Keg cooler

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KRISHETHERINGTON

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Hi guys, new to the forum but not to brewing - should have been on here a long time ago judging by the wealth of info available.

i have been given a cornelius ctx25 beer chiller:

2 questions -
how long before the system is ready after being switched on?
will this be a suitable replacement for placing a keg in a fridge?
 
Hi guys, new to the forum but not to brewing - should have been on here a long time ago judging by the wealth of info available.

i have been given a cornelius ctx25 beer chiller:

2 questions -
how long before the system is ready after being switched on?
will this be a suitable replacement for placing a keg in a fridge?

Sorry, I don't have the answer ;) but I'd like to ask the same question.

I saw a collection only one near me with opening bid of £50 that didn't sell yesterday, at that price I could be tempted if the chance came up again :)

I'm guessing (so please correct me if I'm wrong) that you can have a keg of lager at room temperature and the cooler cools the beer as it passes through? Does it also pump it, or do you still need CO2?

I don't have the space to have one permanently setup so if I got one it would just be for family gatherings and the like.
 
To update, have had my cooler on for 24 hrs and hooked to my keg. It does cool the beer to a certain extent but not quite enough for my liking. Think I need to have the keg chilled a bit further before dispensing. As for the ctx25, very easy to use. Two lines in and two out. Gas to keg to ctx to pump.
 
as you have no doubt found it takes 20-40 mins to chill the waterbath to about 0C, building an ice wall can take hours tho.

If your beer isnt chilled enough through the one coil, pass it through both, and also consider adding some flow control to slow the beers flow though the chiller, the slower it runs through the more chill it will pick up..


Is the agitator or recirc pump running, if not and the waterbath is still the poor chilling could be down to the hot pocket effect where the water surrounding the coil warms up with the beer passing through and without the agitator or recirc pump moving the water over the coil you have a poor chill effect.

in summer when i run mine i run it for 20-40mins till its at about 0c which is ample cold store to keep me in a few pints of an evening ;)
 
as you have no doubt found it takes 20-40 mins to chill the waterbath to about 0C, building an ice wall can take hours tho.

If your beer isnt chilled enough through the one coil, pass it through both, and also consider adding some flow control to slow the beers flow though the chiller, the slower it runs through the more chill it will pick up..


Is the agitator or recirc pump running, if not and the waterbath is still the poor chilling could be down to the hot pocket effect where the water surrounding the coil warms up with the beer passing through and without the agitator or recirc pump moving the water over the coil you have a poor chill effect.

in summer when i run mine i run it for 20-40mins till its at about 0c which is ample cold store to keep me in a few pints of an evening ;)



ok, to update I am feeling a bit stupid - then again documentation on the thing is pretty much non existen - underneath two seals on the left and right of the box there is a switch and a thermostat control - they are a bit faded but I have turned the switch to the "on" position - doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference immediately as the engine was already running.

the thermostat isn't obvious as to what it should be set 1-7 - I have set it at 1, will check in a couple of hours and update
 
my experience is limited to the 2 ebay 'bargains' i have played with, And i am no electrician or expert. My agitator fitted chiller had a similar control knob which was not functioning, i traced it to the agitator and discovered it was a mains voltage device and not receiving power so the control was duff,
6299065512_d286284555_b.jpg


i surmised that the control was a speed control for the agitator (mine went 0-4), tho it was also connected to a probe inserted into the water/icebath..

the agitator is the black round thing in the waterbath roof/lid.

6299049662_eec2513f2a_b.jpg


removing the control (attached to rear wall of the chiller above the waterbath) bu powering the agitator from the power in has the effect of running the agitator when the chiller is on for max effect, tho that may be very wastfull if your not pouring pints 1 after the other.

If using to serve beer i would consider upgrading the box with a switch you can trace to where you serve so you can simply throw the switch before pouring to gain max chill while your pouring and knock off when finished..

Mine has been developed into a FV chiller so i have pulled the agitator and dropped in a water feature pump instead to push the cold water through the IC in the FV ;)..
 
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