FTSs Brewtech Glycol Chiller

[Morrey]

I have actually used an inkbird controller with the glycol unit when the SS FTSS controller went bad. You will need to pick up a submersible pump. I used this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ANITJQY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Worked great.

Thanks. I'd figured that the DC pump with the FTSs controller system would have to be replaced with an AC pump to be compatible with the Inkbird. Those small pumps are relatively inexpensive at Lowes or Home Depot locally or Amazon Prime.

Very interesting observation. Looking at the way your ice is lasting longer, I'll bet you may only have to replace every 24 hours once you near fermentation end. Would you be so kind to report this back?

I'll post back how my ice bottles are hanging in there now that krausen has dropped.

 

[Einberger1]

Does anyone use a saltwater solution inside of their frozen water bottles instead of straight water? Since saltwater has a lower freezing point, it would seem to make sense that they would be more efficient.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Does anyone use a saltwater solution inside of their frozen water bottles instead of straight water? Since saltwater has a lower freezing point, it would seem to make sense that they would be more efficient.

I've not seen that done for brewing. It's pretty common in commercial kitchens for use with sousvide quick chilling. You need a fairly large amount of salt to get below 28 degrees.

For brewing people use food grade glycol cut anywhere between 33% and 50% with distilled water. Duda diesel sells it by the gallon. I've been using it for several years without any issues. I change it out every few years.

 

[mongoose33]

For the time being I am using the ice chest/cooler method until I can find something glycol based for a reasonable price. I bought a 26 qt Ozark high performance cooler that is supposed to keep ice for 4.5 days. I drilled small holes in the lid for cooling lines and have those lines insulated with foam pipe insulation. I use a one gallon frozen milk jug and a one quart Gatorade bottle filled with water and frozen with enough cold water in the cooler to cover the pump. My shed is 80's in the day and 60's overnight. Even with all of this care, and the cooler set to keep the wort at 67F, I am replacing the frozen ice jugs every 12 hours. I haven't had temp drop below 67F, but the ice in the frozen jugs is completely melted within each 12 hour cycle.

This is a high maintenance situation but until I go glycol, I don't have many other options. If anyone has ideas to increase the performance of my current ice chest with frozen bottle system, please let my know how to improve my efficiency.

Do you have room in that shed for a small refrigerator? I don't know a lot about using these mechanical methods of cooling, but couldn't you, with a small refrigerator, put your water in the refrigerator, run lines from it to the fermenter, and use the fridge to keep the water cool instead of having to swap out water bottles all the time?


You'd have to ensure the fermenter was well-insulated so that the heat produced by the fridge didn't just go to warming the fermenter back up, but a simple insulated box made of 2" thick foam insulation would do the trick.

Just a little thinking out loud....

 

[Morrey]

Do you have room in that shed for a small refrigerator? I don't know a lot about using these mechanical methods of cooling, but couldn't you, with a small refrigerator, put your water in the refrigerator, run lines from it to the fermenter, and use the fridge to keep the water cool instead of having to swap out water bottles all the time?


You'd have to ensure the fermenter was well-insulated so that the heat produced by the fridge didn't just go to warming the fermenter back up, but a simple insulated box made of 2" thick foam insulation would do the trick.

Just a little thinking out loud....

I had originally thought a dorm fridge would keep a water reservoir cold enough to do the job. I asked one poster if this would work and was told it would not cool the water enough to handle the job. He had bent the freezer coils down into a reservoir which did the job he said.

Of course we may hear from someone else who may say this could potentially work just using a water reservoir inside the fridge. Don't know until I try, but hate to drill holes in a dorm fridge only to find out its a no-go.

 

[johnwpowell]

I had originally thought a dorm fridge would keep a water reservoir cold enough to do the job. I asked one poster if this would work and was told it would not cool the water enough to handle the job. He had bent the freezer coils down into a reservoir which did the job he said.

Of course we may hear from someone else who may say this could potentially work just using a water reservoir inside the fridge. Don't know until I try, but hate to drill holes in a dorm fridge only to find out its a no-go.

My guess would be great for ales but not for lagers and cold crashing

 

[mongoose33]

I had originally thought a dorm fridge would keep a water reservoir cold enough to do the job. I asked one poster if this would work and was told it would not cool the water enough to handle the job. He had bent the freezer coils down into a reservoir which did the job he said.

