has anyone made a refrigeraton wort chiller?...

[CurtE]

...just wondering as I think it would work pretty good. I am contemplating trying it as I have a compressor and condensor rig from an old window unit and I also have a a little bolt together nitrile gasketed titanium plate HX to use as an evaporator (dont ask). All I would probabaly need to acquire and plumb in line would be a hot gas bypass valve for load control and a TXV or a fine needle valve and some temp probes and some pressure gauges. I am contemplating using propane as a refrigerant as I dont have a license to buy R22. I do have a CG detector for that.

I would think that pro brewers would have some sort of refigerant rig like this or maybe they just use thier chilled water supply?

Has anyone done this? I have not seen it anywhere before?

I think my titanium HX can stand ~200 psi...should be plenty for evap pressures.

What do y'all think? 'Any other HVAC folks out there that can cime in thier opinions?

Curt E.

[WortNinja]

...just wondering as I think it would work pretty good. I am contemplating trying it as I have a compressor and condensor rig from an old window unit and I also have a a little bolt together nitrile gasketed titanium plate HX to use as an evaporator (dont ask). All I would probabaly need to acquire and plumb in line would be a hot gas bypass valve for load control and a TXV or a fine needle valve and some temp probes and some pressure gauges. I am contemplating using propane as a refrigerant as I dont have a license to buy R22. I do have a CG detector for that.

I would think that pro brewers would have some sort of refigerant rig like this or maybe they just use thier chilled water supply?

Has anyone done this? I have not seen it anywhere before?

I think my titanium HX can stand ~200 psi...should be plenty for evap pressures.

What do y'all think? 'Any other HVAC folks out there that can cime in thier opinions?

Curt E.

You either made all that up, or are much smarter then me. Or both.

[bub]

I'm going with both... it looks like gibberish to me.
BUB

[CurtE]

HA!

Y'all arent as dumb as y'all think you are...probably anyways... It is not gibberish. I only had 16 beers over uh'couple'uh hours before I wrote that stuff. ;o)

Seriously though...I reckon it is more a question for the HVAC newsgroups with the talkin about fancy materials and refrigerant evaporators and such. I just figured that there would be some folks that knew about brewing AND refrigeration that might have tried this.

Jamil's HVAC dude neighbor that told him his window unit in his cold shed wouldnt work... would probably tell me I am a nut too but... I think what I am proposing will work and would be really cool...no pun intended.

Basically what I am proposing is rigging up a counter-flow chiller to a window unit's refrigernat system and instead of cooling air...it cools wort to any temp you want with a simple valve setting.

I'll keep y'all posted if I ever get to try this.


Curt E.

[Bugeater]

I'm in the early stages of building a fermentation chiller but I'm going the high tech route with peltier units. The HVAC crap is out of my league.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[Dave the brew guy]

Basically what I am proposing is rigging up a counter-flow chiller to a window unit's refrigernat system and instead of cooling air...it cools wort to any temp you want with a simple valve setting.
Curt E.

I have no problem getting to pitching temps with just a trickle of water through my CFC. Your idea sounds like a lot of work for an easily obtained result, that's about right for a homebrewer!

[J.Brew]

Gloob Glorb Gleep Glorp!

[rabeb25]

In short yes I tried it. HOWEVER I used a compressor with a coil submerged in gylcol with a reserve tank... IT work.. OK, not enough to make it useful though.

if you go to the brewboard there is a big thread on it.


Bryan