Refrigeration

Basic Principles of Refrigeration

posted Sep 30th, 2014 (updated Jan 18th, 2023) by Stan Hieronymus

The following article was originally published on September 30, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

Also see Refrigeration Glossary of Terms and Other Cooling and Heating Equipment in the ProBrewer Classified Ads

By studying and understanding the basic principles of refrigeration, you will be able to understand any type of refrigeration system you might encounter. For any mechanical refrigeration system, the principles and essential components are the same no matter how big or small, or how they are packaged together.

Read more...

Refrigerant safety

posted Apr 24th, 2014 (updated Jan 18th, 2023) by Stan Hieronymus

The following article was originally published on April 24, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

Other related resources on ProBrewer: Refrigeration Glossary of Terms and Keg Safety 

Servicing and maintaining your refrigeration system should only be performed by certified and trained technicians. Anyone working with refrigerants, or around refrigeration systems, should always follow these safety tips:

Read more...

Refrigeration – What to Know Before You Buy

posted Apr 24th, 2014 (updated Jan 22nd, 2023) by Stan Hieronymus

The following article was originally published on April 24, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

Additional related resources on ProBrewer: Refrigeration Glossary of Terms

Whether you are just starting out, or have outgrown the capacity of your existing chiller system, shopping for a new chiller system is challenging. There are a lot of suppliers offering a wide variety of different types of systems and not all systems are created equal.

Read more...

Everything you wanted to know about glycol

posted Apr 24th, 2014 (updated Jan 22nd, 2023) by Stan Hieronymus

The following article was originally published on April 24, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

Other related resources on ProBrewer: Refrigeration Glossary of Terms and Chiller Troubleshooting 101

Just to be clear. Ethylene Glycol is toxic and cannot be used because of potential contact with food product.

Read more...

Chiller Troubleshooting 101

posted Apr 24th, 2014 (updated Jan 22nd, 2023) by Stan Hieronymus

The following article was originally published on April 24, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

Other related resources on ProBrewer: Refrigeration Glossary of Terms and All About Refrigeration

There is a good chance your glycol chiller system is often completely forgotten about, until that dreaded day you arrive to find high fermenter temperatures and your glycol chiller system is not running.

Read more...

Refrigeration Glossary of terms

posted Apr 24th, 2014 (updated Jan 22nd, 2023) by Stan Hieronymus

The following article was originally published on April 24, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

BTU – British Thermal Unit. In scientific terms, it represents the amount of energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. One BTU is the equivalent of the heat given off by a single wooden kitchen match. For your home, it represents the measure of heat given off when fuel is burned for heating or the measure of heat extracted from your home for cooling.
Capacity – The output or producing capability of a piece of cooling or heating equipment. Cooling and heating capacities are normally referred to in BTUs per hour (BTU/h), which represents a heat transfer rate: the amount of heat energy transferred from one place/object/space to another, in one hour.

Compressor – The heart of a refrigeration system. It is part of the unit that pumps refrigerant. The compressor maintains adequate pressure to cause refrigerant to flow in sufficient quantities in order to meet the cooling requirements of the system.

Read more...

All About Refrigeration

posted Feb 27th, 2014 by pbrewadmin

Refrigeration 101

By studying and understanding the basic principles of refrigeration, you will be able to understand any type of refrigeration system you might encounter. For any mechanical refrigeration system, the principles and essential components are the same no matter how big or small, or how they are packaged together.

Refrigeration Q & A

Got a question? Ask it here, or join in the discussion.

Glossary of terms

From BTUs to compressor unloading valves, become fluent in refrigeration terminology.

Read more...