Glycol question

[Neal90]

First post

So I have a sb flex+ 7gal with the jacket/coil(and the rest of the needed equipment) on the way. What I’m wanting to do is get the ss 1/5 hp glycol chiller. I’m wanting is to put the setup in my garage. I live in El Paso, and it gets HOT in my garage, like around 110 for 3-4 months out of the year. Would doing this even work and would the chiller also just run all day long and end up burning up the motor/compressor thanks for the help

 

[CodeSection]

While I believe there are certainly better glycol chillers that give higher BTUs and are cheaper, I would think any ambient temperature that high would put significant stress on the unit. With that said, where you buy from and their warranty policy will make a difference.

If you read SS Brewtech's warranty, if the chiller fails under your circumstances and since it is beyond the normal operating conditions, they will not cover it. Just be sure you read all their warranty information including the manual describing normal operating conditions.

If you buy something from MoreBeer, not only do they honor all warranty claims involving product failure within one year, they also have a 60 day no hassle return policy.

I would suggest the following:
1. Really research glycol chillers. There is a lot of sales hype out there and some recommendations from some manufactures are based upon a partnership/business type of agreement and does not reflect the true performance of the glycol chiller. Some people buy a name that costs so much more. Almost like buying Starbucks coffee vs McDonald's coffee....
2. Once you have narrowed your choice, wait for sales. There were significant sales last December. I suspect with the affects of COVID-19, you will see those sales returning. MoreBeer should have a 15%-17% off sale soon.
3. Consider buying used. I suspect you will see many pro and homebrewers selling used equipment over the next several months. Unfortunately, many will need the money.
4. Could you put wheels on your Spike Flex and roll the unit inside your house while full?

Good luck with your search!

 

[Neal90]

I could put wheels on. But I have read that most of the chillers are quite loud and I live
in an open floor plan house. I wouldn’t mind having the fermenter and chiller in the house. If it was a truly quiet system, but most look like they put of quit a bit of noise.

 

[CodeSection]

I could put wheels on. But I have read that most of the chillers are quite loud and I live
in an open floor plan house. I wouldn’t mind having the fermenter and chiller in the house. If it was a truly quiet system, but most look like they put of quit a bit of noise.

I understand your concern in an open floor plan or great room footprint. My Icemaster 100 is in my game room and is really very quite. My wine celler in my kitchen is louder. I bet you will be surprised.

So, if I were you, I would then try to determine what the decibel specs indicate. Perhaps HBT members might be able to upload an audio file for you to get some idea. But I would you suggest you research really what unit is appropriate first.

Again, IMHO there are cheaper and better choices than SSB. If you search and read various threads, you will be able to understand the differences between the various units from real time users. If you are going to spend those type of dollars, you want a unit to be able to crash below 40F and you don't want to hear the catch all excuse phrase "your situation is different".....

EDIT: If noise is a major concern keeping you from considering moving the glycol chiller and fermenter inside, you could always buy or build a piece of furniture that would allow you to insulate the inside with drywall or other sound reducing material and then put the glycol chiller in the piece of furniture. Just a thought....

Almost like people having a nice end table that is a dog crate.

 

[SanPancho]

Chiller is gonna run and run and run. Neoprene doesn’t do that much. And you’re talking about a roughly 30-40f difference in temp, which means chiller needs to stay 40-50 below ambient. And 110 in the garage is gonna derate that chiller by probably 20%. Maybe more. It’s gonna sweat like crazy. I mean the tank, the lines, everything that’s not totally insulated. Hell, the radiant heat coming off the roof alone will probably heat the tank noticeably.

if at all possible just stick them outside in a shaded covered area. That’s the best you can do if you can’t bring inside.

 

[Jag75]

I made a DIY chiller . I have a spare room and with the door shut I can barely hear it come on sometimes . I think it also depends on the size of the reservoir. I have 7 gallons of distilled water and 3 gallons of glycol. It holds temp pretty good. The smaller the reservoir I think the temp can fluctuate more . I may be wrong as I'm not a science guy. In your garage that chiller will be walking the floor like the old vibrating football game . If you can find a corner in your home that has a steady temp you may be ok

 

[deuc224]

I understand your concern in an open floor plan or great room footprint. My Icemaster 100 is in my game room and is really very quite. My wine celler in my kitchen is louder. I bet you will be surprised.

