snowman_fs
Well-Known Member
I'm fishing for feedback.
I have a thought/want to build an "inside-out" fermentation temperature control system. Using a temperature controller, peristaltic pump and either an air-to-liquid (it's winter) or liquid-to-liquid chiller for a loop that gently pumps the beer from the fermenter, to the chiller and back to the fermenter. Maybe only for the first 5-7 days of primary, until I typically transfer to a secondary/conditioning keg anyway. The fermenter jacket I have just seems too slow to drive temps down quickly and an interior coil seems like a CIP issue. Besides, I think I can use the same chiller for fermentation control as I do for wort chilling.
If I put the suction dip tube just under the liquid level and the return 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of the fermenter I figure it's worth some playing with. The return temperature (with variable flow rate) could be modulated to achieve either the chilled return temperature desired or the general fermenter setpoint I want. I'm thinking for the first few days I'd use the fermenter setpoint for control and a high flow recirculation rate but then switch to a return temperature control strategy when things slow down.
The risk of plugging seems minimal as I would use a full bore counterflow stainless interior coil, and I think there is a significant benefit to overall thermal control with a heat exchanger. I don't think sanitization and O2 exposure will be a problem since it's a sealed fermenter and I can PBW circ the whole setup prior to brew day and leave the chiller connected from boil to the end of primary fermentation.
Thoughts?
I have a thought/want to build an "inside-out" fermentation temperature control system. Using a temperature controller, peristaltic pump and either an air-to-liquid (it's winter) or liquid-to-liquid chiller for a loop that gently pumps the beer from the fermenter, to the chiller and back to the fermenter. Maybe only for the first 5-7 days of primary, until I typically transfer to a secondary/conditioning keg anyway. The fermenter jacket I have just seems too slow to drive temps down quickly and an interior coil seems like a CIP issue. Besides, I think I can use the same chiller for fermentation control as I do for wort chilling.
If I put the suction dip tube just under the liquid level and the return 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of the fermenter I figure it's worth some playing with. The return temperature (with variable flow rate) could be modulated to achieve either the chilled return temperature desired or the general fermenter setpoint I want. I'm thinking for the first few days I'd use the fermenter setpoint for control and a high flow recirculation rate but then switch to a return temperature control strategy when things slow down.
The risk of plugging seems minimal as I would use a full bore counterflow stainless interior coil, and I think there is a significant benefit to overall thermal control with a heat exchanger. I don't think sanitization and O2 exposure will be a problem since it's a sealed fermenter and I can PBW circ the whole setup prior to brew day and leave the chiller connected from boil to the end of primary fermentation.
Thoughts?