Grainfather Glycol Chiller

[porter1974]

Could it really finally be available!!

https://www.austinhomebrew.com/The-Grainfather-Glycol-Chiller_p_8190.html

 

[augiedoggy]

Just some interesting data to put this in perspective for anyone who might care.

At 300w its equal to a smaller aquarium chiller in power. actually its about a 1/10th hp chiller.... They normally sell new for about $400.
I thought all the chilling controls were wrapped into the cost of the conicals themselves with the hardware residing there short of a dc pump in the chiller but if this unit houses the individual temp controls and pumps for each fermenter that could help justify the high cost.

Still its interesting that grainfather sells such a small power chiller for 4 conicals when ss brewtech and the like sell 1/5 through 3/4hp versions.
its literally half the size of the smallest chiller currently marketed for homebrewing.

and according to ssbrewtech the 1/5hp chiller at double the size of grainfathers, can only control temps on up to 3 5-7gallon conicals? why such a huge difference? is the grainfathers system efficiency that much better? they do have double walled insulated jackets so maybe?
https://www.ssbrewtech.com/products...rMixIPKPkdzF2szndb6gPgFWIQ9gw27BoCoIcQAvD_BwE

 

[porter1974]

I am kind of torn. I do love the Grainfather fermenter because the heating and cooling is built in. That’s a plus over the ssbrewtech fermenters. And as I have 2 Grainfather fermenters I am kind of locked in.

Parts aren’t easy to come by though. I had to order some replacement o rings from a home brew shop in NZ. Grainfather customer service can be slow too but they have actually sent me parts at no charge.

There stuff isn’t cheap but it’s pretty well thought out. I wouldn’t blame someone for going in the ssbrewtech direction though.

 

[augiedoggy]

I am kind of torn. I do love the Grainfather fermenter because the heating and cooling is built in. That’s a plus over the ssbrewtech fermenters. And as I have 2 Grainfather fermenters I am kind of locked in.

Parts aren’t easy to come by though. I had to order some replacement o rings from a home brew shop in NZ. Grainfather customer service can be slow too but they have actually sent me parts at no charge.

There stuff isn’t cheap but it’s pretty well thought out. I wouldn’t blame someone for going in the ssbrewtech direction though.

My comments werent meant as a ss brewtech vs grainfather but rather why does grainfather sell a chiller thats literally half the cooling power at more cost and then advertise it as powerful enough to do more work than the chiller thats twice as powerful sold by SS? Something doesnt add up, either ss brewtech is grossly underrating their chillers or the ssbrewtech fermenters are grossly inferior at holding temps/insulation vs the grainfather...

grainfather was smart to make their components in a way were a customer would not be able to get the full benefit of using their plug in play temp controllers and dc pumps without buying their extremely high markup components as in this case with such a tiny aquarium chiller costing so much.

Its really a large discrepancy between chiller power though.

I use a 1/3hp chiller at home to chill 4 conicals myself I think a 1/10th hp chiller would be running constantly to do the job on all 4.

 

[Zwebra]

I'm quite new to this topic, but have anyone tried UBC glycol chillers Homebrew Glycol Chillers | Conical Fermenter Glycol Chillers ? Also, how many hp is it better to look for chilling 4 conicals?

 

[augiedoggy]

I'm quite new to this topic, but have anyone tried UBC glycol chillers Homebrew Glycol Chillers | Conical Fermenter Glycol Chillers ? Also, how many hp is it better to look for chilling 4 conicals?

I have 2 setups... 4 conicals at home 3 of them are 12-13 gallon and one 7.3gallon. I have a 1/3 hp chiller and its more than enough to control all four at once. (I got the chiller free from work where it was being replaced along with new related equipment. IMO any 1/4hp or larger chiller should be able to handle 4 14 gallon conicals with ease but there are other factors such as ambient and insulation. and most homebrewing setups are vastly under insulated because it effects cosmetic bling factor.

At the brewpub we have 4 110 gallon plastic conicals with 50ft stainless coils inside for cooling. Believe it or not we use a single 1/3hp micromatic chiller for all four conicals and although this does limit us to only being able to cold crash one conical at a time down to 40 degrees before transferring to a brite, it works very well. If I had a choice Id probably go with a 2/3hp unit but the price was right on the $220 dollar 2 year old chiller at a local auction.

BTW this is kind of an odd first post...