Homebrew DIY Glycol Chiller
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2019
- I build a glycol chiller with an old airconditoner and cooler. Tihs chiller is used to maintain a constant fermentation temperature in my fermenter. It could also be used to chill beer lines for a long run. The project was fairly simple and very economical when compared to buying a glycol chiller or water chiller.
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![How to Build a DIY Glycol Chiller [ Control Fermentation Temperatures ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OkaR9bQPs9A/mqdefault.jpg)
Great build. I'm in the process of sourcing the parts for a chiller and this is the best build so far. Great work.
Thank you for the very kind words. Please feel free to comment back with any questions that you might run into and I'll gladly answer. This was a great project and I am glad to say the unit is still running perfectly.
Absolutely awesome! Great job! Thanks for sharing, this will be the build I model after when I get around to doing one. Cheers!
I am glad you enjoyed the video and the project. It is a good one for sure and feel free to send in any questions and I'll gladly help as I can. Thanks again for the kind words.
Very clean execution. Thanks for sharing !
Thanks for the kind words. I have a Father's Day Pilsner in the fermenter right now. The chiller is doing its job maintaining the constant temperature. I sort of chuckle though every time the A/C unit kicks on to chill the glycol, it really makes a bit of a racket!
I built one - thx for the video and tips - it is working well holding my first lager at 11 C. Cheers!
Fantastic - Congratulations!!! I remember being intimidated with this project initially. After 3 years my unit is still running flawlessly (I should do an update video). I am sure that you will enjoy using your chiller, and again, congratulations on doing the project! Happy New Year -DT
Awesome idea! I have a spare portable refrigerative cooler in my shed and am so going to do this myself!
This is a very fun and useful project. I am glad to say my unit has been running for over 6 months without any issues. I'll likely do an update at one year to share its status and my thoughts. Feel free to send any questions to me when you get started and I'll gladly help as I can. All the best.
Nice job, and very clear on the process… 👍
Thanks for watching and your kind comment. This was a great project to do, and I'm glad to stay she's still running perfectly!! Best Regards, -DT
Good work ,i did it for my above ground pool but larger scale
And i strongly advise you to use a submersible small aquarium pump to circulate and agitate the cold glycool inside the box
You will notice a huge difference in cooling.
McGiver build. Wished I had your electrical knowledge. I would build this. Well done.
thanks for watching and your comment. This was a fun project and glad to say a year and a half later it is still running strong. -DT
Nice work man!
Thanks for your kind words. The unit continues to run perfectly. I brewed a Pilsner yesterday and it was nice to hear the unit kick on to run the system at lager temperatures.
Nice video!!
Thanks so much for your kind message! I put these together and post them, never really knowing if folks will enjoy and maybe even benefit from them. It is kind messages such as yours that inspire me to keep on trying. All the best to you. -DT
Hi there, thank you for sharing the video of your Project. I do have a question.... do you think running a circulation pump inside the cooler would help keep the mixture at a more consistent temp?
In some other builds you see the use of a circulation pump. I thought that I would try it first without one and was happy to see that it works fine. When the pump runs to circulate through the fermenter, the return sort of stirs things up. Also with the size of my cooler, and the coil's position right in the middle, I think the temperature is stable throughout.
Does the evaporator inside the cooler ever condensate or freeze? I am working on a project and any H20 would be bad. Thanks!
thanks for watching. It does not freeze by virtue of the glycol. In my set up the top of the coils are not completely covered so they "frost" over. If they were completely submerged they would not. I hope this helps, good luck. -DT
Hi! Awesome build and clean finished project. I had a question about the leftover parts. Do you have any fan at all that's blowing on the big coils on the front? I took things apart well enough, but I can't tell if there's a fan running in your video. Thanks for spreading your knowledge!
Thanks for your very kind comment. There were two fan blades in here. One was the hamster wheel style that you see in the stack up of unused parts at 2:00. This one would be the one to blow across the cold "radiator" and force the cold air into your room. The other one, which you can see at 2:59, is the propeller type that cools the coils in the unit. This would be the warm/hot exhaust air. You will need this one so the unit cools off when running (plus it would be really hard to get out!!). Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll gladly answer.
For better cooling effect i advise you to use small submersible pump inside the glycol box so the gold glycol will circulate continuously and the cool exchange will be much better
Thanks for watching and the suggestion. This is why I love to do the channel, it is a great place to exchange ideas with others. I am going to take your suggestion and put it into action. I'll be doing an update TWO YEARS LATER to share how things are going with the unit and include your suggested modification. Thanks again. -DT
Great system! Can you tell me about the glycol pump and where it's placed in your system? I'm not seeing how the glycol is pushed through the line.
