Beer Forum

edramshaw · #1 (**permalink**) 10-02-2007, 06:33 PM

What needs to be done when shutting down a system for the winter? It is at an outdoor stadium (although the system sits inside brick enclosures there will some exposure to cold as there will be no heat and I am in the North country where things can get nasty). I've blown all the water out of the lines after being cleaned and shut everything down but should I drain the lines of glycol. I would assume I should blow that out as well if it might get colder than whatever my freeze point is. Any other advice or comments?

wineglow · #2 (**permalink**) 10-02-2007, 08:07 PM

Ed, I put spout plugs
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...id-SP1000.html
on all the faucets and hang the keg couplers in the cooler so the check ball closes the line. I have one place where the lines go to an outside deck and the temperature has gone to -20F and have not drained the glycol because the owner never did before I started maintaining his system. I would like to drain the glycol but owner does not want to!

edramshaw · #3 (**permalink**) 10-03-2007, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the reply. So at -20 you had no problems? Also for the masses, if I did drain the lines would I drain the whole unit or push the glycol through the lines with gas and leave it all in the unit itself?

wineglow · #4 (**permalink**) 10-03-2007, 03:50 PM

Yes, -20F outside deck exposed to wind and snow and it has survived 15 winters. If the owner would let me I would drain the glycol. I do have another place where the glycol is drained every winter. I take the glycol return line and put it into 5 gal buckets letting the glycol pump do the work. Seal and lable the containers.

Brianatkcdraft · #5 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 09:45 PM

greetings ed! my method is identical almost to wineglows. only thing i do different is to put baggies around keg couplers, and make a note list of which coupler goes to what line. hope this helps you out! keep in touch, cya...Brian at KC Draft Line Service............................

Scott Zuhse · #6 (**permalink**) 10-11-2007, 02:19 PM

While you blow the water out with CO2 try to capture this in the product lines. You may have to Saran Wrap the faucets in the closed position so that no one will open them and drain the pressure. Cleaning cups on the couplers help. Possibly the check ball will hold in the pressure. Wrap the couplers as well.

edramshaw · #7 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007, 08:37 AM

I guess I'll live and learn with that one as I actually blew them out with air. I used the flo jet pump to push the solution out. It's a long cold winter up here so maybe that will help to minimize any problems associate with air in the lines. I assume this ("packing with co2") has to do with keeping an environment that is not conducive to bacterial growth? I'll do a thorough cleaning in the beginning of the season to be sure these things are free of the funk. Another question is that I've drained the glycol out of all of the baths but in one there is about and 2-3" still left in the bath because I ran out of room in my buckets. Should I go back and get that out or will it be ok. My only concern is that expansion will damage the coils inside the bath. Is this a problem? I did blow all of the glycol out of the lines to make sure those would be safe. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Brianatkcdraft · #8 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007, 05:59 PM

Howdy Ed, Sounds like youve covered all the bases. How deep is the resivoir in glycol system? Also, how long of a run are we talking about?In the spring inspect for cracks n splits, use Penetrate or similar cleaner. I generally do it with water first incase there is a break somewhere. Then you dont lose your chem or contaminate a food prep area. USE GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION, that stuff is eeevil. Hope this helps, cya on the Forum Brian atkcdraft.

Scott Zuhse · #9 (**permalink**) 10-15-2007, 10:42 PM

Ed,

A concern would be not so much the coils in the bath but the glycol lines and pump. After you have drained the majority of your solution, you may want to throw in an extra gallon of glycol and then circulate to mix. This hopefully will bring the freeze point down considerably for the off season. When you are ready to fire the system up for operation, then you can dilute it down to 0 F or so.

edramshaw · #10 (**permalink**) 10-16-2007, 01:45 PM

Thanks for the reply Scott. I drained the whole system of glycol, including the lines. I did this by siphoning out the glycol from the bath and using co2 to push the remaining glycol through the pump and the lines to ultimately get it into the bath (which was s******d out with the rest of it). Do I still need to worry about the pump and the lines since they should be empty? All that was remaining was 2" in the bottom of the bath which was my original concern.