Of course we may hear from someone else who may say this could potentially work just using a water reservoir inside the fridge. Don't know until I try, but hate to drill holes in a dorm fridge only to find out its a no-go.

I'm questioning this guy's experience, for this reason: a lot of people take the slightly larger dorm-sized refrigerators (the ones that are taller than they are wide), and turn them into ferm chambers by gluing a collar on the front to provide extra depth, and attaching the door to the collar. Just like we do with chest freezers to make keezers, except it's vertical instead of horizontal.

People have had success using those--which suggests to me that there is enough cooling power in there to offset the exothermic action of the yeast. Is it enough to bring it down to 50 degrees for a lager? I suspect so, *if* the lines and fermenter and such are properly insulated so there are minimal losses through those areas.

And if one is not quite sure of the capacity of one of those little fridges, one could get a small 5-cu-foot freezer and use that instead.

Just some thinkin' out loud.

 

[Morrey]

I'm questioning this guy's experience, for this reason: a lot of people take the slightly larger dorm-sized refrigerators (the ones that are taller than they are wide), and turn them into ferm chambers by gluing a collar on the front to provide extra depth, and attaching the door to the collar. Just like we do with chest freezers to make keezers, except it's vertical instead of horizontal.

People have had success using those--which suggests to me that there is enough cooling power in there to offset the exothermic action of the yeast. Is it enough to bring it down to 50 degrees for a lager? I suspect so, *if* the lines and fermenter and such are properly insulated so there are minimal losses through those areas.

And if one is not quite sure of the capacity of one of those little fridges, one could get a small 5-cu-foot freezer and use that instead.

Just some thinkin' out loud.

The wife has a small dorm fridge at her office that will freeze contents if the rheostat is turned down too low. She has to be careful when putting things like salads in it (high water content) due to the freezing factor. I could always turn a dorm fridge down low and see if a water bath will freeze. If it does I can add a small amount of glycol to control the freezing level of the water.

I know I decided not to drill in the side of my chest freezer for an external CO2 tank due to the likelihood of hitting a coil. Anyone got any ideas if the small dorm fridge is safe to drill in the side, or are there coils to avoid similar to a chest freezer?

 

[mongoose33]

The wife has a small dorm fridge at her office that will freeze contents if the rheostat is turned down too low. She has to be careful when putting things like salads in it (high water content) due to the freezing factor. I could always turn a dorm fridge down low and see if a water bath will freeze. If it does I can add a small amount of glycol to control the freezing level of the water.

I know I decided not to drill in the side of my chest freezer for an external CO2 tank due to the likelihood of hitting a coil. Anyone got any ideas if the small dorm fridge is safe to drill in the side, or are there coils to avoid similar to a chest freezer?

I decided to do a little google-foo on this topic, and ran across an interesting article on minfridges. The guy said that some have the cooling coils on one side and not the other. Hmmm....I said.

I have a mini fridge in my office and I felt the sides when it was running. Both were warm, but then I decided to check the back.....cool!

So the condenser coils in mine are in the sides. Don't know what yours is, but here's another possibility: i see these things for sale on Craigslist all the time. I just checked and there were dorm fridges (you need to search for "dorm fridge" as well as "mini fridge") for $20 and $25.

You may be able to operate on one, i.e., take off the skin and SEE where the coils are. And if not that, plug it in, feel where it warms (indicators of the coils operating), and then drill somewhere else.

I think the risk/reward is quite high if you can get a cheapo minifridge and experiment with it. It's actually something I'm thinking about doing.

 

[Morrey]

I did a CL search in my area and the dorm fridges came in around $75 or more. I expect folks selling items do some checking to see what the going price is to set theirs accordingly.

I really think this is the way to go for economy sakes. Trading frozen water bottles twice per day is a bit tiring for a 2 week period. It works but a fridge certainly would be a nice solution.

 

[Metzen]

I did a CL search in my area and the dorm fridges came in around $75 or more. I expect folks selling items do some checking to see what the going price is to set theirs accordingly.



