Brite Tank Cooling with Maxi 110

[kloorob]

Hi,
Though I have done a search through this forum, but I am still not 100% sure of the best way of controlling a Maxi 110 to keep my 40lt Brite Tank at an steady cool (lets say 10 Deg C) temperature, plus a crash cool to circa 2 Deg C?

From my research it appears that some recommend using an Inkbird / STC1000 to switch the whole unit on / off, and others recommend to use the same to control just the python pump only? Also, I found some posts indicating the use of solenoid values to with on / off the flow from the unit to the tank?

Therefore, I am after your help for some reassurance as to what is the best way to control my Maxi? Also, I am more than happy to add whatever control measures necessary to allow me to acheive a reliable / stable temperature control?

Thanks.

[LeeH]

They are designed to be always on and maintain the ice bath. However either way will work and with the built in timer you won’t damage the compressor due to short on/off cycles.

My method would to be to keep it on and switch the pump as I view it as better engineering practice and a little less crude.

I can see no advantage having a permanent pump recirc and using a valve to divert the flow to your tank though. (If that is what you mean)

Either one, both is ok.


HTH


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Secla]

I use a maxi cooler for fermentation
I'm crude so just use an inkbird to switch the whole unit on/off I'd say you may find it difficult to keep it a 2 degrees depending on ambient temp tbh

[Fil]

I agree with Lee, open it up and its fairly basic with a pcb switching the 240v a/c the compressor fan and pump all run off. all you need do is break the power feed to the pump and insert your controllers relay, a little wire extending will probably be in order.. and pull the power needed for your controller from the first junction into the box.

strategic placing of the temp probe fairly close to the cold hex in/on the beer should result in a small step cooling effect,

when run 24/7 the compressor should hardly ever kick in unless the pump is switched on and it dumps a significant proportion of its cold store into your beer
with the chiller liquor @ -4 to 0c it should have maximum chilling effect as soon as its applied..

edit ps lag both lines and fittings well

[kloorob]

Hi, Thanks for your comments, and I am going to go with controlling the pump option, which is what I was leaning towards, but just wanted that extra bit of reassurance.

Thanks Again.

[hebbstar]

Hi guys

I'm interested in the option of switching the recirc. pump on / off while keeping the compressor running. I've got a maxi110 aswell.

My only concern is the agitator side of things. I think the recirc and agitator are the same component meaning if you switch the pump on and off the agitator will also switch on/off. I think the agitator is there to keep the water moving in the water tank which in turn means the water bath can get to cooler temps before the compressor switches off.

Is this the case?

If so do you need to replace the recirc/agitator with just an agitator and replace the pumping side of things?

Thanks all.

Cheers

[Fil]

Hi guys

I'm interested in the option of switching the recirc. pump on / off while keeping the compressor running. I've got a maxi110 aswell.

My only concern is the agitator side of things. I think the recirc and agitator are the same component meaning if you switch the pump on and off the agitator will also switch on/off. I think the agitator is there to keep the water moving in the water tank which in turn means the water bath can get to cooler temps before the compressor switches off.

Is this the case?

If so do you need to replace the recirc/agitator with just an agitator and replace the pumping side of things?

Thanks all.

Cheers

Not all models are fitted with a recirc pump, those without one get an agitator (little propeller driven by a motor) instead. And its primary function afaik is to move the cold water over the product coils during a pour to avoid the 'hot finger' effect (i didnt make it up) which describes how without agitation, the liquid surrounding the product coil heats up faster than it moves away through convection and brownian motion.

The trigger for cutting on/off the compressor is on a 'pretty slow fuse' as is what with allowing a good few inches of ice to build up before cutting off the compressor while the waterbath temp remains pretty constant.

And perhaps more saliently when in use (pumps on) the waterbath Will be recirculated and its during use that the temp will be more likely to drop significantly requiering more input. the water/ice bath is insulated and quite effectively too so most loss of cold will be through heat exchange in use i would expect (and hope for the sake of your bills)..

so in short I get the concern but imho its unfounded.. dont worry

[Fil]

Hi guys

I'm interested in the option of switching the recirc. pump on / off while keeping the compressor running. I've got a maxi110 aswell.

My only concern is the agitator side of things. I think the recirc and agitator are the same component meaning if you switch the pump on and off the agitator will also switch on/off. I think the agitator is there to keep the water moving in the water tank which in turn means the water bath can get to cooler temps before the compressor switches off.

Is this the case?

If so do you need to replace the recirc/agitator with just an agitator and replace the pumping side of things?

Thanks all.

