Spike Conical- observations and best practices

[mongoose33]

I'm sorry but I don't see what the Kräusen has to do with you inadvertently setting a spunding pressure of 40 PSI or thereabouts and the fermenter then blowing up before that pressure is reached.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how on earth you think I'd be so stupid so as to set a spunding valve to 40 psi. Can you give me a clue as to why you'd think that?

 

[Stand]

The Spike Manifold seems really neat, but the Blichmann one has an integrated spunding valve. Anybody used this? https://www.blichmannengineering.com/spunding-valve.html

My current spunding valve is hard to control and I have to swap tri-clamp fittings to switch to CO2. I've never used the spunding valve set on anything other than 15PSI, so it might be a meaningless feature over a PRV. Thoughts?

 

[Blazinlow86]

I'm sorry, but I don't see how on earth you think I'd be so stupid so as to set a spunding valve to 40 psi. Can you give me a clue as to why you'd think that?

Accidents happen. That's why there called accidents. Cheers

 

[Blazinlow86]

The Spike Manifold seems really neat, but the Blichmann one seems like it's got more features. Anybody used this? https://www.blichmannengineering.com/spunding-valve.html

Right now I have to swap things out to add CO2. My current spunding valve is hard to control.

Looks ok but not sure how you would attach that to the spike without removing the safety prv unless I missed it having its own 15 psi safety release? Cheers

 

[Stand]

Looks ok but not sure how you would attach that to the spike without removing the safety prv unless I missed it having its own 15 psi safety release? Cheers

I don't think it has one, but if I'm seeing it right that looks like a blowoff attachment hose barb. I was thinking start it at 0PSI and leave it in place the whole time. I can adjust it up to 10-12 PSI with CO2 and then let it finish fermenting. Dunno though.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I don't think it has one, but if I'm seeing it right that looks like a blowoff attachment hose barb. I was thinking start it at 0PSI and leave it in place the whole time. I can adjust it up to 10-12 PSI with CO2 and then let it finish fermenting. Dunno though.

It would work the way your describing but your then giving up the safety feature that prevents blowing the lid off your unitank and getting the ability to add gas without removing your spunding valve. Not a great trade off imo. Cheers

 

[Stand]

It would work the way your describing but your then giving up the safety feature that prevents blowing the lid off your unitank and getting the ability to add gas without removing your spunding valve. Not a great trade off imo. Cheers

It has a ball-lock for gas, so you can do that. PRV would be nice, but a good spunding valve should do everything a PRV does and more. I guess the question is convenience (always set to 15 psi) vs. control (you have to find the right pressure which introduces margin of error).

I don't know that the control is worth it. I take it the PRVs are factory set? How accurate are they? They protect against vacuum?

I just saw this at the bottom of the page for Spike Manifold:

**Our gas manifold is not designed as a spunding valve/for use during pressure fermentation https://spikebrewing.com/products/flex-gas-manifold

 

[Blazinlow86]

It has a ball-lock for gas, so you can do that. PRV would be nice, but a good spunding valve should do everything a PRV does and more. I guess the question is convenience (always set to 15 psi) vs. control (you have to find the right pressure which introduces margin of error).

I don't know that the control is worth it. I take it the PRVs are factory set? How accurate are they? They protect against vacuum?

I just saw this at the bottom of the page for Spike Manifold:

**Our gas manifold is not designed as a spunding valve/for use during pressure fermentation https://spikebrewing.com/products/flex-gas-manifold

I don't think your understanding the difference between a spunding valve and the spike manifolds prv. The prv is required to safely seal up the cf5/10/15. Without it you could accidently over charge the vessel and destroy it and possibly injury yourself. A spunding valve can be used **in combination** with the spike manifold including the prv to allow adjustable control under 15psi but never above it. Hopefully that makes sense. Cheers

 

[Stand]

I don't think your understanding the difference between a spunding valve and the spike manifolds prv. The prv is required to safely seal up the cf5/10/15. Without it you could accidently over charge the vessel and destroy it and possibly injury yourself. A spunding valve can be used **in combination** with the spike manifold including the prv to allow adjustable control under 15psi but never above it. Hopefully that makes sense. Cheers

I get that. It's what I meant when I mentioned the margin of error. If it is accurate though a spunding valve is just an adjustable PRV.