So, if I were you, I would then try to determine what the decibel specs indicate. Perhaps HBT members might be able to upload an audio file for you to get some idea. But I would you suggest you research really what unit is appropriate first.

Again, IMHO there are cheaper and better choices than SSB. If you search and read various threads, you will be able to understand the differences between the various units from real time users. If you are going to spend those type of dollars, you want a unit to be able to crash below 40F and you don't want to hear the catch all excuse phrase "your situation is different".....

EDIT: If noise is a major concern keeping you from considering moving the glycol chiller and fermenter inside, you could always buy or build a piece of furniture that would allow you to insulate the inside with drywall or other sound reducing material and then put the glycol chiller in the piece of furniture. Just a thought....

Almost like people having a nice end table that is a dog crate.

Codesection, hows the icemaster overall? Im super close to pulling the trigger on the max4 since the max2 isnt out yet. I really wouldnt even need the extra 2 outs but i figure I wouldnt doubt if i get a bigger fermenter to make bigger batches of beer someday so i guess its going bigger than i need to incase.

 

[deuc224]

Neal90, Im in El Paso too, If you cant insulate ur garage i would say to move it inside. Mine will end up going in a spare bedroom but have seriously thought about insulating my attic to move some of the brew things out there.

 

[CodeSection]

Codesection, hows the icemaster overall? Im super close to pulling the trigger on the max4 since the max2 isnt out yet. I really wouldnt even need the extra 2 outs but i figure I wouldnt doubt if i get a bigger fermenter to make bigger batches of beer someday so i guess its going bigger than i need to incase.

I am really very happy with my Icemaster 100 as I regularly crash to 28F and never have had a problem to reach that temperature. I can achieve that temperature with two vessels (CF10 conical and a 20 gallon bright tank) at the same time.

As you will read, other manufactures struggle to even reach 40F. Of course the excuses they give is that every situation is different. That may be true, but I have never read any post where someone complained about the Icemaster 100 not being able to crash below 40F.

It gets very hot in the summer in southern AZ so I brew in my game room in a controlled environment where the temperature is 70F - 76F throughout the year. The Icemaster 100 is very, very quite.

At this point, I would suggest you consider a setup that gives you more flexible options. The Max4 and Max2 have the same mechanical "guts" as the Icemaster 100 except they have built in controllers and pumps. When you compare the price difference between the Icemaster 100 and the Max4, the Max4 costs $150 more. I suspect that covers the cost of the controllers and pumps.

While I understand the trend for some manufactures is to include controllers and pumps with their chillers, I personally do not like that permanent type of configuration. I like the ability to select what type of controller I want to use. Last December I bought Inkbird ITC-308 WIFI controllers when they were on sale for $25. They are great and have saved me so much money and time as I do not have to race home to adjust the temps. Since it is connected to my WIFI, I just pull out my iPhone and adjust the temps. The Max4 and Max2 as well as other manufactures controllers are NOT WIFI enabled!!! Btw, pumps are cheap too.

So, in the end I highly recommend the Icemaster 100 for its performance (can crash to 28F), for its quietness, and flexibility that allows one to choose their own controller that benefits their situation.

 

[Yesfan]

I would definitely put casters on the Flex+. I have one and regretted not doing that when I got mine.

Personally, I would see about getting a small fridge that the Plus could fit in and a simple Inkbird controller. Should be much cheaper than the chillers on the market. The fridge would do better in the garage than a chiller would I would think.

 

[deuc224]

I am really very happy with my Icemaster 100 as I regularly crash to 28F and never have had a problem to reach that temperature. I can achieve that temperature with two vessels (CF10 conical and a 20 gallon bright tank) at the same time.

As you will read, other manufactures struggle to even reach 40F. Of course the excuses they give is that every situation is different. That may be true, but I have never read any post where someone complained about the Icemaster 100 not being able to crash below 40F.

