About This Product:
Our Commercial Glycol Chillers are built for demanding brewing and process cooling applications that require dependable low-temperature performance, durable construction, and commercial-grade reliability. Available in 2 Ton and 5 Ton models, these outdoor-rated units are built on a 304 stainless steel frame, feature a built-in reservoir, and are pad mount ready for commercial installations. These chillers are ideal for maintaining fermentation temperatures and handling crash cooling in brewing environments.
*Please note: the product photo shown in this listing is our 5 Ton Commercial Glycol Chiller. The 2 Ton model will appear slightly different with a smaller compressor on top of the unit.*
To size a chiller you need to determine what's the worst case scenario when it comes to how much cooling you'll need. While you could size a chiller to be able to cold crash all of your tanks at the same time, that's not how a typical brewery operates.
95%+ of our customers would be covered using our general rule of thumb for sizing (below). The suggestions in the chart assume the fermenter is insulated with a neoprene jacket or better and ambient conditions are roughly 80°F. If you will be operating in hotter conditions or without an insulated tank, use the suggestion from the next sized up tank.
| Size | BTU needed for Cold Crash | BTU needed to Maintain Cold | BTU needed for Fermentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 gal | 350 | 100 | 50 |
| 10 gal | 600 | 175 | 70 |
| 15 gal | 850 | 250 | 100 |
| 1 BBL | 1500 | 450 | 175 |
Note: For the purposes of the chart "cold crashing" is only referring to the +/- 18hr period of active temperature drop. Once at a cold temperature use the "maintain cold" column for holding at cold temps to carbonate/clarify/etc. It's common for the industry to refer to any part of the cold process as the cold crash, but for chiller sizing there is a significant difference between dropping the temperature and holding cold temperatures.
*For tanks over 1BBL we recommend an appropriately sized chiller from our XL Glycol Chiller line.*
We typically break down a setup into a block of 4 tanks. Tank #1 is cold crashing, Tank #2 is maintaining cold, Tanks #3 & #4 are fermenting. If there are a mix of tank sizes, the biggest tank is the one cold crashing, and the next biggest is the one maintaining cold.
If you have more than 4 tanks, the cycle repeats. Tank #5 is cold crashing, Tank #6 is maintaining cold, Tanks #7 & #8 are fermenting. If there are a mix of tank sizes you first fill "cold crashing" spots from both blocks with the biggest and 2nd biggest tanks, then fill the "maintaining cold" spots with the next biggest tanks.
Example: 1x 1BBL, 1x 15gal, 2x 10gal tanks
In this scenario the BTU/hr adds up to 2,490 BTU/hr, you can then use this number to select an appropriately sized chiller that provides at least this many BTU/hr.
We recommend using a 35–40% glycol to 60–65% water mix for our brewing customers operating at approximately 28°F. Other applications may require a different mix depending on desired operating temperature.
Easy Mix Suggestions
| Model | BTU/hr @ 28°F | Reservoir | Connections | Electrical | Dimensions | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Ton | 12,000 | 30 Gallon (holds 22 gal) | 1″ FPT | 208–240V / 17.7A / Single Phase | 34.5″W × 37″D × 63″H | 256 lbs |
| 5 Ton | 30,000 | 30 Gallon (holds 22 gal) | 1″ FPT | 208–240V / 35.6A / Single Phase | 34.5″W × 37″D × 71″H | 393 lbs |