Many thanks,
Stephen
Thanks for your kind words, I am happy to provide the extra info. I should have taken a photo of this because others have asked about it too. Essentially I have this little pump sitting in the bottom of the glycol tank. The output tube comes off the top and pumps the fluid up through the tube connected to the fermenter cooling coil. The output from the cooling coil comes back down to the tank through the second tube (both tubes are in the grey pipe insulator). Here is a link to the pump I used (still going strong):
www.amazon.com/bayite-BYT-7A006-Heater-Circulation-Discharge/dp/B0196WL55G/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2H370Y1634UM5&dchild=1&keywords=bayite+12v+dc+fresh+water+pump&qid=1593960668&sprefix=bayite%2Caps%2C338&sr=8-7
Hopefully this helps. All the best.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. A question on the pump you use. How many liters per hour? What was the minimum head height?
thanks for watching and our comment. Here is a link to the pump I use. I have used these for different tasks in my setup and always have good luck. My hoses go up about 5 feet to the fermenter. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G305PK0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks again for watching. Best of luck. -DT
Great build. Ill be doing one in the spring with an emphasis on keeping it as compact and movable as possible as it will be used in my apartment with my ss brewtech conical. Also thinking about implementing a ball valve to be able to drain easier when necessary by hooking up to an external chugger pump. Side note : you in Minnesota?
Thanks for the note. I thought about doing this for a long time and am very glad that I finally did. Your ball valve idea is a good one. Also, I highly recommend the mechanical switch between your glycol pump controller and the pump itself. These little controllers can turn on if the power flickers (or goes out) and you would be broken hearted to see 2 gallons of glycol + 4 gallons of water all over your floor because the pump kicked on when the tubes are not connected to your fermenter. Feel free to ask any questions once you get going and I'll be glad to help out.
As for Minnesota, no I live out in Tacoma, WA. My company's factory is south of Minneapolis by just over an hour and every time I go back for meetings my first stop is always the Northbound Smokehouse and brewery!!! (I also hit Surly when I have a little extra time). Thanks again for your note.
Great video, and you’re great at clearly explaining your process, so for that THANKS! Questions for you; 1. Do I need to be worried about the AC coil rusting over time with half in the glycol solution? 2. It’s been sometime now since you posted this video, how is the chiller still holding up? Thanks, Christopher
Thank you for your very kind note. The question of the coil's longevity in the glycol comes up quite a bit. I see no signs of any issues so far. In researching, it seems that this is not a common problem. I will say that the AC unit I am using is older and heavy duty, the lightweight, cheaper (modern) ones might have problems that I don't see with mine, but I think the risks are low. The chiller is holding strong, in fact I have it in the crash mode right now on my latest IPA (Scorpion Bowl by Stone type of brew). My garage is around 65 degrees, I have the fermenter temp set to 5 C (40 F) and the unit runs about once each hour or two. The little pump inside the cooler that pumps the glycol to the fermenter runs off and on quite a bit as it holds the beer temperature constant. Thanks for your kind note and for watching.
HomeBrewingTips thank you so much for the reply. One last thing, how often do you need to change the glycol?
@@christophergerosavas8370 I have read that you should do this each year. I think you can probably stretch that out. I plan to monitor it and maybe go a couple years (?). There is about $50 in glycol in the tank so the longer I can use it the better! When I do go to change it, I'll pump out all I can with the little pump in there already, and then likely have to remove the A/C unit so I can get the rest and clean it real good.
This is really cool! Just a thought on my part. There has to be a way to do this smaller maybe with Peltier devices? I how someone out there posts a video.
thanks for watching a leaving a very good comment. There are some fermenter suppliers who offer TEC coolers attached to the fermenter. MoreBeer does (or did) like this:
www.morebeer.com/products/ultimate-conical-fermenter-14-gallon.html
I have played around with them myself, but I found them to be expensive and inefficient and a bit tough to use (also prone to failure if not handled right). I am fortunate enough to have the space for the glycol type of set up.
Gonna save this video. Just getting into brewing so my order for startup is gonna be rather large. Prolly just use a heat jacket and ice water for a while, but i really like your no bullshit approach. I saw the one with all the switches and lights you mentioned. Redundant and wasteful imo, but still a decent build. Like yours better. Thanks
Right on, thanks for watching and your comment. This unit is still running strong, no issues at all. Best of luck on your brewing efforts and feel free to reach back out for any assistance. All the best. -DT
Any suggestions on how to split the cooler to cool two or more FVs? Thanks in advance great job super video!
Thanks for watching and your kind note. I believe that I could easily put a second submersible pump in and route it to a second fermenter. You would need a second controller to switch the additional pump on and off, but that would be easy enough (it would be just like the first one). The volume and temperature of the glycol could handle two 10 gallon batches pretty easily. Cold crashing both at the same time could be a stretch. If in fact that worked, it could be trial and error to see if a third could be added. The reason that I think that this is possible is that my A/C unit runs very infrequently to chill the glycol even during the most active fermentation times (when the internal thermal rise is at its peak). I am glad to say that after 2+ years my unit still runs like clockwork. I have not done any maintenance to it or changed the glycol. My setup is in the attached garage where the ambient temperature is around 65F year round.
I hope things work out for you. If you do a bigger system, let me know the results. All the best, -DT
Really love this design. I was wondering if this system could be used with a cold plate (plate heat exchanger) to bring the wort to pitching temp?
Thanks for watching and your comment. I believe that this could work with the plate chiller. I would be a little worried about the amount of wasted glycol though when you connect and disconnect the chiller lines. I have a friend who built this same design and what he does is run through the chiller to lower as much as possible and just completes the chilling in the fermenter with the cooling coil/glycol chiller. I typically get to pitching temperatures with my plate chiller alone and water (in Tacoma our ground water is pretty cool). I hope this helps, and thanks again for watching. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 Thanks for the reply. I have always done ground water as well, but I hated running the heated water down the drain. So I was interested in this project as I would be recycling the same amount of water and use the modified AC unit to reject the heat. I just didn't know if the system could handle 180 degree water coming back to the cooler the evaporator was submerged in and reject 130 degrees of heat to get the glycol/water mix down to 50ish to keep the plate chiller effective. We might hit a point of saturation where after the initial cool down our water loop will end up staying at a relatively high temp as the AC unit is limited to how much heat it could remove from the water loop. Was curious on your thoughts.
