Advantage Glycol Chillers

Overview

Advantage glycol chillers for process loops that run below the freeze point of plain water, or that need year-round outdoor freeze protection.

A glycol chiller is built to circulate a glycol-water solution rather than plain water, so it can deliver fluid temperatures below 32°F and survive outdoor installation through winter without draining down. Advantage's glycol packages run 1.5 to 120+ horsepower and are available as indoor units for a mechanical room or outdoor units that sit on a pad year-round.

Both configurations are offered in single-zone (one fluid temperature) and dual-zone (two independent fluid temperatures from one unit) models, which matters most where different parts of a process need different glycol temperatures - product cooling and jacket cooling on the same line, for example.

Glycol changes more than the freeze point: it also carries heat less efficiently than plain water, so a glycol-rated pump, evaporator and piping have to be sized against the actual concentration the process needs, not swapped in on top of a design built for water. That's why these are their own dedicated series rather than a water chiller with glycol poured in afterward - the evaporator surface, pump curve and reservoir on an Advantage BG or BGD unit are all matched to glycol service from the factory.

Configuration	Horsepower Range	Notes
Indoor Units	1.5 to 30 HP	Mechanical-room installation, single or dual zone
Outdoor Units	2 to 120 HP	Weatherproof, no mechanical room needed, single or dual zone

Which Size Is Right?

Glycol percentage is a selection input, not an afterthought - it sets both the achievable low temperature and the pump/heat-transfer performance of the loop, since glycol solutions carry heat less efficiently than plain water as concentration rises. Tell us the lowest fluid temperature the process actually needs (not the lowest you can imagine wanting) and we'll recommend a percentage rather than defaulting to a round number.

See the Glycol & Low-Temperature Guide under Sizing & Selection for how percentage, freeze point and pump performance interact. Full part-number line-ups for every indoor and outdoor glycol model live on the BG series page; breweries feeding several tanks from one loop should also see the BC-SCC tank control cabinet, which gives each tank its own independent setpoint off a single central glycol chiller.

1.5 to 120+ HP

Sub-32°F Capable

Single or Dual Zone

Indoor or Outdoor

What Sets Glycol Cooling Apart

Range

1.5-120+ HP

Every Duty Size

From a single NEMA 4 cabinet on one fermenter to a plant-scale unit feeding several process loops at once, without stepping outside the glycol-rated evaporator, pump and piping platform.

Setpoint

Sub-32°F Capable

Below What Water Can Do

Plain water risks freezing inside the chiller's own heat exchanger below about 48°F. A properly mixed glycol loop is what gets the process there without that risk - concentration is set from the process's actual required temperature.

Zoning

Single or Dual

One Unit, Two Temperatures

Advantage dual-zone models produce two independent glycol temperatures from a single frame - useful anywhere product cooling and jacket cooling on the same line need different setpoints.

Location

In or Out

Mechanical Room or Pad

Indoor units suit a plant with mechanical-room space; outdoor units are the standard for breweries and distilleries running a year-round exterior loop with no drain-down for winter.

SHOP BY INSTALLATION

Indoor glycol chiller mechanical room installation

Indoor Units

Mechanical-room installation, 1.5 to 30 HP, single or dual zone, rated for glycol service throughout.

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Outdoor weatherproof glycol chiller on a pad

Outdoor Units

Weatherproof enclosure, no mechanical room, the standard configuration for brewery and distillery glycol loops.

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BC-SCC Tank Control

Gives each tank on a shared glycol loop its own independent setpoint from one central chiller.

Learn More

Glycol loop arithmetic before choosing a size

Somewhat more flow, and a lot more pump head. Water carries about 500 BTU/hr per GPM per °F of rise; a 35% propylene mix near 25°F carries closer to 465. So a 20-ton load (240,000 BTU/hr) at a 6°F rise needs about 80 GPM of water but about 86 GPM of glycol - roughly 7 to 8% more. The bigger surprise is viscosity: at 25°F that mix is several times thicker than water, so friction in the same pipe climbs sharply and a pump picked from a water chart falls short. Size pipe and pump for the real mix at the real temperature.

No - horsepower describes the compressor, and the tons it delivers depend on the glycol temperature. At a cold brewery setpoint the same compressor moves noticeably less heat than it would chilling 50°F water, because the refrigerant boils at a lower pressure and each revolution moves less refrigerant mass. Buyers who treat the 1.5-120+ HP span as a tonnage span end up short at precisely the setpoint they bought the unit for. Ask for capacity at your leaving glycol temperature and mix, and compare Advantage BG models on that number.

Typically 5 to 10°F colder than the temperature being held, and more for a fast pulldown. Heat only crosses a jacket or exchanger when a temperature difference drives it, so a tank held at 34°F on 30°F glycol barely moves when it needs to drop quickly. The common mistake is setting the glycol at the product target itself. Decide the approach from how fast the product must cool, set the glycol temperature from that, and only then choose the percentage.

Longer than most startup plans allow, because the fluid itself is a load. Five hundred gallons of 35% propylene glycol weighs about 4,300 pounds; at a specific heat near 0.89, taking it from 70°F to 28°F removes about 160,000 BTU (4,300 x 0.89 x 42). That is roughly 13 ton-hours, so a 5-ton unit spends close to three hours on the fluid alone, before the steel of tanks and piping or any product. Fill and start the chiller the day before the first cold load, not that morning.

Add up the loop volume, then multiply by the target percentage. Schedule 40 pipe holds about 0.11 gallons per foot at 1-1/2 inch, 0.17 at 2 inch and 0.38 at 3 inch, so 400 feet of 2-inch supply and return is roughly 70 gallons. Add the chiller reservoir, every jacket or coil and any heat exchanger. A 300-gallon total at 35% calls for about 105 gallons of inhibited glycol concentrate, plus some extra for top-off. Mix it before filling so the strength is even from the first day.

1-805-484-2992

1.5 to 120+ HP, Indoor or Outdoor

Overview

Which Size Is Right?