It gets very hot in the summer in southern AZ so I brew in my game room in a controlled environment where the temperature is 70F - 76F throughout the year. The Icemaster 100 is very, very quite.

At this point, I would suggest you consider a setup that gives you more flexible options. The Max4 and Max2 have the same mechanical "guts" as the Icemaster 100 except they have built in controllers and pumps. When you compare the price difference between the Icemaster 100 and the Max4, the Max4 costs $150 more. I suspect that covers the cost of the controllers and pumps.

While I understand the trend for some manufactures is to include controllers and pumps with their chillers, I personally do not like that permanent type of configuration. I like the ability to select what type of controller I want to use. Last December I bought Inkbird ITC-308 WIFI controllers when they were on sale for $25. They are great and have saved me so much money and time as I do not have to race home to adjust the temps. Since it is connected to my WIFI, I just pull out my iPhone and adjust the temps. The Max4 and Max2 as well as other manufactures controllers are NOT WIFI enabled!!! Btw, pumps are cheap too.

So, in the end I highly recommend the Icemaster 100 for its performance (can crash to 28F), for its quietness, and flexibility that allows one to choose their own controller that benefits their situation.

Jesus man you just blew my mind with that. I was ready to order it today but that brought a whole other POV I wasnt even thinking of. What submersible pumps are you using?

 

[CodeSection]

Jesus man you just blew my mind with that. I was ready to order it today but that brought a whole other POV I wasnt even thinking of. What submersible pumps are you using?

My CF10 TC-100 bundle came with a pump. Since it has always worked flawlessly and since I like to stay with what I know works, I bought the second pump for the bright tank from Spike as well. https://spikebrewing.com/collections/conical-accessories/products/cooling-pump-1

When I emailed Spike asking about the pump's flow prior to buying the second pump, they said "The cooling pump flows about 2GPM @ 6PSI." If you search, there are cheaper pumps out there. Again, I stayed with what I knew worked even though I probably paid more for it.

Once you identify what you want and in what configuration, you may want to hold off with the purchase. With the conditions in the economy, unless you are in a rush, there will be sales on new equipment as well as people selling their used equipment.

 

[deuc224]

Im really impatient but you are making a lot of sense. I might hold back for a little and just order some stuff and see what it is in a week or so.

 

[Jtvann]

First post

So I have a sb flex+ 7gal with the jacket/coil(and the rest of the needed equipment) on the way. What I’m wanting to do is get the ss 1/5 hp glycol chiller. I’m wanting is to put the setup in my garage. I live in El Paso, and it gets HOT in my garage, like around 110 for 3-4 months out of the year. Would doing this even work and would the chiller also just run all day long and end up burning up the motor/compressor thanks for the help

I haven't even read all the posts in this thread, but i figured I'd jump in here just for a reality check. I lived in Death Valley for 3 years. It's literally the hottest place on the planet. I also had a metal uninsulated garage that I brewed in. Temps reached 127 degrees every year for the 3 years that I lived there, and even had 10 days in a row in 2017 that reached 125+. In those extreme temps, the garage never reached the same ambient temp of the blazing outdoor sun. It just doesn't.

Will the heat stress the chiller, absolutely. A peon little brewjacket was able to cut the mustand and work though.

 

[augiedoggy]

a 1/5hp chiller is enough for multiple fermenters of that size. I'm controlling temps on 4 -110gallon conicals with a single 1/3hp chiller... insulation is the key and the neoprene is designed for looks not function. im going to side with the suggestion above that a fridge just makes better sense for a smaller bucket fermenter that fits in one. if you had multiple fermenters then the chiller approach makes more sense unless your just looking at bling factor.

 

[verboten]

I’m in Michigan, and my uninsulated garage gets up there as well. My 1/4 horse aquarium chiller (with a reservoir) could keep up, with 3 5 gallon anvils, and those have horribly small coils. I now have the ice master and I am glad to have a proper chiller that can get the glycol down to 27 degrees or lower if I need it to.