@@severly73 You and I share one thing, I too hate to waste the water (and anything else for that matter). I think that you are right that the thermal rise of the cooling liquid would be rapid. As an experiment you could take a cooler roughly the size of mine, put big blocks of ice (real big) in it with a little water and pump. Try recirculating that through the chiller and see how quickly it melts. Who knows, we could be surprised! When I chill the wort with water, I capture all of the cooling water in buckets and old kegs. I use that water for my clean up, for a new batch of Star San, and even water the plants. People think I am nuts, but I just feel better doing that than letting it run down the driveway. All the best. -DT
Great work and project? I guess over time there will be worry of unit rusting for the components submerged in the glycol water mix?
Good morning and thanks for watching and commenting. I have been monitoring the unit for signs of wear (corrosion) and so-far-so-good. The AC unit I used was old and seems to be holding up pretty good. Also, I am relying on what others who posted similar projects had to say on this topic: all positive.. Now with that said, my little submersible pump sometimes doesn't want to run and the glycol is a little cloudy, but no real signs of things giving out. At the one year mark I will probably drain it, clean it, and give a thorough inspection. The glycol is about $25 per gallon, and I used 2 gallons so I want to stretch it as long as I can. Hopefully this helps. All the best ....
Hrm, I do wonder if it's better to keep the return warm glycol outside of the foam sheath, so as to not heat up the cold feed tube? Although realistically the temperature delta is probably negligible.
This is why I like to post videos: I get a lot of great input, ideas, observations offered by those who watch. Thank you.
Funny enough, initially I had two different foam insulators - one for output, one for return. After monitoring things for a bit, I realized that the reality was that neither insulator really did much. Having two different ones was sort of clunky, so I went to one. The advantage of using the insulator is that it stopped the hoses from sweating so much (without the insulator they would literally drip with condensation). Thanks again for watching and sharing your thoughts.
I like the Brecker Bros. intro.
Hi, thanks for watching and the comment regarding the Brecker Brothers. You are only the second person to recognize and comment on that. As a younger guy, I wore out those albums listening to them over and over and playing along (I was trumpet player for many years). Merry Christmas. -DT
I’m missing the part on how this works, the radiator thingy cools the pool of water in the cool and then you pump it out into coils that sit in the fermentor?
Thanks for watching and your comment. Ya, that is a pretty important part of the video - how it actually all works!! You are exactly right in your summation. The coils in the glycol pool get very cold (these are what cool the air in an air conditioner, they get super cold and the fan blows air across them). The glycol is at about 32 degrees and it is pumped through the fermenter coils thus cooling the wort. Both the set temp for the glycol and the pump controller are controlled by thermo sensors that switch them on and off. Thanks again for watching, all the best. -DT
Great job man! I wanna know if you can put another pump with another stc1000 for control another fermenter, is that possible?.
Thanks for the note. Yes, that would absolutely be possible. A system this size easily handles my fermenter (10 gallon batch size). The only time it (the air conditioner to cool the glycol) runs much is when I am crashing and holding the temperature at 38 degrees. Even then, it is not working that hard. Good luck to you, and thanks again for watching and commenting.
Great video. Could you use boat and RV anti-freeze as the glycol for this?
Thanks for watching. This is a great question and one I wrestled with myself as I was doing the project. As I understand it, Glycol is essentially a food grade anti-freeze. I would think the biggest risk in using anti-freeze would be the corrosive effect it might have (again, I don't really know the chemical properties of glycol vs ant-freeze). I guess I would error on the side of caution and stick with glycol. I can also say that I have been running this system for over 3 years with NO issues at all. Also, I do not foresee the need to replace the glycol so even though the initial cost might be higher, over the long run it should be a wash. Good luck with your chiller project and I'll be glad to offer any other layman's input on questions that you might have. All the best -DT
Hey mate, just curious as to how well it actually pulls down to temp?
thanks for watching and thanks for writing. My set up is in the garage where it is typically 65 - 75 degrees ambient. I can easily move the temperature 5 degrees each 30 - 60 minutes (I never really timed it). I can crash and hold below 40 degrees easily. The single biggest factor is the efficiency and batch size in the fermenter itself. Mine is up to 15 gallons, of which I usually ferment 8 gallons (that way I can fill a 5 gallon keg and a 3 gallon keg). Ironically, the fuller the fermenter the better. As for holding any temperature to with in .5 degrees, it is rock solid. I hope that answers your question and helps. Cheers!
Great project!! I really want to go for it. Do you expect any issues with the immerse evaporator?
Hi, thanks for watching and your comment. The first time I saw someone else do this (maybe 10 years ago), I thought no way!! How crazy!!! Some people...... but then I went for it and was delighted with how it all came together (and it is relatively easy). To answer your question, and others that may come to you, here is a link to the "4 years later" video I did:
th-cam.com/video/zxHzuDrczbU/w-d-xo.html
Spoiler alert:: everything is still running flawlessly.
