Chiller pump

[cowboy1]

I need to find a good submersible chiller pump capable of sub 32 propylene glycol. I bought a cheap pump off EBay and it made it a total of 30 minutes and 43 degrees before crapping out. Luckily I was just testing in water and should be able to get my money back. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jleiii]

I bought pond pumps from an online store and they are working fine with more than a year use in RV/marine glycol. I found that to get decent flow through my system, and up 5 feet, you need at least a 750/gal/he is needed.
I use them for lagering but this glycol slushes up in the 20's and without enough flow on the evaporator fins it will freeze hard to them. I had to settle on 30F to eliminate this. The best I get is about 37F in my carboy, with the pump running non stop for 2 months.

 

[cowboy1]

I bought pond pumps from an online store and they are working fine with more than a year use in RV/marine glycol. I found that to get decent flow through my system, and up 5 feet, you need at least a 750/gal/he is needed.
I use them for layering but this glycol slushes up in the 20's and without enough flow on the evaporator fins it will freeze hard to them. I had to settle on 30F to eliminate this. The best I get is about 37F in my carboy, with the pump running non stop for 2 months.

Could you send me a link to what you are using my first pond pump didn't make it. Thanks for the info on temp also.

 

[jleiii]

Had my sizes wrong, I have 291 and 400 g/h models.
Can't beat these prices, $20 and $25. Got 2 of each and all 4 are going strong more than a year later.

 

[cowboy1]

Had my sizes wrong, I have 291 and 400 g/h models.
Can't beat these prices, $20 and $25. Got 2 of each and all 4 are going strong more than a year later.

What size coil are you using? My plan is to use a 25' SS coil on the inside a 12.5 gallon fermenter and insulate the crap out of it. Hopefully it will be enough to cold crash.

 

[WI_Wino]

I have this one from Amazon and it is a beast. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X05G1A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I've only used water not glycol though. I got this vs a pond pump because I can easily connect a garden hose to it.

Check out the used options from Amazon warehouse deals. You can save money by purchasing units with cosmetic issues or damaged packaging.

 

[jleiii]

What size coil are you using? My plan is to use a 25' SS coil on the inside a 12.5 gallon fermenter and insulate the crap out of it. Hopefully it will be enough to cold crash.

I have DIY carboy wraps. Aluminum flashing with plastic tubing taped to it, and reflectix wrapped around it. 3/8" ID and about 15 feet of it. I made 2 with different tubing (and length), but have not compared them for performance.

Here is the shorter, rubber tubing one. The other is plastic tubing and has another loop, hence longer. I've since added flat film heaters so I can ramp up temps, lager drest for example.

 

[cowboy1]

I have this one from Amazon and it is a beast. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X05G1A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I've only used water not glycol though. I got this vs a pond pump because I can easily connect a garden hose to it.

Check out the used options from Amazon warehouse deals. You can save money by purchasing units with cosmetic issues or damaged packaging.

I'm currently testing with a pump like yours. Mine is 1/5 HP and has plenty of flow. It is also right noisy. I think I may use this pump for a keg cleaner if I can get a smaller quieter pump that is dependable. Thanks

 

[cowboy1]

I have DIY carboy wraps. Aluminum flashing with plastic tubing taped to it, and reflectix wrapped around it. 3/8" ID and about 15 feet of it. I made 2 with different tubing (and length), but have not compared them for performance.

Here is the shorter, rubber tubing one. The other is plastic tubing and has another loop, hence longer. I've since added flat film heaters so I can ramp up temps, lager drest for example.

That is cool, really nice job. I like that it is removable. I want to make something that is removable for my conical so the insulation doesn't get wet when cleaning. That is kind of why I was leaning to a internal coil and just a insulation jacket that is attached with Velcro do you know of any post that use something similar to your set-up with a removable coil on a conical? 1 more question does the aluminum flashing side go to the carbon or the coil? Thanks for your help.

 

[jleiii]

I've been toying with an ss coil for my fast ferment conical, mounted to lid, but FF are bone heads and wont sell lids yet. Dont want to mod mine till I have a backup.
I did make heater wrap for it, but it just wont suffice for cooling coils.

 

[cowboy1]

I've been toying with an ss coil for my fast ferment conical, mounted to lid, but FF are bone heads and wont sell lids yet. Dont want to mod mine till I have a backup.
I did make heater wrap for it, but it just wont suffice for cooling coils.

So you think a internal coil is the way to go on a conical?

 

[jleiii]

So you think a internal coil is the way to go on a conical?

For the Fast Fermeter, yes I think this is better. With the large handle valve at the bottom and the thermowell midpoint, a chiller wrap would have to be semi permanent. Plus it's plastic, so not the greatest thermal transfer.
The heater wrap I made has the film running at a slight angle top to bottom so I can have a way to open it to get it on and off easily.
For +/- 5 or 10 degrees a wrap might be OK, but a greater differential, fermenting lagers, cold crashing, or lagering, for example, I don't think it will cut it on the outside.

Another design I've considered is a solid cylinder with the tubing wrapped around the outside, top to bottom (50ft+). Then you just lower the carboy into it. Down side is that you don't get the tight direct contact, but it's more like a mini fridge so maybe it would work. Still pondering this design.

You can see many of my projects on another thread, suggesting continuing this diverging discussion there, and turn this back over to the original programming, pond pumps.