I mostly use spunding valve after dry hopping or with 5 gravity points remaining, so there isn't as much potential for problems as for someone doing a pressure fermentation.

Always a good idea to be safe.

 

[CodeSection]

I think I'm understanding more. Spunding stops when the beer is cold crash to, in my case, 36F. Would it be better to start spunding at 7-8 points remaining to achieve a slight higher CO2 level? Or is there a certain value (say 5-7 points) that give maximum levels and anything about those points would have a negative affect on the yeast....thus, jeopardizing estimated FG?

 

[mongoose33]

Accidents happen. That's why there called accidents. Cheers

I suppose it's a worthwhile general warning; I never use something like that without validating it first. Same with a spunding valve when I'm pressure transferring to keg. I set it and check it.

Can't understand why everyone wouldn't do that, but it is what it is.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I suppose it's a worthwhile general warning; I never use something like that without validating it first. Same with a spunding valve when I'm pressure transferring to keg. I set it and check it.

Can't understand why everyone wouldn't do that, but it is what it is.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one mongoose. I have the prv and spunding valve I use together. What would the advantage be of removing the prv and using the spunding valve only?

 

[Stand]

I think I'm understanding more. Spunding stops when the beer is cold crash to, in my case, 36F. Would it be better to start spunding at 7-8 points remaining to achieve a slight higher CO2 level? Or is there a certain value (say 5-7 points) that give maximum levels and anything about those points would have a negative affect on the yeast....thus, jeopardizing estimated FG?

I have heard that fermenting under pressure reduces ester production. I do more Belgian beers than anything else, so this is not desirable for me.

I spund with 5 points remaining mostly to avoid suckback when cold crashing and get a jump on carbonation because I keg under pressure.

Most of this is O2 mitigation.

 

[mongoose33]

We will have to agree to disagree on this one mongoose. I have the prv and spunding valve I use together. What would the advantage be of removing the prv and using the spunding valve only?

The advantage is to get the maximum allowable pressure, esp. if the PRV releases at a lower level. I close up the fermenter when there's about 5-7 points left and let it self-carbonate. But I can't get close to full carbonation because the PRV releases lower than I'd like.

Nothing more than that.

 

[Blazinlow86]

The advantage is to get the maximum allowable pressure, esp. if the PRV releases at a lower level. I close up the fermenter when there's about 5-7 points left and let it self-carbonate. But I can't get close to full carbonation because the PRV releases lower than I'd like.

Nothing more than that.

I guess if your trying to push it past the 15 psi maximum allowable pressure than that's a option. I highly doubt that it will take anywhere near the psi required to naturally spund to full carbonation without a epic explosion however therefore it still seems a odd way to go. Cheers

 

[mongoose33]

I guess if your trying to push it past the 15 psi maximum allowable pressure than that's a option. I highly doubt that it will take anywhere near the psi required to naturally spund to full carbonation without a epic explosion however therefore it still seems a odd way to go. Cheers

Well, it's not warranted past 15psi, though if I were fermenting a lager at 50 degrees....17 psi would get me about 2.5 volumes. But once one decides to go outside Spike's parameters, one is flying solo.

 

[Vale71]

I'm sorry, but I don't see how on earth you think I'd be so stupid so as to set a spunding valve to 40 psi. Can you give me a clue as to why you'd think that?

I never said you're stupid. People do make mistakes and those mistakes can sometimes be deadly. I also don't think it's that difficult to set a cheap spunding valve that has no visible scale to the wrong pressure and by the time you notice that it might be too late.

The only really stupid people IMHO are those who think, "This can never happen to me, I'm too smart for that!"

Plese do everyone a favor and if you're going to operate your equipment in an inherently unsafe manner at least do make sure that you're the only person who could be hurt if something were to go wrong.

