Glycol/swamp kegmenter combo

[bovine_OB]

Tried searching the interwebs, but have not found much. What I'd like to do is ferment in an old sanke. I'd like to solder a 4" tc in place of the original opening with a mechanism for blow off and pressure transfer - NOT looking to pressure ferment, only 2-5 psi to move the beer to serving keg.

I've seen glycol chillers from dehumidifiers and AC units, that pump glycol either through an internal coil or even an external coil. What I am thinking would be to set the sanke in an old lick tub (for those unfamiliar, they are essentially a plastic laundry tub or a ~25 gal bucket) with water or glycol, then pump the chilled glycol solution around the fermenter, with the AC unit set to cycle on/off as needed to maintain temp. The lick tup would be rudimentarily insulated to help hold temps.

Issues with this? Basically taking the jacket/coil idea and swapping it for the swamp idea but using the power of a glycol chiller to enable more steady and cooler temps. Any and all feedback would be appreciated.

 

[SanPancho]

Theres a thread here where someone used blue discharge hose from Home Depot at wrapped it around a stainless vessel. Used it to make a glycol “jacket” and it worked.

Probably easier and less hassle than a tub?

 

[bovine_OB]

I did read that thread, and it looks simple enough. My concern, and probably shouldn't be a concern at the homebrew level, but would the thermal transfer be more efficient in a liquid bath versus transfer through the plastic wall of the hose? Or is that a non-issue?

 

[SanPancho]

Hard to say without personal experience. But with a bath youd be cooling a much larger amount of glycol, and its open to atmosphere and ambient temps. Id guess that alone would make the chiller work harder. Youd also need to monitor the glycol mix, the water will evaporate in an open system and the higher glycol % will cause chiller to work harder. (Water is more effective at thermal transfer)

Plus when you transfer out of the keg its gonna start to float up and bob in the bath, probably stir up a bunch of sediments.

 

[Bigs166]

Tried searching the interwebs, but have not found much. What I'd like to do is ferment in an old sanke. I'd like to solder a 4" tc in place of the original opening with a mechanism for blow off and pressure transfer - NOT looking to pressure ferment, only 2-5 psi to move the beer to serving keg.

I've seen glycol chillers from dehumidifiers and AC units, that pump glycol either through an internal coil or even an external coil. What I am thinking would be to set the sanke in an old lick tub (for those unfamiliar, they are essentially a plastic laundry tub or a ~25 gal bucket) with water or glycol, then pump the chilled glycol solution around the fermenter, with the AC unit set to cycle on/off as needed to maintain temp. The lick tup would be rudimentarily insulated to help hold temps.

Issues with this? Basically taking the jacket/coil idea and swapping it for the swamp idea but using the power of a glycol chiller to enable more steady and cooler temps. Any and all feedback would be appreciated.

I am in the process of building a 4” TC attachment that will include a stainless steel coil, dip tube, blow off post and a thermowell for temp controlled fermentation in a kegmenter (with a 4”TC opening that is). I will post when it is complete