Aquarium chiller for FTSs

[Razorback_Jack]

Hello again, friends!

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in this tough time. My question is about keeping ferm temps down in my garage. I live in Ft Worth, so we’re talking cooling here, not heating... at least for the coming several months. I might address heating next winter if I need to. I usually only do ales, so trying to achieve a temp of 65-68 constantly, but might be interested in lagering... eventually. Let’s focus on ale temps for now.

So I’ve got a 7 gallon Brewtech Chronical fermenter, and the FTSs in the lid. I have a small dedicated cooler that holds plenty of water to submerge the FTSs pump, and I can also put a couple frozen bottles in it to keep cool. However, when it gets closer to Hades-hot this summer, I would like not to have to switch out water bottles twice a day. So I’m thinking about a (very) inexpensive aquarium chiller, such as the one here:
Active Aqua AACH10HP Water Chiller Cooling System, 1/10 HP

I’m not exactly sure how people do this. Keep my FTSs pump submerged in the cooler (cooler, not chiller...), with tubing connected to the chiller? Then, chiller set 65-68 (ales) and tubing connected from its “out” going to my FTSs coils in fermenter lid? Then the coil’s drain tube going back into the cooler? So the order is... Pump in cooler, going to chiller, going to coils, then back to cooler?

With that setup, I don’t understand how the FTSs temp probe works in conjunction with the chiller. The FTSs pump turns on when the ferm temp goes too high, and starts pumping water into the chiller that then gets pushed into the cooling coils in my beer? Or do I have to make the pump work continuously, pushing water at a constant rate, and the chiller only kicks in when the temp probe senses too high of a temperature?

Would the 1/10 HP chiller even work in this case? Ambient in my garage probably gets to the 90’s, but I don’t really think it reaches the 100’s, I’ve never measured. Not cold crashing, and like I said not lagering yet, just ales.

I appreciate the advice, always! My title says “Well-known member,” but that’s only because I ask a lot of questions. I’m really just a noob!

Cheers,
Jackson

 

[Jtvann]

I considered the same a while back. From my understanding, it will work fine for maintaining ale temps. Lagers might be possible as well. Cold crashing not at all.

You could maintain above 32 degree temp in your water. A 10 to 15 degree temp differential is all you need. The cooler has it's set point to maintain the reservoir temp. You need the ftss temp probe in your fermenter that controls your pump.

Not sure if I answered all your questions. It's not perfect or the most efficient. Multiple vessels or large vessels that wont fit in a fermentation chamber are really the only reason to get a ftss type system. That or just cool factor and tinkering to have fun. My old fridge used to have enough room for 2 Ss brew buckets and could cold crash as low as the freezing point of the beer.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

I get that, just honestly don’t have room for another fridge or ferm chamber. I still don’t get how the pump works in coordination with the aquarium chiller. I know the probe in the thermowell controls the pump, but don’t know how to coordinate between cooler and chiller.

Thanks and cheers!

 

[Jtvann]

I get that, just honestly don’t have room for another fridge or ferm chamber. I still don’t get how the pump works in coordination with the aquarium chiller. I know the probe in the thermowell controls the pump, but don’t know how to coordinate between cooler and chiller.

Thanks and cheers!

You dont have to coordinate between the two. The chiller has a set temp range. Once it falls outside that it turns on. Say 32-35. When it gets to 36, it will cool to 32 and turn off.

The fermenter has it's own set point, say 68. They are basically 2 independent units. The chiller maintains it's cold temp by itself without any feedback from the fermenter. The fermenter turns on regardless of what the chiller is set to. The fermenter relies on the chiller being cold, but it doesn't care. Itll pump water even if its warm.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

That makes sense, thanks! Still wondering, though, is the pump still placed in a separate cooler, or in the chiller somehow? What’s the purpose having two reservoirs of water?

 

[Keith81]

You would need 2 pumps, one for the FTSs and one for the chiller. You would have 4 lines going into the cooler: one set for circulating through the FTSs and the other set to circulate through the chiller.

 

[Keith81]

I just re-read your original post and a few things popped up in my mind. You said you have a small cooler and use a couple frozen water bottles. Those two factors could be upgraded, volume is your friend when swapping ice bottles. I use a 48 quart cooler filled as full as I can and still fit frozen gallon jugs. My heat load isn't nearly as much as yours because I ferment in a 70 degree basement but I only use 1 jug per day during the first few days of fermentation and then I can stretch it to 1 jug every other day. You probably couldn't get by using 1 jug but my cooler will fit 3 if I would need to. Also consider insulating the tubing for the FTSs if you haven't already and I also made a Reflectix wrap around my fermenter that fits under the neoprene jacket.

 

[CodeSection]

Here are a couple of videos of a guy just south of me here in AZ regarding using an aquarium chiller... and .

I was in your position when I first started reading about chillers. The more I read, the more I realized I would spend all that money on an aquarium chiller that was limited in options and that I would soon outgrow. I ended up buying an Icemaster 100 from MoreBeer when it went on sale.

Here is another thread you might find useful. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...servoir-at-or-below-fermentation-temp.667031/

Good luck with your search!

 

[Razorback_Jack]

I just re-read your original post and a few things popped up in my mind. You said you have a small cooler and use a couple frozen water bottles. Those two factors could be upgraded, volume is your friend when swapping ice bottles. I use a 48 quart cooler filled as full as I can and still fit frozen gallon jugs. My heat load isn't nearly as much as yours because I ferment in a 70 degree basement but I only use 1 jug per day during the first few days of fermentation and then I can stretch it to 1 jug every other day. You probably couldn't get by using 1 jug but my cooler will fit 3 if I would need to. Also consider insulating the tubing for the FTSs if you haven't already and I also made a Reflectix wrap around my fermenter that fits under the neoprene jacket.

It sounds like I could possibly, POSSIBLY get by without the chiller, at least until temps get into the 100’s here in TX

 

[verboten]

I used a 1/10 chiller in my uninsulated garage and could maintain temps on 3 fermenters with a 50 quart cooler reservoir. I upgraded to a 1/4 hp chiller and it was able to get the reservoir to 34 degrees and I crashed 1 fermenter at a time at about 40 degrees.
I have now purchased an ice master 100