 

[eric19312]

OK so first kegging attempt did not go smoothly. CF15 fully carbed 34F 15PSI. Had not been dumped since day 2 of fermentation so had all the yeast and all the dry hops (a pound of dry hops). Kegs were purged and pressurized. Probably about 55F I didn't chill them but was pretty cold day. My spunding valve (the DIY one I've had for years but not used in a long time) did not seem to be working.

I was fighting junk at beginning. My inline filter filled up and I had to stop and dump it. Twice. I finally decided to dump the yeast and hops and sprayed myself and the garage with 15 PSI green goo. After the dumping/spraying I still had issues and decided to try without the inline filter. Managed to get the beer flowing and went ok from there. Used the kegs prvs to bleed off pressure. Only got about 12-13 gallons (out of half barrel batch) into kegs based on weight.

So plan for next brew...
1. I took care to leave most of my kettle hops in the kettle. Meant less beer in the fermentor but so be it.
2. Dump a small amount of break on day 2. Thinking 1 quart.
3. Wait for fermentation to end. Harvest 1-2 quarts yeast.
4. Dry hop with some priming sugar to get to 15 PSI at 65F. The sugar is to get a secondary fermentation to clean up any O2 that gets in with the dry hops.
5. Cold crash
6. Dump the dry hops.
7. Carbonate cold to 3 volumes with stone
8. Keg into purged, pressurized, chilled kegs with new blowtie spunding valve ordered this morning.

OR maybe I will skip the natural fermentation part and crash to 55 to drop the yeast and harvest it. Then Dry hop at 55 for 2-3 days. Then crash to 30 to drop the dry hops and get rid of them before carbonating and kegging.

 

[mongoose33]

I never said you're stupid. People do make mistakes and those mistakes can sometimes be deadly. I also don't think it's that difficult to set a cheap spunding valve that has no visible scale to the wrong pressure and by the time you notice that it might be too late.

The only really stupid people IMHO are those who think, "This can never happen to me, I'm too smart for that!"

Plese do everyone a favor and if you're going to operate your equipment in an inherently unsafe manner at least do make sure that you're the only person who could be hurt if something were to go wrong.

Your arrogance and insolence are noted.

 

[Stand]

I have had good luck dry hopping in a hop spider and using various filters to keep material at bay. I have never hopped free and dumped, but I know some people do that with success.

Biggest problem I see is 34 degrees at 15psi. That is some very carbonated beer.

I aim for like 8psi at 34 degrees and turn regulator to 15psi while kegging to push it out with a spunding valve set to 8psi bleeding off the keg.

If you monitor fermentation it is fairly easy to dry hop right at the end of fermentation. That should do well for scavenging without restarting fermentation. I worry about diacetyle with adding priming sugar.

I honestly don't know how the yeast life cycle is going to proceed under those conditions, but it sounds like you are doing something similar to bottle conditioning which is going to require you to extend the fermentation. I can't say it's bad; I just can't see why I would.

When I throw hops in I just do it at end of primary with CO2 flowing into the vessel.

It isn't as perfect a solution as people with those special chambers to vent, but it works pretty well.

I use campden with my IPAs to help deal with O2.

 

[Vale71]

Your arrogance and insolence are noted.

It's way too often exactly because of same the idiotic attitude towards safety that you've expressed here that so many people every day all over the world have totally avoidable accidents in the workplace. Please do make sure that the only person that could be injured as a result is yourself and stop making stupid, irresponsible suggestions (on the level of "It's OK to disable safety features on dangerous equipment, it's no big deal") on this or any other forum that could put other people's lives at risk if they were to be followed. There's really no excuse for this kind of recklessness and in my eyes you lose any right at respect or common courtesy if you insist on behaving this way. If this offends you I personally couldn't give a fart either.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Why would anyone knowingly or willingly remove, bypass, or alter a safety device?

"The manufacturer stated pressure rating is understated so I can safely exceed it" is a VERY poor attitude.

