When designing a brewery chiller system capable of helping you produce batch after batch of noteworthy brews, it takes a strategic approach to ensure it will meet the unique needs of your operation. An intelligent chiller system design will also ensure your unit operates effectively and reliably to keep your brewing processes cool. Whether you need industrial-grade chilling for wort cooling, brite tank temperature control, fermentation, crash cooling, product storage, or another brewing process, it’s essential to design your system so that it works for you.
In this article, we’ll share our top brewery chiller system design and operation tips to keep your fans coming back pour after pour, starting with hints for integrating a chiller into your brewery.
Integrating a new chiller into the brewery
Piping, wiring, and controls are the primary considerations when you’re integrating a brewery chiller into your operation. Continue reading as we explore each of these below.
Piping
- Incorporate a bypass loop – When piping for your brewery chiller, consider incorporating a city water bypass loop so that it operates without draining glycol. This environmentally friendly chiller option allows the system to run or remain status quo while keeping other components cool.
- Keep piping straight as possible – It’s also critical to keep all brewery chiller piping as straight as possible when piping to ensure efficient chiller performance.
Wiring
- Use a proper phasing independent breaker – The wiring component of brewery chiller system design requires a proper phasing independent breaker to ensure successful chiller integration into your brewing operation.
- Ensure the power is stable – Additionally, ensuring that the chiller has access to stable power will help keep it running strong.
Controls
Controls let you customize the features of your brewery chiller, allowing you to tailor the system to satisfy your operational requirements and preferences. Consider the following in your brewery chiller system design to maximize efficiency and user-friendliness:
- Alarms
- Remote monitoring
- Management system
- Building integration
Next, let’s explore our pro tips for brewery chiller startup.
Starting up your brewery chiller
Now, your system design is all set. The next step is to initiate the startup process. Consider the following startup tips for an optimally functioning brewery chiller:
- Use a certified refrigeration technician
- Follow manufacturer’s guidelines
- Remove air from the system
- Launch heat load upon startup
In the section below, we’ve outlined the ideal brewery chiller operational guidelines to keep in mind.
Operating your brewery chiller
System design – check. Startup – check. It’s now time to begin operating your brewery chiller. To ensure your system is functioning at its best, continually review and monitor the following data points to certify that they’re within the optimal range:
- Temperature differential
- Compressor superheat
- Compressor cycles
- Compressor pressures
- Compressor amps
What’s next? The final set of tips in our article on brewery chiller system design and operational tips is all about keeping your unit in check with routine maintenance.
Maintaining your brewery chiller
You can avoid typical chiller issues, such as low suction pressure and high discharge pressure, by following a routine preventative maintenance schedule that includes:
- Checking for leaks
- Changing filters
- Checking oil levels/clarity
- Cleaning condenser coils
- Flushing evaporator
To go more in-depth, explore our chiller maintenance blog article on maintenance checklists for keeping your system in tip-top shape.
If you’re looking for more pro tips on high-performance chiller system design and operation, reach out to our seasoned brewery chiller experts. We have the experience and knowledge to help you design and install a brewery chiller to keep up with your expanding operation. Our robust lineup of custom-ready chillers has a proven 99% uptime rate and comes with exceptional after-the-sale support for added peace of mind. Contact us to request a quote today.