Doubling Down: SS Brewtech Conical + FTSS + Glycol Power Pack

dshepard · Jun 15, 2016

lpdjshaw said:
Thanks for the info, looks like a great idea and I think I'll go with these fittings. Just trying to think of whether I want to put the fitting close to the chiller or the fermenter...any suggestions or photos of how you did yours?

I put mine at the fermenter. This allows me to disconnect and roll my fermenters either to the garage on brew day to fill or outside on the driveway to clean. During fermentation I have them in a utility room in my basement. I used silicon tubing and basically have just enough to clamp the tubing to the coil and the other end to the fitting.

Something that is shown in previous pictures in this thread is insulation. I ran my first ferments without insulation (I was excited and in a hurry) and was amazed at the amount of condensation on the tubing. I would have thought the silicon would have had a slight amount of insulation properties. I now have piping insulation bought from Lowes and that problem has been solved.

offcentered · Jun 22, 2016

Are you guys insulating the tubing with regular foam pipe insulation ? How is it holding up ? I mean is there condensation and does it soak into a the foam ?

Still waiting on my chiller. I just got the shipping notification from SS. I may have lost a batch of a double IPA. My FTS ice / water combination couldn't keep up with the 85 degree temps in my garage and when I got up in the morning my temp had gone to 77 degrees in the fermenter. ��

KimJohansen · Jun 22, 2016

That's what I'm using. Holding up fine. Not really any condensation.

dshepard · Jun 24, 2016

offcentered said:
Are you guys insulating the tubing with regular foam pipe insulation ? How is it holding up ? I mean is there condensation and does it soak into a the foam ?

Yep, just plain ole inexpensive pipe insulation. No more sweating.

tjosborne · Jun 24, 2016

Do the conicals themselves condensate?

KimJohansen · Jun 24, 2016

Yeah, a tiny bit around the top of the legs and the thermowell. But only when cold crashing.

Ponderosabrewing · Jul 8, 2016

dshepard- on your BME with quick disconnects, you are using silicon tube on the 3/8" barb, clamp and then female adapter, clamped on as well? Then the connecting tube is silicon with the male adapter? The same would be on the chiller side or directly into pump. 1/2 bbl BME and chiller just arrived, attempting the same set up and would rather not reinvent the wheel. picture?
Cheers

dshepard said:
I put mine at the fermenter. This allows me to disconnect and roll my fermenters either to the garage on brew day to fill or outside on the driveway to clean. During fermentation I have them in a utility room in my basement. I used silicon tubing and basically have just enough to clamp the tubing to the coil and the other end to the fitting.

Something that is shown in previous pictures in this thread is insulation. I ran my first ferments without insulation (I was excited and in a hurry) and was amazed at the amount of condensation on the tubing. I would have thought the silicon would have had a slight amount of insulation properties. I now have piping insulation bought from Lowes and that problem has been solved.

dshepard · Jul 9, 2016

Ponderosabrewing said:
dshepard- on your BME with quick disconnects, you are using silicon tube on the 3/8" barb, clamp and then female adapter, clamped on as well? Then the connecting tube is silicon with the male adapter? The same would be on the chiller side or directly into pump. 1/2 bbl BME and chiller just arrived, attempting the same set up and would rather not reinvent the wheel. picture?
Cheers

On the BME side I did what you said. However I made sure I alternated the male/female to make sure I put the hoses on the same way every time. I have the chiller output go to the top of coil instead of the bottom which I believe is backwards from what SSBrewtech recommends. My pump was short cycling the other way. My theory was that the cold glycol comes in the bottom of the coil (closer to the temperature probe) and was cutting off almost immediately. I was also concerned about stratification as cold drops. I realize during active fermentation there is some action in there, but once I changed my in/out the pump short cycled less. On the chillier/pump side the silicon tubing is connected directly to the chiller or pump. I do not have any quick disconnects there.

Attached are some pictures (sorry for the sideways or upside down, they look right on my computer). Notice how short the connections are at the BME as mentioned in my previous post.

Goolsbymd · Jul 9, 2016

dshedard how happy are you with the SS glycol chiller? I have a 7 gallon BME and am looking at either buying the glycol chiller or making my own out of an AC unit. The SS one looks so much nicer but costs a lot more money but I could easly grow into.

dshepard · Jul 10, 2016

Goolsbymd said:
dshedard how happy are you with the SS glycol chiller? I have a 7 gallon BME and am looking at either buying the glycol chiller or making my own out of an AC unit. The SS one looks so much nicer but costs a lot more money but I could easly grow into.

