only put a gallon or so of water in the bottom (3 inches) or just enough to cover the submersible fountain pump I bought from Lowes. Two, two liter jugs of ice will last 24 hours when I'm lagering in the low to mid-50's, but I insulate my fermenter well with a blanket. My blanket may be much better than the Anvil insultation as that doesn't even cover the top of the fermenter. Again, I'm not using the Anvil system (using the cooler from www.ballandkeg.com) so maybe my fountain pump is better, not sure. Mine is rated at 80 GPH flow. Also, my water in the cooler is right around 32 to 34 F once I have it running so I don't understand why folks are having issues getting the cooling water down to close to freezing temps. Maybe my cheap ass styrofoam cooler is better and the small amount of water I use is easier to cool down.

good call on that. I got some reflectix and wrapped the fermentor (over the coat) its now taking 4.5 hours for the beer to rise 2 degrees. that is way better. also got a $4 styrofoam cooler @ publix and ran water lines through side. I'm sure I was loosing temp with the other cooler with the lid not sitting flush, even with towels shoved in there. going good at 53 degrees so far. cooler water temp in 30's for 6 hours so far. maybe go down to 50 tonight.

 

[BassBeer]

I’m curious how often everyone is having to swap out ice? Right now I’ve got my temp set to 52F and my cooler of ice/water (no lid) in my serving chest freezer (~36F). I have to change the ice once every 18-24 hours to maintain temp. Wondering if I’d be better off using the coolers insulating abitlities outside of the chest freezer? Maybe the ice would last longer in the sealed cooler? What are you guys experiencing? Thanks!

 

[augiedoggy]

If you're not dropping below freezing I don't see a reason to use glycol. I would just use distilled water.

the glycol also helps keep the water from getting slimy and nasty...

 

[WesBrew]

I’m curious how often everyone is having to swap out ice? Right now I’ve got my temp set to 52F and my cooler of ice/water (no lid) in my serving chest freezer (~36F). I have to change the ice once every 18-24 hours to maintain temp. Wondering if I’d be better off using the coolers insulating abitlities outside of the chest freezer? Maybe the ice would last longer in the sealed cooler? What are you guys experiencing? Thanks!

I used frozen jugs of water which I don't think is as effective as filling the cooler with ice. (used 3 juice jugs) I had to change them 2-3x a day when I lagered at 50-52degrees.

 

[yowzers]

I’m curious how often everyone is having to swap out ice? Right now I’ve got my temp set to 52F and my cooler of ice/water (no lid) in my serving chest freezer (~36F). I have to change the ice once every 18-24 hours to maintain temp. Wondering if I’d be better off using the coolers insulating abitlities outside of the chest freezer? Maybe the ice would last longer in the sealed cooler? What are you guys experiencing? Thanks!

I'm using a styrofoam cooler with the lines run through the side as I mentioned above. When I was lagering last summer I needed to swap out 2 to 3 2-liter ice jugs per day. I'd usually put one or two in in the morning and then do one in the evening. As I've mentioned before, I don't have the Anvil system so I insulate my fermenter with a heavy blanket. That may be more effective than the Anvil jacket.

 

[rmchair]

Hmm, did you say you are hooking the mini fridge up to the temp controller instead of just letting it run? I'd leave the fridge with the cool water going nonstop and only hook the pump to the controller. I'd also toss a couple ice bottles in the reservoir to turbo boost.

Another notion is to use an old copper immersion coil in the reservoir. I'm not sure if that's better than simply cooling the water in a bucket inside the fridge, but it seems more cool. And, bonus, it gives the copper coil a new purpose. It allows the pump heat to stay out of the water. Some engineer can probably figure the difference in recovery time for hot water mixing with cool versus letting the cool water cool the copper.

Lastly, will one of those $100 ice makers spit out enough ice to make this work? One I saw at worst buy said it used the meltwater to make new ice. I've never used one. Thatd be pretty slick if it could keep up.