 

[WesBrew]

I understand your concern in an open floor plan or great room footprint. My Icemaster 100 is in my game room and is really very quite. My wine celler in my kitchen is louder. I bet you will be surprised.

great to hear that it is quiet. I went for the MAX2 even though its still a preorder. perfect fit for me. I'm glad I held off on the Stasis after hearing its super loud. was also surprised to read that the reservoir is only a half-gallon. I'd guess that is why some users are having problems getting under 40. I've got ingredients piled up waiting.

 

[deuc224]

I was gonna wait for the Max2 but just bit the bullet and got the Max4. I plan on getting another fermenter in the near future and was thinking what if i end up wanting to grab a total of 4 someday or maybe a 1 bbl if things get serious. Most likely ill grab another couple grainfather conicals and just stay with the whole 5 gallon batches at a time honestly. If I do more it might get old and ill just wanna bottle it and move on from it.

 

[ClaudiusB]

First post

So I have a sb flex+ 7gal with the jacket/coil(and the rest of the needed equipment) on the way. What I’m wanting to do is get the ss 1/5 hp glycol chiller. I’m wanting is to put the setup in my garage. I live in El Paso, and it gets HOT in my garage, like around 110 for 3-4 months out of the year. Would doing this even work and would the chiller also just run all day long and end up burning up the motor/compressor thanks for the help

Insulate your garage doors , put a cooler on the roof for the garage, problem solved.

 

[Jag75]

Well I have my DIY chiller down to 28f and my lager is 38. The refrigerant line is so cold it has frost on it as well as the inlet of my coil . Is this norm when it gets down to this temp?

 

[CodeSection]

Well I have my DIY chiller down to 28f and my lager is 38. The refrigerant line is so cold it has frost on it as well as the inlet of my coil . Is this norm when it gets down to this temp?

I haven't experienced that when I chill down to 28F.

 

[Labrat]

Is the Icemaster 100 only sold through More Beer? More Beers says they are back ordered until late May. I have been considering the Icemaster 100 or a Penguin unit for my CF5. I will be fermenting in a basement and will be adding another CF5 or CF10.

 

[Jag75]

I haven't experienced that when I chill down to 28F.

My room is in the 70's and its keeping the temp down ok . Its sweating like crazy . Then when the pump kicks on it freezes the condensation around the coil.

 

[CodeSection]

Is the Icemaster 100 only sold through More Beer? More Beers says they are back ordered until late May. I have been considering the Icemaster 100 or a Penguin unit for my CF5. I will be fermenting in a basement and will be adding another CF5 or CF10.

Sometimes it is better to wait for a product that can actually crash below 40F, and simply works without any excuses like some users/manufactures make. In AZ where my game room temp on average is around 72F (~68F-76F during the year), my Icemaster 100 can easily crash to and maintain 28F on my CF10. It can maintain 28F easily on both the CF10 and my 20 gallon SSB brite tank at the same time. I have never read any posts where someone complained about the Icemaster 100 not crashing below 40F.

There are a lot of HBT threads that can give you information (not sales hype) from actual users on the two you are looking at so as you can make an informed decision.

Good luck.

 

[Wayne1]

My room is in the 70's and its keeping the temp down ok . Its sweating like crazy . Then when the pump kicks on it freezes the condensation around the coil.

That is what happens when you live in a state with humidity.

Move to the desert, like CodeSection, and you will not have that problem.

 

[CodeSection]

Well the "ice" broke on the Santa Cruz River today when it hit triple digits temps. It ended up with a high of 103F with 14% humidity.......dry heat here

 

[Jag75]

That is what happens when you live in a state with humidity.

Move to the desert, like CodeSection, and you will not have that problem.

I live in kern county , California. Central valley . No humidity here lol.

 

[Wayne1]

As of right now, Kern County lists 79% humidity. CodeSection is at 14%. Denver averages 37%.

You have a fair amount of humidity which shows itself by the condensation build up on your metal parts of your glycol system.

Cheers

 

[Jag75]

As of right now, Kern County lists 79% humidity. CodeSection is at 14%. Denver averages 37%.

You have a fair amount of humidity which shows itself by the condensation build up on your metal parts of your glycol system.