I bought mine direct from distributor before SSBrewtech started selling theirs. I think it is basically the same chiller. So far it is working like a champ. I have been using it for two 14g chronicals. One BME and one standard that has external cooling jacket.

http://rapidswholesale.com/3-gal-glycol-unit-1-3-hp-120v.html

Dcmpres · Jul 11, 2016

I am loving my glycol chiller, it has made fermenting a breeze. I placed mine on a cart for portability along with all my FTSS pumps. I am currently cold crashing a brew on my 7g BME. My garage temps have been in the low to high 90's and the chiller has kept my ferment temps at 38 degrees with very little cycling of the chiller. I also haven't noticed any condensation on the BME itself, but a little collects at the connection site on the chiller itself. It has really been a set it and forget it.

I going to fully test out this rig capabilities for my next my brew day when I split a 25 gallon batch between my 1/2 barrel and (2) 7 gallon chronical. Then we will really see how this bad boy operates.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1468248757.983241.jpg

limulus · Aug 12, 2016

I received my latest BYOB yesterday and I saw an ad for the SS Brewtech Brite tanks. I did a search and wound up here. I've not been on the forums lately but just this year alone, there are some really cool new products.

To the OP: Very nice setup. I have the same glycol chiller. I can't remember if I bought it in 2014 or 2015. I use mine on a Brewha BIAC medium and I built a recirculating loop. That is probably not really necessary for the SS B setups but I've been more than happy with the way mine works. I only wish the Brewha neoprene jackets were priced like the SSB jackets (Brewha neoprene >$400 when shipped). I thought about trying one of the SS B neoprene jackets but the BIAC is jacketed so it is quite a bit larger and I'm sure it would not fit. Even after I bought the BIAC, I still kept two of my SS Brewbuckets and when I'm brewing multiple batches of beer, I transfer from the BIAC to a SS Brewbucket (love those things). Their Brite tanks are what led me here and they are intriguing. But I bought the BIAC to reduce some of my equipment and to have a small footprint, so I'm kinda leaning toward the Blichmann QuickCarb. But if anyone here gets an SSB Brite Tank to use with their glycol system, I'll be eager to see it.

KimJohansen · Aug 22, 2016

Anyone using BrewPi combined with a Glycol Chiller and a multi fermenter setup?

froot · Aug 22, 2016

KimJohansen said:
Anyone using BrewPi combined with a Glycol Chiller and a multi fermenter setup?

To do this effectively you would need a multi instance set up (one arduino for each fermenter) day tripper would be the guy to talk to. Check out the 'brewpi for cheap' in the DIY forum.

KimJohansen · Aug 23, 2016

Should be doable with one BrewPi and setting up an additional Chamber.

froot · Aug 23, 2016

KimJohansen said:
Should be doable with one BrewPi and setting up an additional Chamber.

Read the brewpi thread.

KimJohansen · Aug 23, 2016

https://community.brewpi.com/t/new-setup-for-glycol-tank-pump/1472/85

froot · Aug 23, 2016

kimjohansen said:
should be doable with one brewpi spark and setting up an additional chamber.

ftfy

KimJohansen · Aug 23, 2016

froot said:
ftfy

Sure - thanks, still a beginner in this area

akthor · Aug 27, 2016

What are those cool containers you are using for grain storage?

mfabe · Sep 1, 2016

akthor said:
What are those cool containers you are using for grain storage?

You mean mine? Those are Vittles Vaults! They are dog food containers, but they work great. I have grain that's been stored in there for over a year and it still tastes great. Who would have thought it would take me over a year to go through a bag of Munich ;-/

Here you go:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002H3S5U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Gustatorian · Sep 10, 2016

Glad this forum exists!

Recently got my SS Glycol Chiller and got it up and running on two 7-Gallon Chronicals. It seems to be running nicely but I'm very new to the technology and not as savvy as some in this forum.