If you can't spund without intefering somehow with a PRV, rethink your design. If you can't spund without exceeding the pressure of your fermenter, get a higher rated fermenter.

No further discussion needed.

It's like removing a smoke detector (or taking out the batteries) because you keep burning your food.

 

[Vale71]

It's like removing a smoke detector (or taking out the batteries) because you keep burning your food.

Or rather like disabling the smoke detector because you like to smoke in bed and the detector keeps waking you up...
Some people are just unbelievable.

 

[Vale71]

OR maybe I will skip the natural fermentation part and crash to 55 to drop the yeast and harvest it. Then Dry hop at 55 for 2-3 days. Then crash to 30 to drop the dry hops and get rid of them before carbonating and kegging.

I wouldn't wait that long to start dumping the dry hops. You'll most certainly already have a lot of hop material in the cone after just 24hrs. That'll be the largest particles that drop rather quickly and tend to clog everything really fast, obviously because of their size. In the following days you'll start collecting softer sediment which is made up of progressively smaller particles.
Oh and suspended solids will keep dropping faster at higher temperatures even if everybody on this forum keeps saying the opposite. The physical world doesn't change its laws based on consensus...

 

[Blazinlow86]

OK so first kegging attempt did not go smoothly. CF15 fully carbed 34F 15PSI. Had not been dumped since day 2 of fermentation so had all the yeast and all the dry hops (a pound of dry hops). Kegs were purged and pressurized. Probably about 55F I didn't chill them but was pretty cold day. My spunding valve (the DIY one I've had for years but not used in a long time) did not seem to be working.

I was fighting junk at beginning. My inline filter filled up and I had to stop and dump it. Twice. I finally decided to dump the yeast and hops and sprayed myself and the garage with 15 PSI green goo. After the dumping/spraying I still had issues and decided to try without the inline filter. Managed to get the beer flowing and went ok from there. Used the kegs prvs to bleed off pressure. Only got about 12-13 gallons (out of half barrel batch) into kegs based on weight.

So plan for next brew...
1. I took care to leave most of my kettle hops in the kettle. Meant less beer in the fermentor but so be it.
2. Dump a small amount of break on day 2. Thinking 1 quart.
3. Wait for fermentation to end. Harvest 1-2 quarts yeast.
4. Dry hop with some priming sugar to get to 15 PSI at 65F. The sugar is to get a secondary fermentation to clean up any O2 that gets in with the dry hops.
5. Cold crash
6. Dump the dry hops.
7. Carbonate cold to 3 volumes with stone
8. Keg into purged, pressurized, chilled kegs with new blowtie spunding valve ordered this morning.

OR maybe I will skip the natural fermentation part and crash to 55 to drop the yeast and harvest it. Then Dry hop at 55 for 2-3 days. Then crash to 30 to drop the dry hops and get rid of them before carbonating and kegging.

I've done about 30 batches in my cf15 and have never had any sediment in the keg connector after transferring. I prefer to overbuild my yeast starters rather than harvest yeast as I have about 10 different strains in rotation and don't use the same strain again for months sometimes. I cold crash down to 30-32f and hold it there for 48 hours. I then do a dump at the slowest rate possible under 10-15psi with a barb+hose until I get clear beer. This won't work without the barb+hose as it will just blast right thru the cone and make a spectacular mess. I then add the carb stone at the desired psi and rack to kegs 24 hours later. If you don't dump prior to racking or had the racking arm facing up you will have issues. Also if you don't have a racking arm you will have even more issues. Cheers

 

[Stand]

So, this got weird. I'm gonna back slowly from the room now and come back later when someone has cleaned up the blood.

Love you guys; mean it.

 

[Beardless]

OK so first kegging attempt did not go smoothly. CF15 fully carbed 34F 15PSI. Had not been dumped since day 2 of fermentation so had all the yeast and all the dry hops (a pound of dry hops). Kegs were purged and pressurized. Probably about 55F I didn't chill them but was pretty cold day. My spunding valve (the DIY one I've had for years but not used in a long time) did not seem to be working.