Final comment, the one thing to be extremely cautious with is the bending out of the coil. You don't want to break the copper pipe. Mine just sort of rotated 90 degrees as I did it, so I just went with that orientation.
Let me know how things work out. All the best. -DT
Hello!
This project looks really cool I just got an A/C unit to go with you idea.
Can I ask you a favor? Would you let me know how did you worked out the capacitor hard-wiring and circuitry part? I believe that apart from that I can set up the connections with the ink-bird controller for the temp. control for this glycol-side cooling temp. (apart from that for the fermenter which I already had set up).
Thank you!
Thanks for watching. In my unit the A/C power line (the black wire) went from the wall plug to the on/off switch, then over to the high/low switch and finally to the condenser (look at time 3:04). I could connect it directly from the cable to the condenser and the fan and that would be the same as if the unit was on and set to high power. To do this a simple multi meter is helpful. Another good spot to see this is 3:19, stop the video there and you can see the black wire connected to the condenser black wire and the fan red wire (they are tied together with the yellow wire nut).
@@homebrewingtips6029 Allright! Let me give it a try and I let you know how it went!
Cheers!
really awesome build. My question is how you established a panel controller to your still and the temperature of the glycol. I know you used an inkbird for your glycol temp but how did make a controller for the still itself did you attach the still controller to whatever heating mechanism runs the still?? also is there a preferred ratio for the glycol that you used? so many questions As I NEED to build one of these now that my oil business is picking up and I need a vessel to run multiple stills. Would love to talk to you more even pay you for your time or to build a product for me ... or pay for the schematics to yours. Thank you
Glad to help. The two temperature controllers are basically the same thing: one is an inkbird and the other a STC1000 (i'd just use two inkbirds in the future it jus has a few easier features, but again very similar). Both were built the same way as the one shown in the video. The inkbird schematic (comes with it) is pretty good, the STC not so much. The inkbird temp probe is in the glycol bath, the STC probe goes into the thermowell on front of the fermenter. The thermowell is just a sealed but that protrudes into the vessel by about 8 inches. The STC temp probe slides in nicely (tight by not too tight) and makes contact with the wall of the thermowell; hence a reliable temperature measurement. Also, as far as the glycol goes, I think I used about a 3:1 ratio. The glycol is about $25 a gallon so I wanted to use as little as possible. In this build I used 2 gallons and it seems just fine. As a footnote, the unit runs maybe twice a day (for ~10 minutes) when not in use to keep the glycol bath cold (I keep it at 32 degrees). I've seen guys say this size of a system can cool two 15 gallon fermenters, that seems doable to me after watching its performance. Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions.
ooops: thermowell is a sealed TUBE that protrudes into the fermenter. Also the 3:1 glycol is 3 gallons water to 1 gallon glycol. Most say a 2:1 is the way to go, but I stretched it.
Hi, thanks for sharing.... and a question, how cool can this unit go down with glycol and with only water? and how long you think is the life span of a systema like this that you made. thanks again
Good morning, thanks for watching and I will share my thoughts. When I first tested the unit (see minute 2:35) the coils started to ice up within a few minutes. The overall tank was not too cold, but the coils sure were. Now I just had a thought, if you had a little stir pump to recirculate the water you might be able to get it real cold before it froze at the coils and I have ice form, but I wouldn't be surprised if that problem persisted (hence the addition of glycol). I used roughly a 3:1 ratio of water to glycol and have my temperature set to 32F. I programed the inkbird controller with quite a bit of hysteresis so the AC unit wouldn't try to cut on and off a precisely 32F, so it warms to 35F then shuts off at 29F. When not chilling beer, the AC unit runs once a day or so for a few minutes to keep the glycol tank that cold. As for the life span, I see no reason that this won't run for a very long time. The AC unit is not taxed at all, and it is a good old one that might just run for ever (the newer cheaper ones like everything else might have a shorter life). People ask if the glycol will corrode the radiator coils, I don't think it will. This glycol is not corrosive:
www.amazon.com/Sanco-Industries-Propylene-Glycol-Antifreeze/dp/B01MS8F1UW/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-nc-drs1_0?cv_ct_cx=glycol&dchild=1&keywords=glycol&pd_rd_i=B01MS8F1UW&pd_rd_r=ae692949-4e5d-484a-a231-9880003dc304&pd_rd_w=irY33&pd_rd_wg=EtD96&pf_rd_p=8f655ecb-bc8c-4750-9088-950aa74d52dd&pf_rd_r=RQ57NXJ6QAXBN8EMFFPK&qid=1608480166&sr=1-1-88388c6d-14b8-4f70-90f6-05ac39e80cc0&th=1
So the short answer is that I have no reason to expect it should fail within 10 year+
I hope this helps, thanks again for watching. -DT
I’m looking forward to building this! What kind of pump did you use for the glycol?
Thanks for watching. Here is a link to the pump I used: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G305PK0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Feel free to contact me with any other questions. I'll gladly help as I can. All the best. -DT
can you give us some help on hardwiring ? how do we eliminate the thermocouple and temp adjust? thanks
Thanks for watching. It is a bit tough to describe because all units are different. If you look at 3:02 you see the end result. I suggest that you watch this video, this guy does a good job describing the process in detail:
th-cam.com/video/OFCcHW-LKyI/w-d-xo.html
Feel free to comment back with questions as you start to get into the project and I will gladly help out.