I really think this is the way to go for economy sakes. Trading frozen water bottles twice per day is a bit tiring for a 2 week period. It works but a fridge certainly would be a nice solution.

I am planning to go this route. I'll find a dorm fridge with a freezer compartment and bend the freezer coils into a glycol reservoir. It will take me a few weeks as I am currently traveling but will revert back with initial findings when I have them.

 

[mongoose33]

I did a CL search in my area and the dorm fridges came in around $75 or more. I expect folks selling items do some checking to see what the going price is to set theirs accordingly.

I really think this is the way to go for economy sakes. Trading frozen water bottles twice per day is a bit tiring for a 2 week period. It works but a fridge certainly would be a nice solution.

Geez, that's bizarre. You can get a new one from ChinaMart for under $80. Here's one for $20:

https://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/app/6136226603.html

Another for $25:

https://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/app/6104373263.html

Of course, they're a little far away from you.....

 

[PenguinChillers]

You could just use a aquarium chiller. Dont know if you could cold crash with it.

I wouldn't recommend an aquarium chiller unless you are staying above 40F-50F. Due to all of the request from the brewing market we developed and are now launching a glycol chiller that has a higher cooling capacity than the SS chiller and at a lower cost.

 

[PenguinChillers]

I wouldn't recommend an aquarium chiller unless you are staying above 40F-50F. Due to all of the request from the brewing market we developed and are now launching a glycol chiller that has a higher cooling capacity than the SS chiller and at a lower cost.

coupon "preorder" for $50 off, valid for the next few days

 

[Morrey]

I wouldn't recommend an aquarium chiller unless you are staying above 40F-50F. Due to all of the request from the brewing market we developed and are now launching a glycol chiller that has a higher cooling capacity than the SS chiller and at a lower cost.

Excellent! Being this is 1/2 hp motor compared to similar units offering 1/6 or 1/3 hp, this may be a huge winner. Any idea of shipping costs yet...29532?

 

[Metzen]

I wouldn't recommend an aquarium chiller unless you are staying above 40F-50F. Due to all of the request from the brewing market we developed and are now launching a glycol chiller that has a higher cooling capacity than the SS chiller and at a lower cost.

Curious. Are you referring to the below or a new product yet to be launched? As a hobbiest I just can't get myself to put down more than ~$300-400 (definitely not 800-1k) on a chiller alone when you also need the rest of the system to put it to use.

I've always found it strange that these systems cant be found cheaper when you have AC and other appliances that seem to have the right cooling capability at fractions of the cost - just not in the right form factor for brewing. What am I missing? I'm very open to being educated



http://www.penguinchillers.com/product/12-hp-glycol-bath-chiller/

 

[PenguinChillers]

Coil design and operating pressures is the main thing that will vary between a aquarium chiller and a glycol chiller. Aquarium chillers are typically going after 50F-80F temps, and that's a different setup than trying to reach 5F.

As for the cost, I'm sure if there was a larger market and the sell through rates were higher the price would come down since businesses could scale. The AC market is exponentially larger. We are a small family owned business, our operating cost are going to naturally be higher per unit than if we were some mega conglomerate.

 

[PenguinChillers]

excellent! Being this is 1/2 hp motor compared to similar units offering 1/6 or 1/3 hp, this may be a huge winner. Any idea of shipping costs yet...29532?

$59.99

 

[Metzen]

Coil design and operating pressures is the main thing that will vary between a aquarium chiller and a glycol chiller. Aquarium chillers are typically going after 50F-80F temps, and that's a different setup than trying to reach 5F.

As for the cost, I'm sure if there was a larger market and the sell through rates were higher the price would come down since businesses could scale. The AC market is exponentially larger. We are a small family owned business, our operating cost are going to naturally be higher per unit than if we were some mega conglomerate.

That's what I assumed but appreciate the response. I am a free market guy so a perfectly valid response Cheers.

 

[boasist]

$59.99

This all looks great but the coupon is dead now. How about these few items?

Warranty?
Digital or analog control panel?
Glycol to water ratio?
Does the reservoir top already come with the hoses for in the tank?

Thanks again.

 

[PenguinChillers]

This all looks great but the coupon is dead now. How about these few items?

Warranty?
Digital or analog control panel?
Glycol to water ratio?
Does the reservoir top already come with the hoses for in the tank?