Cheers

Not all models are fitted with a recirc pump, those without one get an agitator (little propeller driven by a motor) instead. And its primary function afaik is to move the cold water over the product coils during a pour to avoid the 'hot finger' effect (i didnt make it up) which describes how without agitation, the liquid surrounding the product coil heats up faster than it moves away through convection and brownian motion.

The trigger for cutting on/off the compressor is on a 'pretty slow fuse' as is what with allowing a good few inches of ice to build up before cutting off the compressor while the waterbath temp remains pretty constant.

And perhaps more saliently when in use (pumps on) the waterbath Will be recirculated and its during use that the temp will be more likely to drop significantly requiering more input. the water/ice bath is insulated and quite effectively too so most loss of cold will be through heat exchange in use i would expect (and hope for the sake of your bills)..

so in short I get the concern but imho its unfounded.. dont worry

fwiw i use a chiller for serving and have the recirc pump simply looped back in with an inline t fitting into which i have a basic dial thermometer fitted to indicate the temps. when haveing a few pints of an evening myseldf i simply run the chiller till its dropped the water temp to 0c which can take between 20-45 minutes (20 minutes if used the night before, insulated waterbath ..) the recirc gets switched on independently when i pour
using a sonoff basic a sonoff rf bridge and a $3 rf doorbell.
https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-wifi-wireless-switch.html
https://www.itead.cc/smart-home/sonoff- ... e-433.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIGOO-D ... autifyAB=0

using the out of the box firmware and app for the sonoff kit you would need 2 x buttons to turn on and off.. I use the tasmota firmware and toggle the switch status..

[hebbstar]

And perhaps more saliently when in use (pumps on) the waterbath Will be recirculated and its during use that the temp will be more likely to drop significantly requiering more input. the water/ice bath is insulated and quite effectively too so most loss of cold will be through heat exchange in use i would expect (and hope for the sake of your bills)..

so in short I get the concern but imho its unfounded.. dont worry

Fil

Perfect mate. I'll look at making these changes soon as turning on and off the recirc does seem a better idea for fermentor chilling. I'll check to see if the motor is 240v as I may be able to take the pump off the maxi controller and run a second power input out of the maxi into the cooler relay on my STC100 and plug the maxi directly into the mains.

Thanks for the detail on the sonoff. That's going to take a bit more time to understand.

Brilliant help as always mate.

Cheers

Paul

[simon12]

My understanding (possibly wrong) is it needs the python pump on to stop the water freezing to much, ie if the pump doesn't come on the water could all turn to ice and the pump keeps it moving to stop it. Also I used a maxi 210 to control the temp on a 200l fermenter and it was fine and could crash it to 3C (never tried lower) just controlling the whole unit on and off.

[Fil]

My understanding (possibly wrong) is it needs the python pump on to stop the water freezing to much, ie if the pump doesn't come on the water could all turn to ice and the pump keeps it moving to stop it. Also I used a maxi 210 to control the temp on a 200l fermenter and it was fine and could crash it to 3C (never tried lower) just controlling the whole unit on and off.

fwiw my comments above are based solely on pulling a single no-brand shelf chiller apart to discover its problem was a dodgy agitator. lifting the waterbath lid revealed that the ice would form to a depth of circa 2" off the walls before the compressor would cut out and the poor performance was down to the stationary agitator, I had feared a gas free compressor to this point.. dropping a small 12v fountain pump into the centre of the product coils resolved that Later i used that chiller with an inline tube heater and an stc1000 with a mains powered fountain pump to controll an 80l thermopot FV with a ss IC hex (heating never employed !! its sat in a thermopot after all ) i suspect my submerged fountain pump adds more heat to the waterbatrh than the usual recirc pump, but its a working solution

[guypettigrew]

My understanding (possibly wrong) is it needs the python pump on to stop the water freezing to much, ie if the pump doesn't come on the water could all turn to ice and the pump keeps it moving to stop it. Also I used a maxi 210 to control the temp on a 200l fermenter and it was fine and could crash it to 3C (never tried lower) just controlling the whole unit on and off.

I'm pretty sure that's correct. No python pump, a solid ice bath.

The way I use my Maxi 110 for chilling is to leave it on all the time and use a separate external submersible pump to push water through the coil in the maxi then through the coil in the FV, then back to the coil in the maxi. It's a closed system so is fairly efficient. It also means, because the maxi is pernmanently on, ice cold water is available instantly. No waiting for the ice bath to cool down again.

Guy

[johnmac]

I've been using the same beer cooler for about 15 years to control fermentation temp. I leave the compressor on permanently (controlled by the beer coolers own ice-stat)and my ATC 800 controls the recirc pump to manage fermentation temp.

I can understand the concerns that the pump is also the agitator and the whole lot might freeze up if there is no agitation. However, this has never been an issue for me. I get about an inch of ice around the edge, liquid in the middle.