I did too for a while, in fact held 10 bbls (310 gallons) at fermentation temp in 100+ degree brewery. But we used food grade glycol, not anti freeze.
Yeah, if you could wrap the coils “maybe” fine, but doubt highly that would work with plastic.
My vote still goes for the up right freezer!!!
I went and searched the term “glycol” on four homebrewing wiki’s and got nothing. I get your point though. A fridge is better. 
Yeah, a fridge would be nice, but I don’t have one the fermenter would fit in. I guess a cold room would be nice, too, maybe some casters on the bottom of the frame to wheel it in there. To dream…
A fridge is easy peasy. I lurked craigslist for 4 months and found a True Commercial fridge for $300, a bit cheaper than what you’d spend in rigging a stop gap solution only to find out it only kinda works.
How big we talking? I put a 42 gallon bling$mann conical in an unpright no problem. Bigger than that a cold room or submersed stainless coils probably the only solution.
That’s very nice! 8)
I guess I have been kind of skirting this issue, but the fermenter I have is a little larger than normal, and won’t fit in a fridge or upright freezer. This is why I have been trying to macgyver/rube goldberg a solution.
Ahhhh… I see. If you are going bigger than can fit in an upright then don’t skimp too much. That’s a lot of beer and, more importantly, a lot of work you have the potential of wasting.
There are some small glycol chillers that come with their own pump that have a reservoir large enough to cool a 10-15 bbl fermentor that cost about $1200. In fact, if rigger right you could probably chill 2 with 1.
Small price to pay to make it work.
Check the Micromatic web site. These chillers are used in draught systems.
That’s what I was missing.
If I wrapped glycol coils around my fermentor I would insulate over that with a couple wraps of foam (similar to a yoga mat, or maybe that aluminum bubble wrap stuff)
Use the reflective insulation they use on hot water heaters, I’ve wrapped everything from fermentors to mash tuns with the stuff. Works great.
Still not convinced the coils will conduct well through plastic tanks though.
I’d think the plastic wall might buffer it a little. Copper coil in the beer seems like would cause temp gradient. Like too cold at the copper and too warm elsewhere. But I haven’t gotten my PhD in thermodynamics just yet.
You don’t want copper in the fermented beer (pre fermentation is fine) because the low pH will strip some of the copper into the beer, which you don’t want. The coils in the beer would have to be stainless. Copper is a better conductor than stainless so wrapping would be better with copper.
Oh duh, right. Either way, I think freezer with dual control is more reasonable. Or just go with jacketed FV and glycol.
I have yet to stumble accross a jacketed conical in a homebrew size. If you find one post it:) Otherwise id just put the conical in a giant tub. Ghetto jacket:D
Jeff
A 7 gallon jacketed FV would probably take a 1/100 hp glycol system. I’ll bet you could get one custom made for under ten grand
This was pretty much my thought as well!
Now just think about what you wrote. 
How big is this thing?
