Cornelius cooler

[Fore]

Hi. Could someone please explain what a Cornelius cooler can do? I think I get the general picture, but all is not quite clear. I do wonder if these are more for continuous draw and less for someone who might just have 3 pints.

As I understand, using a heat exchanger it cools an internal bank of water (thus must be switched on at least 30 mins. before use). Then the beer is simply drawn through that cooled bank. There is something about pumps that throws me; agitation or something. What is that all about; why the need to pump? Are we talking pumping the refrigerant and not the beer? And why would one pump system be superior to the other? Perhaps some can be used on recirculation to ferment lagers at lower temps, hence the need for a pump?

I'm drawn to the idea of a (fairly) instant cooling system, as if you drink only say 3 days a week, I just like the idea of cooling to demand rather than having a fridge running all the time. It's also a lot smaller of course. What are the pitfalls of such a cooler? Why do I not hear a lot more about these? Thanks for clearing my confusions.

 

[Vossy1]

I do wonder if these are more for continuous draw and less for someone who might just have 3 pints.

They are....it's not worth the agro of sanitising for only 3 pints.

As I understand, using a heat exchanger it cools an internal bank of water (thus must be switched on at least 30 mins. before use).

The beer lines run through a bank of ice and it takes a lot longer than 30 mins for it to form, more like 4 to 5 hours, depending on make, though maybe after 30 mins the water may be cold enough.

There is something about pumps that throws me; agitation or something. What is that all about; why the need to pump?

Certain coolers have a python pump in the ice bath which acts as an aggitator of the water bath and pumps the chilled water through bar fonts, so when you see condensation on a bar font, that's why.
Have a look at this topic for pics of the inside of a cooler :thumb:

 

[Fore]

Thanks guys. I thought this was going to be the ultimate cooling solution but I started to see the flaws, and you helped confirm it for me.

I'm about to move back to the hobby after a 10 year break and, on initial research, I got rather excited. Started looking at Cornie kegs, coolers, etc. Now my feet are back on the ground, I'm likely to take things a bit more steady, with 2 or 3 King Kegs. My interest is firmly rooted with real ales, so I was over doing it a bit with my dreams of high carbonation and cooling.

 

[Fil]

if your beer is kegged then a shelf chiller may be ok for you mine works great. I keep my kegs in an insulated spot which in most of autumn and spring and all winter keeps the beer perfectly cool, but at this time of year i need to run it about 30mins before i pour if it was run the day before.. ( pretty good insulation on the waterbath :)

agitators are used in some while others have recirc pumps both do the same thing, keep the water in the bath moving over the product/beer coils if left stagnent and still the water arround the coils would heat up un evenly resultin in a less effective chill or warmer beer..

cleaning is just an extension of keg cleaning, i flush the line chiller and tap with the keg cleaner rinse and steriliser, pubs etc will clean lines on a regular basis but are also changing barrels between cleans... im kegging the beer i hope clean, and then plumb upto my sterile line to tap thru the chiller, all sterile and under pressure so no nasties can get into the line :) you may however need to wash or flush out the tap spouts regularly with use as poured beer will dry inside otherwise and become a nice place for nasties..

 

[Fore]

Started looking at Cornie kegs, coolers, etc. Now my feet are back on the ground, I'm likely to take things a bit more steady, with 2 or 3 King Kegs. My interest is firmly rooted with real ales, so I was over doing it a bit with my dreams of high carbonation and cooling.

I thought I'd return to this old thread of mine with an update. And no I didn't keep my feet on the ground :-P. After years of thinking about suitable cooling for my Cornies, as proven by the age of this thread, I finally opted for a Lindr PYGMY 20. Google "Lindr" and you can easily find their site.

The Lindr PYGMY's are similar to a Maxi cooler, except that the beer runs directly through the cooling element, not through a chilled water bank. As a result, it cools much quicker than a Maxi. You only need to switch on when you want a beer; from first switch-on it takes about 5 minutes to cool 23 degree beer to 5 degree in your glass. I'm really pleased with this purchase, it's top quality and looks the part. I tried to think of negatives, but all I can think of is that the kegged beer might not keep as long because it is not itself chilled. Maybe you could include the price as a negative; I paid 342 EUR or about 250 pounds. But I have no yearly fridge running costs. This was the finishing touch for my set-up.

 

[Fil]

Nice One, I have lusted over those chillers on some EU sites, congrats..

in my limited experience of keeping kegs at an ambient temp in my coolest spot, dont fret about shelf life I had 1 gingerbeer way too sweet and ended up as a cooking liquor for spicy foods stayed on tap for well over 12 months, with no detrimental effects..:

 

[Fore]

Cheers; I love it. But I did think of one other negative in the meantime. I can only tap one beer at a time. Personally I'm fine with that though.

 

[Fore]

Three days ago I won a tombola at work for some unused office furniture. Couldn't have come at a better time. So now I have a new brew table to replace the one I smashed to pieces, much more solid as well (probably for the best), and I also got table on which I can sit my Lindr. So now the Lindr is really well presented and I'm well chuffed, I thought I'd post up some photos. I'll do that tonight, but I think it deserves its own thread.