All the best. -DT
This is great. Do you think leaving the AC wiring intact and just turning it full blast would work? I'm in the garage and it's hot
While not an expert, I believe that the AC unit would run because no cool air would be blown over the temperature sensor. I think that this would make the glycol extremely cold (freeze???) and put some stress on your unit. I thought came to me that perhaps you could put a timer on your AC unit to cycle it on and off via time instead of temperature. To give you a reference, my garage is around 68 degrees, when my glycol temperature goes up to 35 degrees the AC turns on for about 4 or 5 minutes to cool it back down to about 28 degrees (pretty efficient). When just holding the temperature (not crashing) this cycle occurs every couple hours. When just sitting idle, this cycle occurs once a day or so.
At 0:52 my test configuration is sort of like what you are talking about (everything was still connected)
Best of luck.
@@homebrewingtips6029 really appreciate your time in responding. I will use a temp controller to monitor the glycol temp and keep the AC wiring intact, so the controller will switch on only when required. You also answered a different question I had about how much it runs. Was a little worried about making the hot garage even hotter, but it shouldn't be an issue with these run times and with my 5 gallon batches. Happy brewing!
This will be my next project. Did you retain the stock capacitor? Also, I have seen others just connect the thermostat leads together in essence creating a permanently closed (or open I guess) circuit. Is that what you did?
First off, good luck on your build! This is a fun project. I kept the capacitor. I followed the hot wire from the AC input and tied all of the connected wires together, For example, I took the on off switch out and tied the AC line directly to the on position, same thing with the speed control (tied it to the "high" setting). As for the thermostat, what you said would work, I found it just as easy to remove the whole thing and it left the unit very tidy. You can see most of this in 3:00 - 3:25 in the video. I found using a simple volt meter was all you really needed to see how the wiring actually works. One extra thing that I'll comment on, when you are going to bend out the coil, I found slow and constant pressure was the way to go. I had no issues at all (this was what I feared the most). I actually pulled mine out and rotated it 90 degrees in one gentle, continuous motion. Feel free to ping me with other question. Have fun!
Any heat used to bend the coil into position or just slow pulling?
@@nickypalma2039 No heat needed. I just used a slow and steady force to pull out and position the coil where I wanted it to go. This was the most concerning part of the project but proved to be quite simple with the A/C unit that I had.
your talented- I have a question...love your design...could you have pumped down the A/C unit, bought some copper tubing and placed the condenser a little flatter in the cooler and then sweat the entension lines and re charge the unit? not much money and you get a nicer fit and more efficient product no?
Thanks for watching and your note. There are probably several alternative designs. Truthfully, I don't really have enough knowledge (and skills) to rework the AC too much. I have to agree with you, a little more compact design would be nice (fortunately I have space for it as is). It was a fun project and after a year and a half it is still running strong. Thanks again for watching. -D
@@homebrewingtips6029 i am going nuts with this idea.....if you wanted to turbo this- Im planning a micro distillery in Panama, I would do exactly what you did, I would put the unit in a metal pot- a commercial tall one, and place the whole unit into a small chest freezer- bags of ice around the pot- use a glycol mix to prevent freezing obviously and the only thing you see is a compact chest freezer, copper lines thru the back of the lid and the compressor unit next to it- Ill work on that and send you pics- if your only running one still you unplug the chest freezer- see ya!
Hi, nice project! What is the lowest reachable water/ glycol bath temp?
thanks for watching and your comment. I set mine to 32 degrees with a hysteresis of +/- 2 degrees (on at 34 and off at 29). This smoothes out the A/C unit's on/off cycles. I am sure it could go down to 25 or less, I have just never tried to hit the low end limit. The ratio of glycol to water likely has something to do with it too. I used a 4:1 (I think the suggested is 3:1). I have no icing or other issues with the range that I have specified. Does this help? All the best to you. -DT
Did you do this with an analog or digital AC unit? I picked up a used Kenmore 253.79081 (which appears to be digital). I've heard that doing this with a digital AC is much more challenging. Do you have any insight into that? I basically need to disengage the thermostat correct? Any ideas or advice are appreciated! TIA!
Hello, thanks for watching and your comment. I downloaded the manual for your unit, it is pretty nice: 8,000 BTU, remote control. The manual stopped short of providing the schematic, but my thoughts below apply. Let me answer your questions (1) mine was an old analog unit. (2) I too read that using a digital one is more difficult but I don't think that this is true if you use my approach of stripping everything out altogether as shown at 3:00. I took the power in (black cable) and connected it directly to the wires that would normally be connected to the output of the thermostat/controller (it was just 2 connections, the compressor and the fan). This essentially made it an on/off function that is controlled by the Inkbird which is switched on and off by its thermo probe in the glycol tank. I think the key would be to trace the path of the incoming power and the output of the digital unit to see what needs to be connected. If you have a basic multi meter you could actually measure the voltage levels (it would be 0 and 120V) to see what happens when the digital unit turns on and off power to the downstream devices. ** of course be careful of shock ** Feel free to send in other question and I'll be glad to offer my 2 cents!
