I have the SS Brewtech 7 gallon unitank. I've been using a bodged together glycol system using a chest freezer and a pond pump. I opened the freezer yesterday after doing several batches and several months to find the thing had been condensing water and growing funky stuff.
This setup was only a stop gap. The chest freezer was my fermentation chamber prior to purchasing the conical. I was just making due. Now with my newfound biological experiment it's time to do something better.
I had been leaning towards a glycol chiller setup. I know one of the versatile parts about a chiller is that you can run more than one conical on it. But, I have been doing 5 gallon batches for 5 years, don't share much beer, and find doing single batches for variety suits me just fine. I don't foresee the need to do bigger batches or multiple fermenters in my future.
After monkeying around with the glycol setup I had, dealing with condensation on the conical, and not being able to crash cool below about 42 degrees, I'm wondering if I should just switch to a refrigerator setup. I am interested in a limited footprint to fit in my bar area. Also, the idea of another old refrigerator in the house sends my wife up a wall.
Has anybody tried one of these kinds of units? I've always lusted after a glass door refrigerator with lighting to show off the conical. I like the idea that I don't have to worry about dust, dog fur, and condensation with something like this. I know commercial units can have some noise, but so do all the glycol systems out there. At $810 plus shipping it is competitive with a glycol system.
I'm also a little concerned that it seems to have an electronic temp control on it. I would want to control based on the thermowell on the conical. Any ideas how hard it would be to hack the thing to run the cooling off an Inkbird or STC 1000?
As usual, any help or advice would be much appreciated.
This setup was only a stop gap. The chest freezer was my fermentation chamber prior to purchasing the conical. I was just making due. Now with my newfound biological experiment it's time to do something better.
I had been leaning towards a glycol chiller setup. I know one of the versatile parts about a chiller is that you can run more than one conical on it. But, I have been doing 5 gallon batches for 5 years, don't share much beer, and find doing single batches for variety suits me just fine. I don't foresee the need to do bigger batches or multiple fermenters in my future.
After monkeying around with the glycol setup I had, dealing with condensation on the conical, and not being able to crash cool below about 42 degrees, I'm wondering if I should just switch to a refrigerator setup. I am interested in a limited footprint to fit in my bar area. Also, the idea of another old refrigerator in the house sends my wife up a wall.
Has anybody tried one of these kinds of units? I've always lusted after a glass door refrigerator with lighting to show off the conical. I like the idea that I don't have to worry about dust, dog fur, and condensation with something like this. I know commercial units can have some noise, but so do all the glycol systems out there. At $810 plus shipping it is competitive with a glycol system.
I'm also a little concerned that it seems to have an electronic temp control on it. I would want to control based on the thermowell on the conical. Any ideas how hard it would be to hack the thing to run the cooling off an Inkbird or STC 1000?
As usual, any help or advice would be much appreciated.