Recent content by tjpfeister

On the surface that seems like the simple answer- but for the ice forming under the liquid level (in my case) as the coils are fully submerged and cannot be lifted out on either vessel. OP might have something visible with his coil partially submerged.

But now im questioning what happens to the sugar during freeze distillation.

I like where your head is at! My only concern is that ice not only increases alcohol concentration (lower sg) but would increase residual sugar concentration (higher sg). I need to borrow the borescope from work, grow a pair, sanitize the camera end, and plunge it into a perfectly good batch of...

Im dealing with similar difficulties, diminishing returns from chilling. I use a dorm fridge converted to hold 10 gallons of solution at 20F that (now) chills two 14gal conicals. Though youre not doing yourself a favor with a partial size batch- thats likely not the problem as I have the same...

So that's a freezer chilling your glycol via air?

Follow up- sucessfully hit 35*F and hit the beer with gelatin. Set the differential to 3*F so the pump kicks on at 38*F. This is pushing the limits of the system as the pump kicks on every 110 minutes or so and runs for about 12 minutes to get back to 35F, the fridge doesn't get much down time...

Not pretty, but I insulated the lines and fridge. You get (predictably) diminishing returns as delta-temp between glycol and beer gets smaller, but by stepping the temp down in increments, it allows the glycol bath to recover and successfully hammer the temp down each time. Pardon the clutter...

I intend, at some point, to start a thread with all the details. Short version on the story is to use 1/4" thick polycarbonate (not plexiglass), seal it all with silicone (I recommend Permatex The Right Stuff- found online or at automotive stores), and I built the steel frame with 1/8" x 1"...

Sorry to butt-in, but I can add some insight. I used Metzon's notion and set up the fridge as a 10gal tank, with two circuits (planning on adding a second vessel, likely 7gal). The 10 gal bath, set to 20*F, is capable of getting my uninsulated fermenter down to 42*F. This does tend to tax the...

In case anyone is following- the first two hours of run time demonstrated a problem. The condenser simply wasnt built to dissipate THAT much thermal energy. The fridge smelled hot and the compressor kept tripping the thermal breaker. After 2 hours it had stalled at 54F when starting at 62F. Air...

Oh yeah, and I need to modify the hinges to accept the extra 3/8" of material now under the door

Yes-ish, I'm currently wet testing the "vessel." That is to say that at this point it does indeed hold 10gal of 50/50 propylene glycol and it does not leak. I am opting to stop at 10 for now and hold my other 2 gallons in reserve as the tank is quite full and the front bulkhead, despite being...

Cheers to Metzen for laying the ground work. Encouraged by his findings I took my own approach. My thoughts are- by increasing surface contact of the evap coil I can enhance the cooling ability of the unit, and by using the entire fridge as a tank, I can increase the thermal mass. So the old...

Anybody measure this on their 14gal? I have a BruGear, which is very similar in construction, and it leaves 3qrts under the pickup tube. I always assumed SSbt left less as the port seems a little lower by comparison.

@TxBrew