@@homebrewingtips6029 thank you for the advice. Will definitely reach back out with any questions. I appreciate it!
Definitely shooting a subscribe for this. Not only is this a cool design, but you responded to almost every question people asked. Great content brother, ill be finishing my build tomorrow
Does this work only for lagering or do you use if for cold crashing? The temp that normally comes off of a standard air conditioner evaporator coil is no cooler than 32F. After that it will begin to freeze. I know that the glycol will allow colder temps but this can cause the refrigerant to become sub cooled and be in danger of not boiling off and entering the compressor as a liquid. (liquid flood back)This will damage the compressor valves and the system will no longer cool. I can see bringing the glycol down to 32F but is that enough of a differential to cold crash to 35F? I would think the glycol should be down to at least 25 F to do this.
Happy New Year, thanks for watching and your comment. I use this chiller for holding lager fermentation temperatures, for holding ale fermentation temperatures, and for cold crashing. I have the glycol bath set to 32 degrees +/- 3 degrees (so it doesn't cycle on and off repeatedly to hold a precise 32 F). I believe that you know more about air conditioners than I do, but I will say that I have never had a problem with liquid flood back. I have had my unit in operation for a year and a half with no issues at all. One extra note, I made a insulating jacket out of 1/4" neoprene (sort of a fermenter koozie) to help try to maintain the lower temperatures and aid in mitigating the sweating that occurs. I easily hold 38 degrees and if I push it a bit 35 degrees in the fermenter is pretty easily achieved. While in the crash and conditioning phase, the A/C unit runs about once an hour for a few minutes to cooler the glycol back down.
Thanks again for your thoughts and insights. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 I am a HVAC mechanic so I was curious if a standard A/C unit would cold crash with no damage to the compressor. I have a spare A/C unit hanging around. Might be time for me to dive in and build myself a glycol chiller! Cheers.
@@CanadianBrewingChannel I am glad I didn't position myself as a A/C expert !!!!! Too funny, but this is why I like to post my experiences and techniques. There are so many smart people out there who watch and comment and make me think of new and better ways of doing things. I appreciate your thoughts and will check out your channel.
-DT
@Shawn Robinson sorry about the coil, but you have the skills to do the repair job which is awesome. I'll jump over to your channel and check it out!
Awesome video. I've basically followed your whole process with my build! Thanks a lot! One question I do have is how much glycol and water did you use? I just used 4 gallons of water and 2 gallons of glycol but the 60qrt chiller isn't that full so my coils are maybe only 1/3 submerged right now. I can cut into the chiller a little more and also perhaps bend the coil downwards some more too but wondered if I'd maybe get away with putting a couple of extra gallons of water into the mix without having any negative effects with freezing?
First off, congratulations on your build!!! It is such a great feeling to see everything work once completed. Mine is still running strong! I went back to refresh myself on the glycol ratio. I can see in some of my other comments back to folks that I used the same ratio as you 2:1, for some reason I had thought that I stretched it to 3:1 simply because the glycol is expensive (side note: I looked up my history in Amazon. I bought the glycols for $29/gallon, now it is $42!! I guess our recent inflation hits everything). A few thoughts: (1) i have never had a freezing issue with my glycol. The temp is set to 32 degrees F. I am pretty sure that I could add more water and still be ok. Two more gallons would give you the 3:1 I had thought that I used. You could do that and just see if anything freezes, likely not, but if it does add another gallon of glycol (2) Is it possible to just get a smaller cooler that would work? A new cooler would be less than a gallon of glycol. (3) If your size is perfect now, perhaps a smaller cooler in the bigger one, or some other way to limit the volume of liquid could work. I can't remember the size of mine (60 Q sounds about right). My coils are about 3/4 covered in the bath and just about touch the bottom of the cooler (my A/C is on 4x4 so I could bend the radiator down as much as possible).
Sort of a long answer that may not help you so much.......
One way or another you're at the finish line and that must feel good! Thanks again for your note, let me know what you wind up doing. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 thanks for the reply! I tried it out at 3:1 and I was getting some freezing issues so I've ordered another gallon of glycol to bring it back to 2:1. Hopefully that will solve it! Also managed to cut a bigger groove in the side of my cooler and remanipulate the coil a little more so its sitting pretty close to the bottom now. Do you find that the part of the coil that's out of the water is super frosty? That's what mine looks like and I'm not sure if somethings wrong with it or it's normal. Do you have your temp set to 32f the whole time? I.e. when cold crashing or do you lower it for the cold crash? Thanks again!
@@westcoastbestcoast7683 This is very interesting and really the reason I like the channel. It gives a forum to exchange ideas and experiences. I was surprised to hear of the freezing effects at 3:1. What is your glycol temperature set to? (just curious about that for the data point). If I were a betting man, I would bet it all that your additional gallon of glycol will clear that up. One thought that just came to mind too, some guys using a "stirring pump" in the cooler to stir the glycol solution. I don't find that it is needed because my return from the conical seems to keep things stirred up. As for my coils, yes the ones outside of the liquid get noticeably frosty, so I think that is normal. I keep my glycol temperature at 32 degrees all the time. It has some hysteresis programmed (off at 29 degrees and on at 34 or so. This prevents if from turning on and off all the time). Crashing a 8 - 10G with this setting is no problem. You will notice that the A/C unit runs more often. The most noticeable thing is that the conical gets wet due to the inside vs. outside temperature. I made a jacket or mine, but I think I'll bite the bullet and order a good one from Spike to help with this condensation.