Thanks again.

Coupon was for preorders, the preorder period has now passed.

1 year warranty
Digital Controls
Glycol to water ratio is your preference, 1:2 is a common ratio
Tubing not included, the lid has barb fittings for 3/8" tubing

 

[boasist]

Got mine today and it's all setup, currently waiting for fermentation to begin and then I'll start chilling, but I did test it out and the ftss system is doing great. Although I'd love to have it automated through brewpi as I had once before...

 

[truebe]

Why do they use a lower case s in the acronym? The second s is supposed to stand for "system". Are they just recklessly changing the rules of language?

 

[heckels]

Why do they use a lower case s in the acronym? The second s is supposed to stand for "system". Are they just recklessly changing the rules of language?

They're playing off the logo which is supposed to be creating a new Stainless Steel element with a number of 304 on the periodic table. In their early marketing they commonly replaced any "ss" in words with "Ss".

 

[truebe]

They're playing off the logo which is supposed to be creating a new Stainless Steel element with a number of 304 on the periodic table. In their early marketing they commonly replaced any "ss" in words with "Ss".

Oh, I see.

 

[jgalak]

For those recommending an Inkbird controller to control a fridge-based chiller, which model do you use? The ITC-308? Something else?

 

[Morrey]

ITC-308 is what I use. They run around $30ish on Amazon. Really good ATC's...I have several and never had problems, knock on wood.

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

For you guys that are using the Inkbird Controller, how are you installing the temp probe?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[pennengr]

For me, it's in a thermowell in the conical. The chiller has its own temperature control, so I'm just turning a pump on and off to maintain beer temp.

 

[mongoose33]

For you guys that are using the Inkbird Controller, how are you installing the temp probe?

Thanks,

Scott

I use a piece of closed-cell foam that comes in insulation, cushioning in shipping boxes, and so on.

Using a utility knife I cut a small slot in it like so:



Then I will use that foam to hold the temperature probe against the fermenter using a bungee cord or two. The idea is to get the probe to read the temperature of the wort, not the ambient surroundings.

That looks like so:



and

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

Thanks guys. I will be going with the Spike conical so I will order the thermowell. My plan is to also get their carb stone and carbonate after dumping the yeast. I am also going to go with the Penguin Chiller. With the savings compared to the SS chiller and not purchasing a Brite tank I can buy another conical. "Look honey, I am saving money!"

Scott

 

[Carlscan26]

Thanks guys. I will be going with the Spike conical so I will order the thermowell. My plan is to also get their carb stone and carbonate after dumping the yeast. I am also going to go with the Penguin Chiller. With the savings compared to the SS chiller and not purchasing a Brite tank I can buy another conical. "Look honey, I am saving money!"

Scott

The spike conical comes with a thermowell

 

[Positas]

I have two 7G FTSs Brew buckets going trying to keep wort cool (mid-60's ferm temp) as the summer heat approaches. I have a heavy duty Grizzly cooler/reservoir with ice water and frozen ice bottles struggling to keep cool. My ambient temps avg in the upper 80's by day, or upper 60's by night. I am replacing frozen water bottles faster than I imagined...at least 3 frozen bottles twice per day. So if I needed to run out of town on an overnight trip, I'll be SOL.

I looked at other systems inc building a glycol cooler and not interested. Looked at running a reservoir in a temp controlled freezer and not interested. This potentially leaves me with a commercial glycol chiller and I'll likely go with Brewtech as the proprietary nature appeals to me.

It retails for $999. Other than Brewtech, I don't see online retailers that carry this...am I missing someone that carries it? reason I ask is that Mem Day sales are coming up and I may luck out and catch it on a sale. Anyone aware if this is a situation that may exist???

Thanks!

Yup I'm in the same boat changing ice bottles in an igloo cooler circulating thru a ss brew tech 7 gallon chronical, did it last summer too. I've already decided that next summer I'm splurging on ss brew tech's glycol chiller. No more ice and frozen water bottles for me.

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

Just to update I ended up going with the SS Brewtech Unitank. I have a 15 gallon and a 1/2 barrel both with the temp control. I have them both hooked up to a 1/2 hp Penguin chiller. The temp control is rock solid.