Homebrew Glycol Beer Scale is becoming more and more popular. The compact unit is very efficient and works well with temperature control and cooling. As you start adding more conical fermenters, the refrigerator becomes less useful.
I have been using the Brew Built™ Ice Master Max 2 Glycol Cooler for the past 6 months. And I think it’s a very strong unit. Although this is my first glycol refrigerator. But I want to explain the pros and cons and my general thoughts on the system.
Product demonstration
The Ice master Max 2 is designed to cool two small boilers (15 gallons each) and has two submersible pumps with an independent digital thermostat. It can be used with a glycol jacket container or vaporizer / aerosol. Brerewbilt also has a very similar IceMasterMax 4 version. But indeed, Brewbilt is designed to handle four small fuel tanks and also offers the Ice Master 100, a pure glycol tank that requires an external pump. More on the differences later.
On each console (next to the display) there is a digital thermostat that can be connected to the tank thermostat. The digital controller measures the temperature of your fuel tank and cools it to the desired temperature by turning the engine spray pump on or off. The Icemaster Max 2 can maintain and cool two containers at the same time, although I have not tested it at home: On a personal level, the Max 2 is among the list that can lift one or two cans up to 15 gallons at a time, for $699. This might be the best on the market……but will it work or not?
Some glycol units require you to purchase an additional float pump to control the flow of glycol into your fermenter, but I liked the Max series because everything is self-contained and ready to dump. As well as some planning steps. I installed the cooler and it worked very quickly. A simple trick The glycol chamber is very small as you can see below. You can remove the panel. Or I recommend filling it with a funnel so you don’t get glycol everywhere. Believe it or not, it takes some ingenuity to dump a gallon of water in that corner.
Using the Ice master Max 2
When it comes to pure cooling capacity, the Ice Master does a great job, I don’t use it for bar coolers and/or sleeveless water bottles. The cooling efficiency depends mainly on the evaporator/encapsulated fermenter rather than the glycol system. (Not considered waste!) As already mentioned. I easily dropped an 8 gallon jug to 34 degrees Fahrenheit in less than two hours.
For all glycol systems, add distilled water and the glycol solution. The actual ratio of water to glycol affects the freezing point of the ice. It’s not something I’ve researched. Instead, I used a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part glycol, which makes a total of 4 gallons of water in a 4.5 gallon tank, and set the glycol storage temperature to -2.7°C, about 27°F. Around 26 -28 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.
Maximum 2 has 3 digital displays, two on the front to show and control the target temperatures. and another on the back that controls the glycol storage temperature as well as other calibration settings. A few other things To be honest, the worst thing about this device is the semi-decentralized control setup. You have to use a combination of keystrokes to set different settings up or down, it’s not the end of the world. It is annoying because if you get it wrong, you can accidentally change the wrong settings. The instructions that came with my unit were terrible, luckily BrewBuilt recently updated the instructions to a much better document. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more improvements/fixes in the future.
Setting the actual temperature of the drink is easy. Simply press and hold the up arrow button for 3 seconds, then use the up or down arrow keys to adjust it. Since this is the only setting you need to do regularly. Which facilitates flexibility. I like how the units use only one decimal place. So you can set the temperature directly. This is important because numbers are only expressed in degrees Celsius. It’s not Fahrenheit. There is no turning back. It was a bit frustrating at first. But of course you need to know some numbers already. I am finished. I also use a hydrometer and always have Fahrenheit readers ready.
Disease
I have no bones to choose Max2. One thing to note is that this unit does not come with wheels or wheels. I don’t even know if I can afford one. This works once set up. But when the mine is full of glycol (debris) on the wall it is very difficult to move so I had to pull gently to adjust the rear console Note that the max 4 and 100 wheeled units have wheels and all The controls are rotated to the front of the panel (aha).
Another thing is when the machine works. Both pumps are working. It’s impossible to cover the side with just one fermentation. If you are connecting only one fermenter, make a small loop from the IN to the OUT cassette to avoid glycol splashes. Setting the temperature range too high is a minor drawback of the built-in pump. There are few independent controls and the external heating is not controlled from a single source.
If you remove the temperature probe from the device, it will keep beeping until it is replaced. As mentioned, this device only works with Celsius… Get it now.
Which cooler do you like best?
I think I got a good introduction to glycol units in general when I first researched them. I have tried to explain the main differences between the three modules of BrewBuilt.
- Max 2 ($699): Perfect for two small-scale fermenters. With two built-in pumps, you only need two hoses to get started. It is compatible with most large digesters. I used nail tube insulation. The downside is that the temperature is difficult to control. as the probe only turns on the coolant pump.
- Up to 4 ($899): Fits 4 smaller fermenters and has 4 built-in pumps, so you’ll need a hose to get started. Works the same as Max 2 .
- 100 ($749): Precision Glycol Containers for 4 Small Digesters A separate submergence pump must be purchased to pump the glycol solution into each digester. The biggest advantage here is better control of heating and cooling with a single temperature controller, perfect for those looking to expand their system.
Latest ideas
Overall, the Max 2 performed well and was great for chilling and shredding precious drinks. Some of the smaller features here have great prices. We can’t say that these are brokers. You have to know how they work. Adding an external pump can easily add hundreds to your glycol installation. You should take this into account when pricing your system. Regardless, all three systems are competitively priced and a good buy in my opinion.
The main reason I use the Max 2 is value/simplicity. This is a very powerful entry level glycol system that performs well and doesn’t break the bank. I am happy with the purchase and would recommend this system to anyone who wants to master the 5-15 brewing process. See also our conical fermenter our new.