Again, congratulations on the build! -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 ok well there is a twist to this tale; so it turns out the glycol that amazon sent me wasn't glycol at all! It was mult chain triglycerides.... I should have checked what MCT was before pouring it in but there was an amazon sticker on the bottle which said propylene glycol so i just assumed MCT was a different name for it... triglycerides/glycerine doesnt sound too disimilar. I did think that the liquid looked off when I poured it in, and not what I was expecting but hey I'd never used glycol before so I guess this is just what it's like right?! Well the icing that I reported only looked minor from the surface but you should have seen the size of the ice block underneath once I'd emptied it out. Safe to say it was lucky I only ran the unit for an hour before I turned it off. But anyway, contacted amazon, got them to send me the right stuff, cleaned all of my equipment which if you look up what MCT is you can imagine how difficult thay stuff was to get out of every surface it touched! It's now filled with 2 gallons of glycol and 4 gallons of water, set to 28f, everything working fine! I'm pretty sure going to 6 gallons of water would work fine too. I also use a small aquarium wave maker to keep my liquid moving. Surprised that everything still works after its ordeal but we're all good now! I bet you wasn't expecting this story!
@@westcoastbestcoast7683 Thanks so much for sending this to me, it totally made my day! Not because of the headache and inconvenience to you, but rather it explained why you were getting the icing. I can picture the big block of ice you had because when I first tested mine I used water only to make sure everything was working. If you go to the 3:1 ratio, please let me know. A lot of folks ask me about that and I'd like to provide a good answer. Now every time you hear that A/C unit kick on, you'll smile just thinking back to the MCT fiasco!!! All the best to you and congratulations on the project! -DT
So you are basically keeping the glycol at a steady, low temp and just switching the pump when needed?
I would have likely overcomplicated it myself, this looks much more sane.
You are exactly correct. The glycol in the cooler is held at ~ 32 degrees F. The on/off controller for the cooling pump that circulates the cold glycol is controlled by the probe inserted in the thermowell in the fermenter. I can program it any where I like to between ~ 35F to 75F (or just turn it off to get as warm as it naturally will which is above where I'd ever want to have it). I'll be doing a video on pumps and will show the one that is in the chiller in that video if you are interested in that. Thanks again for watching.
Cool setup!! I might be hollering for help soon!! Lol!
Don't hold back, I am glad to help in anyway. Thanks for the note.
What did you use for glycol liquid? How much? Did you dilute it at all?
thanks for watching. I bought this glycol: www.amazon.com/s?k=glycol&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
This seems to be the one that most others use too. Yes, you do dilute it, I think that it is 2:1 or 3:1. I recall I wanted to stretch it as far as I could. I used 2 of these gallons and probably about ~6 gallons of water. I just watched it to make sure that it wouldn't freeze at all. I keep my glycol bath at 32F (it ranges 28 - 34) and have no issues what so ever. Interesting, it now costs about $4 more per gallon than when I bought it over a year ago.
are you able to get the temps you want for the yeast?
Hi, thanks for watching and your comment. Yes, I can set the temperature anywhere from 38 degrees to 75 degrees and it will hold that programmed temperature to +/- 1.5 degrees. It is actually quite accurate. That conical is set to hold up to 13 gallons, I typically ferment 8G at a time. Thanks again. -DT
Do you see any issue with putting two units (one on each side of the cooler) with a 60 quart cooler.
Super-size it! If it fits it is probably ok. A lot of folks ask me how much I can cool with what I have. 1 fermenter? 2 fermenters? 3 fermenters? I honestly don't know, but it does a very good and efficient job. If you get this done I would love to see it. Please keep me informed and feel free to bring up questions and I'll be glad to help as I can. All the best. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 how can I deliver the images?
@@donaldfrantum2323 dteach2584ATyahoo would do it.
What pump and hoses did you use to circulate the glycol?
Hi, thanks for watching and your comment. Here is a link to the pump that I bought:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G305PK0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have used these before and they do a great job. This one has been in the freezing glycol for 2 years now and continues to run like new. For the hose, I had some plain plastic hose that was the right size (1/2" in think) and used it. You can buy that type at Home Depot. Let me know if you other questions and I'll be glad to help. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 thanks man this build is genius. Going to use on my 400L wine fermenter. Glycol isn't degrading your plastics at all huh?
@@michaelhansen4260 It is surprising how reliable this has been. Several folks have asked about the lifetime of the glycol itself. Now I am no mechanic or A/C technician, but I figure if you can keep your anti-freeze in your car's radiator for years (which is a much tougher environment), it should last a very long time in this cooling function (glycol is sort of food grade anti-freeze). I think that the mix ratio was recommended to be 3:1, but being cheap I stretched that to 4:1 (8 gallons water to 2 gallons glycol). There has been no degradation to the pump, hoses, or the A/C evaporator core (the part that is in the glycol). Good luck with your project!! -DT
What pumps the glycol around bud
thanks for watching. I use this little pump inside the glycol cooler. It just sits on the bottom with the tube coming up off of the top:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G305PK0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I find that these little pumps work great for a number of different recirculation applications
@@homesmokingtips1449 great, thanks alot for the link 👍
I am trying this and I am confused about the wiring. On my capacitor, I have HERM with 2 prongs, FAN with 1 prong, and then one with no label with 3 prongs. Is there any chance that you could help me?
