DIY Tri-Clamp Cooling Coils For Glycol Setup?

[kdw2pd]

Has anyone ever rigged up a DIY set of cooling coils for use with a glycol chiller? If so, what did you do? I had a couple of different ideas, but as someone decidedly lacking in skills or experience, I'd rather hear about what actually worked before initiating hack and slash operations. I couldn't find anything searching HBT or Reddit.

I have a few SS buckets with single 1.5" TC ferrules welded on the lids. One of these, the NB Sovereign is an 8.5G bucket that is decently tall. After having a friend weld the ferrule on, I don't think the coils for the Anvil setup are long enough for 5 gallon batches in it. The BrewBuilt CoolStix probably would be long enough, but they're $80 per, and I'd ideally like to be able to have two 5G batches controlled at the same time, so that'd be $160. Plus they'd have to be modded out to allow for an airlock or blowoff tube anyway, since the buckets only have the one port. So any options for DIY solutions would be appreciated.

Ideally, if I could rig up decent coils, I'd drill a couple holes in my existing TC endcaps with blowoff tubes and either just use grommets/compression fittings to keep them on the cap, or have them welded in.

 

[BBBF]

It'd be hard to get a SS coil to fit through a 1.5" triclamp, unless it's CoolStix, cooling stake or just a single loop (similar to the Anvil coil, but without the extra bend). So this is a normal brew bucket with a TC ferrule welded to the center of the lid?

 

[kdw2pd]

It'd be hard to get a SS coil to fit through a 1.5" triclamp, unless it's CoolStix, cooling stake or just a single loop (similar to the Anvil coil, but without the extra bend). So this is a normal brew bucket with a TC ferrule welded to the center of the lid?

Yes, exactly: TC ferrule in the center of the bucket. I've been using the NorCal Brewing TC thermowell/blowoff combo. I have a fermentation fridge, but want to save some space in the garage, thus the interest in figuring out how to rig up TC with glycol.

Here's another example of how I was thinking about it, via AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000017455338.html?spm=2114.12010615.8148356.21.4cb44debPiErOR. This one is shorter than the Anvil, so it'd have the same height issues.

I wouldn't necessarily need the coils to fit within the TC opening like the CoolStrix or the AliExpress examples do if I put grommets or a compression fitting, rather than welding it in, since I'd put the tubing in through the bottom of the endcap. One simple option: could I get away with trying to track down a couple of inexpensive SS wort chillers and stretching out the coils?

 

[BBBF]

Stretching a chiller coil won't work and you won't be able to make something like the AliExpress coils, without a machine or some labor, a good jig and some luck.

Any reason for not going through the lid, separate from the triclamp? I have a pair of 3" diameter coils that I keep thinking would be perfect for a brew bucket.

 

[kdw2pd]

Honestly, because going through the lid didn't occur to me as an option. After seeing the Anvil cooling coil and the 4-hold stopper, I was just thinking about it that way. Good call though.

If I go that way, I could use my existing TC fittings without needing to modify them, and probably get away with the Anvil coils. I'll have to measure the fermenters to see if that'd work for 5 gallon batches. It'd be a ton easier to drill two 7/16" holes on a lid for grommets than it would be to drill 'em on a 1.5" TC endcap that already has a thermowell and a blowoff tube on it.

 

[BBBF]

These are the heat exchanger coils that I mentioned. I had a different use in mind when I bought them and I started leaning towards going in a few other directions. I was going to hold onto them and use the coils in plastic buckets, but those would be extra fermenters. How deep are the brewbuckets? These are about 16" tall if the top piece is cut off.

 

[kdw2pd]

Those should fit any of the fermenters I'd use them in. How much were you looking to get for them?

 

[SanPancho]

Morebeer has cheap coil insert and some push connect bulkhead fittings. Probably easier to just run it thru the lid.

 

[BBBF]

Those should fit any of the fermenters I'd use them in. How much were you looking to get for them?

$50 plus shipping for both

 

[verboten]

Look up the temp twister. I have a couple I’ll be installing in my chapman fermenters

 

[wickedpissa]

alternatively, I've heard of a lot of success making your own glycol jacket by wrapping your SS vessel with blue lay flat tubing to run the glycol through, and then wrapping insulation around that. Now you don't need anything inside.