Cheers

Well heck , it doesnt feel humid to me lol. You know something I just thought about is I've been using my swamp cooler because it's already warm . That could very well make it even more humid. I wonder if the humidity is saying 79 because it was overcast yesterday. 79 is way above our norm around here . I'm about 35 miles away from Bakersfield.

 

[hezagenius]

I was gonna wait for the Max2 but just bit the bullet and got the Max4. I plan on getting another fermenter in the near future and was thinking what if i end up wanting to grab a total of 4 someday or maybe a 1 bbl if things get serious. Most likely ill grab another couple grainfather conicals and just stay with the whole 5 gallon batches at a time honestly. If I do more it might get old and ill just wanna bottle it and move on from it.

I'm in the same boat as you. I've been waiting for the Max 2 but at this point, I'd rather spend a little extra to get something that allows me to brew now. Plus it has a smaller footprint and more potential for expansion. I'm still waiting for MoreBeer to have a sale, though. I know as soon as I order it, they'll have a 15% off sale!

 

[CodeSection]

Another advantage when you are using an Inkbird ITC-308 WIFI controller with the Icemaster 100 is it can control heat as well since it has a heating receptacle. Since I live in southern AZ, I have never needed a heating pad. Your situation may be different.

It appears all the built-in controllers that are being integrated into glycol chillers (Stasis, Max4, Max2..) do not have the ability to control a heating pad. They just cool and have no receptacles to plug the heating pad into. Thus, I suspect if you have a need to heat your fermenter in the winter and you want to control the temp, you will end up buying another controller.

 

[deuc224]

Im waiting for this chiller to get in cuz mobrew is back tracked bad. Barely got the shipping notice today so hopefully itll be here by the weekend to plan my dunkel.

 

[WesBrew]

Morebeer says on my order status that the MAX2 is in warehouse but not yet shipped. I might get it this month.

 

[TennBrewer]

Morebeer says on my order status that the MAX2 is in warehouse but not yet shipped. I might get it this month.

I hear ya, I had an order at MoreBeer in the warehouse but not yet picked. After two weeks and no change in the status, I cancelled the order.

 

[TheMadKing]

Morebeer says on my order status that the MAX2 is in warehouse but not yet shipped. I might get it this month.

Can you keep us updated on the status please? I am interested in the Max 2 as well, but I don't want to wait until 2021 to get it.

I have a feeling your order status might be better info than what's posted on the MoreBeer website

 

[Labrat]

I did ping MoreBeer about the IceMaster 100 actually being in stock in late May and the response seemed to suggest that it might be in stock.

I am now also considering the Blichmann 3/8 HP chiller. There is not much out there as far as user reviews. Has anyone any experience with that unit? It is in stock and ships quickly from Blichmann. I would purchase it from MoreBeer.

 

[Yesfan]

@Labrat There's a review of it by Short Circuited Brewers LINK. I've seen him post a few times here. Maybe you can reach out to him for more info.

 

[Labrat]

Thanks Yesfan. I checked out that video and it seems to be a thumbs up for the Blichmann glycol chiller. I did come across a post that indicated the Icemaster 100 was slightly quieter than the Blichmann. The difference seemed pretty small and it looks like the Blichmann also serves as a power strip. I will be using Spike pumps and temperature controllers for my setup.
I don't anticipate any sales on the Icemaster since MoreBeer is sold out. The Blichmann is in stock and I would like something soon for my 2 CF5s.

 

[Labrat]

Hi All,
The Icemaster 100 is back in stock at MoreBeer so I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it. The delivery is projected for June 11, kind of a bummer. There is a lot more information out there on the Icemaster than the Blichmann so I felt more comfortable with its purchase. Thanks for all of the assistance.

 

[WesBrew]

Can you keep us updated on the status please? I am interested in the Max 2 as well, but I don't want to wait until 2021 to get it.

I have a feeling your order status might be better info than what's posted on the MoreBeer website

Its been "in warehouse " for a couple of weeks. the problem is its in a California warehouse. that state looks to be extending the shutdown as long as possible so not sure when I'll get it