To those who own the SS Glycol Chiller, what temp fluctuations are you seeing around your set temp? I have my hysteresis (d) set at 1ºF around either side of my desired temp and a 5 minute delay (PT). I'm still getting pretty big fluctuations. For example, if I have a set temp at 67ºF, it will warm to 68ºF, the glycol chiller will then kick-in and drop the temp sometimes to 64.5-65.0ºF!?!? Is this normal fluctuation or can I get it tighter? I've already made sure my temp probe is fully placed in the front (not top) thermowell of my chronical. My ambient temp is 70ºF FWIW. Also, what would you say a normal cycling is? I'm trying to gauge if my system is running too much...

Finally, anyone else having massive condensation issues on the tubing while cold-crashing? Any recommendation on insulation and will the insulation prevent condensation or merely hide it from view?

dshepard · Sep 11, 2016

I run the same chiller before SS sourced it on two 14 gallon SS Brewtech fermenters simultaneously. In the beginning I noticed the same thing. There are a couple of things you can try. The first thing I did was reverse the in/out connections on the coil (This is assuming you are using the Master series). Another thing you can do is raise the temperature of the glycol. If both of your fermenters are fermenting similar beers try raising the glycol to 40 or 45 degrees. This should get you closer to less than 2 degree swing.

Finally for the condensation I went to Lowes and bought the cheap pipe insulation and used that. It eliminated 99% of the condensation (doesn't just hide it). Prior to using the insulation I had puddles of water on the basement floor. See my previous post with pictures. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7625110&postcount=188

Gustatorian · Sep 11, 2016

dshepard said:
I run the same chiller before SS sourced it on two 14 gallon SS Brewtech fermenters simultaneously. In the beginning I noticed the same thing. There are a couple of things you can try. The first thing I did was reverse the in/out connections on the coil (This is assuming you are using the Master series). Another thing you can do is raise the temperature of the glycol. If both of your fermenters are fermenting similar beers try raising the glycol to 40 or 45 degrees. This should get you closer to less than 2 degree swing.

Finally for the condensation I went to Lowes and bought the cheap pipe insulation and used that. It eliminated 99% of the condensation (doesn't just hide it). Prior to using the insulation I had puddles of water on the basement floor. See my previous post with pictures. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7625110&postcount=188

Thanks! I don't have the master series have 7G chronicals with FTSS lids. How do you raise the temp? It only allows me to raise the temp to 31ºF and SS sent minimal paperwork with the unit.

dshepard · Sep 12, 2016

Gustatorian said:
Thanks! I don't have the master series have 7G chronicals with FTSS lids. How do you raise the temp? It only allows me to raise the temp to 31ºF and SS sent minimal paperwork with the unit.

See attached document. I believe I adjusted C2 to 45. This is the limit which I believe is currently set at 31 (it has been a while since I adjusted mine)

View attachment Glycol Chiller Thermostat manual.pdf

KimJohansen · Sep 12, 2016

KimJohansen said:
Anyone that has good tip for cooling hose couplings? In stead of going trough the trouble of fixating the hoses on the chiller for every fermentation, it would be nice to leave an attachment on the chiller coil hose barb for a quick secure connection.

Stumpled on these today. They look very promissing.

http://koolance.com/help-quick-disconnect-shutoff-couplings

Gustatorian · Sep 12, 2016

dshepard said:
See attached document. I believe I adjusted C2 to 45. This is the limit which I believe is currently set at 31 (it has been a while since I adjusted mine)

Awesome! Where did you find the password?

Gustatorian · Sep 12, 2016

Actually figured it out without the password, thanks!

Did anyone receive any supplemental info with their SS Glycol Chiller? I'm looking for more specs on the how the actual machine works.

crashtest22 · Sep 12, 2016

Thanks for this thread Mfabe and for all the replies.
After spending 50-60 bucks a ferment session on ice then trying to use a mini fridge and 5 gallon keg as water bath I found a micro matic power pack on CL and got it.
The unit I got is the 11.5 gallon 125 foot run. (MMPP4301)
I rewired the existing pump and use a stc1000 on it so far working well. I am going to be cold crashing in a few more days.

after this batch I think I am going to build a table over top of it for the conical to sit on during fermentation and transfer

SOPiiAC · Sep 16, 2016

For those of you that use the glycol chiller with multiple fermenters, how do you do it? Do you use solenoid valves for each fermenter? If so, does the pump in your chiller run all the time?

Doubling Down: SS Brewtech Conical + FTSS + Glycol Power Pack

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