I was fighting junk at beginning. My inline filter filled up and I had to stop and dump it. Twice. I finally decided to dump the yeast and hops and sprayed myself and the garage with 15 PSI green goo. After the dumping/spraying I still had issues and decided to try without the inline filter. Managed to get the beer flowing and went ok from there. Used the kegs prvs to bleed off pressure. Only got about 12-13 gallons (out of half barrel batch) into kegs based on weight.

So plan for next brew...
1. I took care to leave most of my kettle hops in the kettle. Meant less beer in the fermentor but so be it.
2. Dump a small amount of break on day 2. Thinking 1 quart.
3. Wait for fermentation to end. Harvest 1-2 quarts yeast.
4. Dry hop with some priming sugar to get to 15 PSI at 65F. The sugar is to get a secondary fermentation to clean up any O2 that gets in with the dry hops.
5. Cold crash
6. Dump the dry hops.
7. Carbonate cold to 3 volumes with stone
8. Keg into purged, pressurized, chilled kegs with new blowtie spunding valve ordered this morning.

OR maybe I will skip the natural fermentation part and crash to 55 to drop the yeast and harvest it. Then Dry hop at 55 for 2-3 days. Then crash to 30 to drop the dry hops and get rid of them before carbonating and kegging.

Are you using the racking arm? Does wonders for clearer transfers.

 

[eric19312]

I've done about 30 batches in my cf15 and have never had any sediment in the keg connector after transferring. I prefer to overbuild my yeast starters rather than harvest yeast as I have about 10 different strains in rotation and don't use the same strain again for months sometimes. I cold crash down to 30-32f and hold it there for 48 hours. I then do a dump at the slowest rate possible under 10-15psi with a barb+hose until I get clear beer. This won't work without the barb+hose as it will just blast right thru the cone and make a spectacular mess. I then add the carb stone at the desired psi and rack to kegs 24 hours later. If you don't dump prior to racking or had the racking arm facing up you will have issues. Also if you don't have a racking arm you will have even more issues. Cheers

I've got the barb but still made a pretty spectacular mess trying to dump under 15 PSI. Perhaps just cracking the butterfly valve is the key...go slow. Still going to reduce pressure next time I try this. I am really impressed by how cold I can crash in the freezer. 28.5 F is very doable and I believe the data says is as effective as a week or more at 35 F.

I've been reading some different boards today and think I will try doing a cool crash after diacetyl rest to floc the majority of the yeast. Then dump/harvest the yeast (I rarely use yeast other than US-05 these days), and then warm the beer back up to mid 60s for dry hopping. Then I will cold crash that down to sub 30F remove the hops and then finally carbonate and keg.

 

[eric19312]

Are you using the racking arm? Does wonders for clearer transfers.

Yes I've got the arm. I think my issue is highly carbonating a conical full of yeast and dry hop material. I'm going to try getting rid of that stuff before carbonating next time and see how it goes.

 

[SEndorf]

I paid extra for the racking arm....
(Thought it was time to lighten things up)…..

 

[Blazinlow86]

I've got the barb but still made a pretty spectacular mess trying to dump under 15 PSI. Perhaps just cracking the butterfly valve is the key...go slow. Still going to reduce pressure next time I try this. I am really impressed by how cold I can crash in the freezer. 28.5 F is very doable and I believe the data says is as effective as a week or more at 35 F.

I've been reading some different boards today and think I will try doing a cool crash after diacetyl rest to floc the majority of the yeast. Then dump/harvest the yeast (I rarely use yeast other than US-05 these days), and then warm the beer back up to mid 60s for dry hopping. Then I will cold crash that down to sub 30F remove the hops and then finally carbonate and keg.

When you do the dump use a long hose and just crack the valve the tiniest amount. On mine if I'm remembering correctly even the first notch open on the valve is to much. If you do blow thru the cone just stop and wait a day to try again. Cheers

 

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

 

[Beardless]

I paid extra for the racking arm....
(Thought it was time to lighten things up)…..

