Refrigerated tank - Get working or just use ice?

[Woodsrover]

I bought a 600 gallon insulated and refrigerated tank from a member here and have been planning on getting it up and running again. Plans were to get it up and running again with a new condensing unit but I wondering if it would be good enough to just float 5-gallon blocks of frozen sap. I have two large freezers in my basement for meat and I could easily fit 4 5-gallon buckets of sap in them, freeze them and just float the ice blocks in there the few times a year the temperature gets scary.

I lost a significant amount of sap this year due to high temps so if you think I'm better of getting this tank to cool again, I'm not opposed to it.

What say ye?

[mol1jb]

I think both ways sound feasible. I like getting the tank cooling again but it depends on how many days of warm generally come your way. And with 170 taps a few 5 gallon frozen blocks would surely be adequate. Have you gotten a quote for fixing the tank?

[Bucket Head]

If the maple budget will allow for the service/repair to get the tank up and running, I would recommend that option. Hire a dairy refrigeration service that is experienced in repairs and get their opinion first on the tank. This is what I did and they got one up and running for me this season. We lost sap too over the years and this tank has been a great help to my father and I.

We did do the frozen 5 gal. block thing also for many years. It helped, a little I guess, but it wasn't enough cold for a tank full.

Good luck with it!

Steve

[BAP]

Before you go to far with hooking up refrigeration, get a refrigeration guy to pressure test the system to check for leaks. If there is internal leaks in the plates, then it will never hold a charge. Plate leaks are almost impossible to find and repair to hold. They pressure test them with inert gas to see if they will hold refrigeration gas.

[Woodsrover]

I've done automotive A/C work for 30 years and am familiar with mobile units. I even just bought a new machine for doing the new R1234HF refrigerant for the tune of $6k :(. Trouble is I don't know much about stationary refrigeration units or how to size this properly. If I can figure out what size condensing unit to get I can probably do the whole thing myself.

I'd try to find a refrigeration guy that is familiar with dairy tanks but dairy farms are few and far between these days.

Simple enough to test for leaks. I can close the cut ends on the lines heading into the tank and pull a vacuum on it to find out.

If floating ice is good enough and I don't need to spend a couple grand getting this running, that would be great. That said, it would be awfully nice to walk over and flick a switch and have this tank cool itself....

[BAP]

Hanfield Dairy Equipment in North Franklin, CT should be able to help you out.

[markcasper]

The problem in keeping bulk tanks going is that if they are not ran and used all the time, it tends to be a money pit of repairs.

[Bucket Head]

Again, hire a dairy refrigeration outfit to give you an opinion of yours. I wouldn't spend a couple thousand dollars on it though. The bill for the work done on mine came to a little over $700. Not bad at all considering they tested it, searched for a leak, found a leak, isolated the cooling bank that leaked and charged it with coolant.

They will either hook the tank up to a vacuum pump and see if it holds or they will pressurize it with nitrogen and see if it holds. That's step one. Since there are fewer and fewer farms left, the dairy refrigeration folks are used to trying to keep old equipment up and running on shoestring budgets. Your repairs, if needed, may be less than what your imagining.

Keep us posted if you attempt to get it running.

Steve

[markcasper]

Again, hire a dairy refrigeration outfit to give you an opinion of yours. I wouldn't spend a couple thousand dollars on it though. The bill for the work done on mine came to a little over $700. Not bad at all considering they tested it, searched for a leak, found a leak, isolated the cooling bank that leaked and charged it with coolant.


I was just stating that because they don't have a good track record of sitting unused for 11 months out of the year and then just starting back up like last season was yesterday. I gather that you had only started using one this past season and it cost $700? Don't be surprised if you have yearly trouble getting it cooling each spring if it will be sitting idle all year. Bad things seem to happen to compressors that sit around for long times of inactivity. Just saying.

[Bucket Head]

No, I understand. Bad things happen to lawnmowers and snow blowers too after sitting around. Its a chance we take.

I was willing to give the tank a try and so far I'm glad I did.

Just like a car- if it starts to nickel and dime you, you make other arrangements.

Steve