Hi there. First, have you disconnected the wiring (any of it)? If not, don't. Next, watch this guys video:
th-cam.com/video/OFCcHW-LKyI/w-d-xo.html
He spends a lot of time going through things.
A BIG word of CAUTION: the capacitor will hold its charge even when the unit is off and unplugged. It will give you a good jolt if you touch the terminals.
On the inside of your cover, does there happen to be a schematic?
Send me the make and model of your AC unit and I can look it up on line.
It is all pretty easy and similar, but each has its own color coding and labeling. I am sure we can figure it out.
PS: I am neither an electrician nor A/C technician, just a guy who tinkers .......
@@homebrewingtips6029 That was helpful, but I have 6 wires from my fan and he only had 5. Also, my colors are different (which makes it a bit more challenging). I have the following colors coming from my fan (Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, Yellow/Green, White). The white, yellow, and red are hooked up to the Hi Fan, Low Fan, Hi Cool, Low Cool switch. I have three wires coming from the compressor (Red, Black, Blue), and I have three wires coming from the power cord(Black, White, Green). On the Capacitor, I have HERM (2 prongs and red base), C(3 prongs and black base), Fan(1 prong and white base). I suppose for fan, I can use the white wire from the capacitor (directly), after that, I am a bit confused.
@@donaldfrantum1703 Reply with a number I can text.
@@homebrewingtips6029 I think I figured it out. Now, just have to test. I reached out to a local HVAC mechanic and he walked me through it. Thank you for all of your help. As an aside, what size cooler did you use for your build?
@@donaldfrantum1703 This is great news to hear. A close resource is far better than me!!!! Feel free to reach out if you hit some snags. My cooler is about 12 Gallons? What drove my choice is one that had the right height dimension. After bending out the coils I picked one that would accommodate my configuration. It is actually probably a bit too big. I used 2 gallons of glycol and about 8G of water (4:1 when recommenced is likely 3:1).
Do me a favor and let me know how you project turns out. It is a good one!! All the best, -DT
What is the power of air-conditioner in BTU?
I can view 5200 in the video. What is the capacity on liters of wort in fermenter? How many fermenters is possible ?
@@fernandonunez-rosales6251 Hello, thanks for watching and interest. You are right, at 1:54 you can see the box that has the a/c specifications on it. My fermenter can hold 50 liters, recommended batch size would be 40 liters (to allow head space), I tend to run a 32 liter batch size. The glycol chiller easily handles that size, and I would assume that you could easily use it to chill two (maybe 3?) fermenters. I can crash to 4C easily and have made a neoprene jacket to help insulate it and mitigate the condensation (dripping) that occurs due to the temperature difference. I hope this helps, all the best. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 how Many fermenters of 50 liters can be used with You DIY chiller ?
@@fernandonunez-rosales6251 I would guess up to three. Your ambient temperature would be a factor too. My setup is in my garage which is typically 60F - 75F. When connected to my single fermenter, the a/c unit runs once every coupler hours for about 5 minutes to keep the glycol bath at ~0C.
Can you cold crash?
Thanks for watching. Yes, I can cold crash and also lager/condition. I have my glycol set to 32F, I could go even colder if needed. I tend to ferment 8 gallons and this unit will easily handle all phases of the fermentation without much effort.
Sorry as it was meant to be a total positive and meant exclamation mark versus question mark on previous comment
Hi, I just saw your question from before. Thanks for watching. I replied to your other note. Feel free to bring up other questions and observations, I always get a lot of benefit from everyone who watches. -DT
Don't ac units drip what do you do about that mabie just old ac units in did that
Very cool project I imagine your beer is great for sure
thanks for watching. The only "drips" are on the hoses to/from fermenter due to condensation. The fermenter itself will "sweat" as well (I made a jacket for the fermenter to mitigate that issue)
do you have to switch the glycol out at all?
Thanks for watching and your comment. Your question is one that I, like everyone else, was curious about. I don't know what the "lifetime" of glycol is, but I am sure it is very long. Glycol is sort of like your antifreeze in your car's radiator - and how often do we change that!?? I have had my chiller up and running for two years now and everything is still working perfectly. As for the glycol itself, I guess as long as the reservoir doesn't freeze, and the temperature drops in the fermenter when the pump runs, things are ok. Also, I can read what the glycol temperature is through the InkBird controller and it is right where it needs to be. The glycol is about $25 per gallon, I used 2 gallons, so you don't want to have to change it too often! Hopefully this helps and thanks again for watching.. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 Thanks for the info and the video. Think I'm gonna take a stab at this.
@@JohnnyReverse Right on. I thought about it for years before going for it. Just be slow, constant, and careful as you try to bend out the coils. My just sort of naturally wanted to rotate 90 degrees so I let it. Others might bend back in its original orientation. If you get that far you'll be home free. Feel free to ask questions once you get the project rolling. -DT
@@homebrewingtips6029 cool, thanks.
@@homebrewingtips6029 i have a spare inkbird 2 stage and a johnson 2 stage, im guessing those would work for controlling the glycol temp