View attachment 652082

That’s a beautiful racking arm.

 

[Beardless]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

I bought everything without the heater and then grabbed the heater later so I could more efficiently raise temperature. Really depends on your situation. I ordered food grade glycol from amazon. If no one answers the ratio question I will look on the bottle (it said the recommendation on there) when I wake up.

 

[CodeSection]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

There are members here that own a Penguin and from what I have read, they have had difficulty in reaching a lower crash temp. They have been getting 38F-40F. I own an IceMaster 100 and have been successful in reaching 36F. In AZ it is warm. The IceMaster 100 holds 8 gallons in its reservoir and the Penguin only holds 1.25 gallons in its reservoir. I suspect the recovery time in the Penguin contributes to why individuals may not be reaching their desired crashing temp.

I find it interesting that Penguin recommends a 50/50 split as a search on Google finds many listings that show that concentration is not needed. Here is a link that might be helpful https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/propylene-glycol-d_363.html

Links on where to buy: https://www.morebeer.com/products/icemaster-100-glycol-chiller-stainless-bulkheads.html, https://www.morebeer.com/products/propylene-glycol-gal.html

 

[mongoose33]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

I get my glycol here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS8F1UW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You'll be happy with the setup. Do realize that the penguin will throw off some heat, just as an air conditioner does, so if you're in an enclosed space, things may warm up.

Also--I agree with @Beardless about the heater. Yeah, you may not need it, but you'll likely want it. Being able to control both cooling and heating has been important for me. I do an accelerated lager ferm schedule that has me doing half the fermentation at 50 degrees, then I ramp up 4 degrees every 12 hours to 66 to finish. Easy to control things like that. Ordering the heater now will save you shipping later. Also, I presume you're getting the neoprene sleeve? You'll want that, too.

 

[eric19312]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

You have mere experience with the conical than me but after considering temp control options I decided main advantage of glycol system (vs chamber/fridge/freezer solution) was ability to maintain multiple conicals at different temps.

 

[itsnotrequired]

getting clear beer: the racking arm made a huge difference for me. my usual mo is to do a single dump before i cold crash, with a 2" tc to barb fitting on the dump valve. dump nice and slow, until it looks clear at the top of the sight glass, then crash. dumping after crash runs the risk of kicking up sediment.

penguin glycol: i found i couldn't get below 34 f or so with the chiller until i wrapped the entire conical in a blanket. now i can get down to 30, no problem. i have the neoprene jacket and while it looks nice and helps with condensation, it isn't that great of an insulator.

 

[logdrum]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

I have that chiller & put 1/2 gal of glycol in the reservoir with the balance distilled water, probably close to 60:40 water to glycol.

getting clear beer: the racking arm made a huge difference for me. my usual mo is to do a single dump before i cold crash, with a 2" tc to barb fitting on the dump valve. dump nice and slow, until it looks clear at the top of the sight glass, then crash. dumping after crash runs the risk of kicking up sediment.

penguin glycol: i found i couldn't get below 34 f or so with the chiller until i wrapped the entire conical in a blanket. now i can get down to 30, no problem. i have the neoprene jacket and while it looks nice and helps with condensation, it isn't that great of an insulator.

Could you attach a photo?

 

[logdrum]

Have had a CF5 for about 9 months now and think it’s great; about 15 batches done. Would like to step things up with temp control for lagering, cold crashing etc. (so far “temp control” has just been keeping it inside where A/C is set to 68. Heat not really an issue here most of the year plus it stays inside. Planning to get TC from Spike without the heater part and the smallest Penguin chiller 1/3 HP.
Any comments/suggestions on that plan? I have looked at the great DIY chiller threads but am not going to try that. Also a basic question - good place to order the glycol? And the ratio of water to glycol? Penguin site says 50/50.

I put 1/2 gal of glycol in the reservoir & topped off w distilled water, probably close to 60:40 water:glycol. Glycol from Amazon