damonr

Hello Everyone, One option many distillers don't consider as an alternative to working through a middleman, why not purchase your chiller system directly from the manufacturer? Pro Refrigeration, Inc. is a US manufacturer of high quality chiller system solutions designed specifically to meet the requirements for distillery applications. Please visit our website at www.prochiller.com to see that we offer complete packaged skid mounted solutions and modular solutions that can be assembled onsite. Sizes range from 3/4 HP to 400 HP in all voltages (including single phase systems that are only limited to motors 5HP and smaller). We are working now on stocking many of our smaller HP systems and work hard to keep our system lead times in the 4-8 week range. Often times, if a unit is needed sooner, we can work something into our production schedule to accommodate your needs. Each packaged system is factory tested at YOUR design conditions; we perform a full inspection of the system prior to shipping to the distillery. We also offer authorized factory commissioning and arrange a technician from our factory to perform the startup of your chiller system as well as answering any questions your personnel may have. Although we don't offer installation, it is likely we have a Pro 5 Star Certified Contractor in your area to provide Installation and Service Support. Factory training is offered and recommended for anyone that is going to be responsible for maintaining the chiller systems. Please visit our website (www.prochiller.com) or contact me directly if you're interested in learning more about our chiller systems or training options. I'm happy to help. Damon

Hi Brandon, I'm definitely going to recommend a chiller, if you'd like to discuss some pricing and options don't hesitate to get in touch with me at damonr@prorefrigeration.com. Glad to help. Damon Reed Pro Refrigeration Inc. www.prochiller.com

Hello Everyone, Sincerest apologies for not responding months sooner, I’ve just learned the tracking settings for the forum need to be reset manually. Jedd, To properly size the cooling requirements for the condenser I’d need the following information: Inlet Water Temperature Outlet Water Temperature GPM Flow Rate of the condenser water I can give you a size range of the chiller system that is required – For discussion purposes: If you’re condenser will be using 20 gallons per minute of water with an inlet temperature of 70⁰F and an outlet temperature of 130⁰F , a chiller system with a cooling capacity of at least 2,200,000 BTU’s per hour is required. A chiller system in this size range will easily surpass six figures in cost. There are a few ways to help lower the cost of the needed glycol cooling system: Use an ambient fluid cooler This is a copper coil with aluminum fin for added surface area, the water coming out of the still (130⁰F) can pass through this coil prior to meeting the chiller system, typical coil sizing is for a 20⁰F TD (TD means the temperature difference between ambient temperature and leaving fluid temperature) So, if the ambient air temperature is 80⁰F the fluid exiting the cooler will be 100⁰F. Now the system will only require a 300,000 BTU per hour chiller system and be in a price range that will make a better return on investment when comparing the cost of using city/well water to cool the condenser to the cost of adding capacity to a glycol chiller and installing a fluid cooler. [*]Use a ground source cooling loop This is what Jimmy C.C. refers to. [*]Increasing the holding reservoir size By using a large cooling reservoir the cooling load could be applied to the reservoir overnight when the condenser isn’t being operated. This reduced the amount of BTU/HR that is required because the length of time can be stretched from 1 hour to up to 12 hours. The capacity requirement in the example above could be reduced to 183,333 BTU/HR but the size of cooling reservoir would have to be large enought to supply the flow for the entire period of running the still (20 GPM over 6 hours = 7,200 Gallon Holding Tank). Hopefully this helps shed some light on the topic and if anyone is still interested please respond. By using a coil of tubing buried in the ground at a predetermined depth and regulating the flow of the fluid through the coil the heat can be stripped from the water and into the surrounding ground, or into a pond that the coils are submersed into. There are extensive internet resources pertaining to this subject.

Hi Bobcat, If you'd like to discuss the options I'd be happy to help. We've built quite a few glycol chiller systems for distilleries. We use the glycol/water solution for a few different items.... #1) Mash Tun Cooling #2) Fermentation temperature control #3) Chill Filtering #4) Condenser Water Cooling #5) Room cooling (this one is sometimes overlooked, if you use a glycol/air heat exchanger you can plumb your glycol supply line to it and treat it as you would a fermentation vessel and use your chiller for air conditioning) If you'd like to review your specific needs in more detail don't hesitate to get in touch with me directly at damonr@prorefrigeration.com also, if you have any general questions it's probably a good idea to keep it on the forum and we can get a resource going for everyone that has questions. Glad to be of any help. Damon.

Hello Vermont, I can help you out with any chiller system sizing, if you'd like to get in touch with me my email address is damonr@prorefrigeration.com www.prochiller.com

Hi Steven, Here is a link to a website that I used to use to purchase dairy tank fittings, that beveled fitting is common on milk tank outlets. You should be able to find gaskets, valves, and end caps that fit inside of a threaded nut if you want to have it plugged. I hope this helps... http://www.schlueterco.com/07/04.aspx

Mike, Denvers responses are exactly what you should be concerned of when considering the high glycol temperatures that can come back to the chiller system from the still. With the high return temperatures, what could happen to your chiller is the refrigerant pressure will gradually increase beyond the reocmmended operationg ranges and create issues with compressor motor winding cooling and high refrigerant condensing pressures (both very bad). One thing that we offer to protect our chiller systems from this type of condition is to add a crank case pressure regulating valve, this valve is added to the refrigerant suction line and limits the pressure that the compresser will ever see. If your wastewater is a major concern, I would urge you to consider using the cold liquor tank Denver suggested. There are manufacturers of stainless steel immersion coils and also strap on glycol coils - these can be used on non-jacketed tanks. You could use a valve to shut off the glycol supply to this tank when it's being used and then regulate the amount of glycol flow through the jacket manually to allow the tank to cool down during the evenings. Shoot me an email if you want to discuss this further or if you'd like some suggestions on where to locate these jackets/coils. damonr@prorefrigeration.com

Hi Mike, You need to make sure that your glycol chiller system has enough extra capacity that the added btu/hr load from the still's condenser doesn't overload your chiller system. Kind regards, Damon.

I am very interested in learning more about distilleries. I'm a technical sales director for a company that specializes in cooling systems for wineries, breweries & distilleries - If I can answer any refrigeration or cooling questions please let me know. Damon Reed damonr@prorefrigeration.com