Conical in Upright Freezer vs External Glycol Chiller pros/cons/cost

[jcav]

Let me add one small thing: I think it depends on the make and model of the conical as to whether you can do that. I have a spike CF10 and I believe they recommend NOT using the handles to lift when it's full. You may have a different make/model where the handles are, well, handled differently.

Yes you are absolutely right mongoose, mine can definitely be lifted as it is a Blichmann Fermenator. Other brand conicals I do not think can be lifted by the handles when they are full.

John

 

[speavler]

Before I invested in the glycol chiller, I used a side-by-side fridge with a bucket of glycol and two pumps in the freezer side with insulated heater hoses run through the in-door ice dispenser. I have a pic of that setup somewhere. It worked well with two fermenters, except for cold crashing. Could sometimes only get down to 42 degrees or so. The glycol chiller has been worry-free. For me, I couldn't limit myself to one fermentation going at a time.