A rapidly growing craft beer specialist has chosen the COOL-FIT 2.0 system, manufactured and supplied by GF Piping Systems, to carry coolant around its main building in Rotherhithe, South-east London, making full use of the system’s failsafe fusion welded joints and excellent insulation performance. The Fourpure Brewing Co. moved into its premises on the Bermondsey Trading Estate in 2013 and has seen sales of its beers such as Session IPA and American Pale growing both here in the UK and abroad. It was actually on a trip to the United States that the two brothers who set up Fourpure first saw GF’s COOL-FIT 2.0 pipework installed at a brewery and realised the system’s benefits.
As a result, Fourpure’s own technical team investigated the system’s physical characteristics – including composition, working temperature range, resistance to chemicals and installation method – before undergoing product training with one of GF’s Area Sales Manager. The Head of Operations for Fourpure, Sean Knight, commented: “We moved into what was an existing building five years ago and had it completely fitted out to our own specification. More recently the partners had been over in America, visiting breweries there, and saw COOL-FIT in use and realised we could source it ourselves.” The company decided to purchase the 63mm diameter pipe size, together with fittings also organising the purchase of a custom-built buffer vessel through George Fischer. These have now all been successfully installed to connect a chiller unit, external to the building, with the large capacity stainless steel vessels where the beers are brewed.
Sean Knight explained: “We use the pipework to carry glycol at an optimum temperature of -50 C to cool the fermentation tanks and our process water. Our engineer and myself underwent training with GF’s Training Officer one afternoon – learning how to accurately cut the pipe and carry out the electro-fusion jointing process – before completing the entire installation ourselves. Not only was it very straightforward, but it saved us considerable cost in not having to hire a specialist contractor and there has not been a single leak on any of the connections. Now we’re looking to take on more production space and we would certainly consider using the COOL-FIT system again.”
GF’s COOL-FIT 2.0 range offers the speed and versatility of a three-in-one system for the circulation of chilled water or other low temperature liquids. In fact the COOL-FIT 2.0 pipe, insulation and jacket combination can carry saline, glycol or alcohol – as alternatives to pure water – at very low temperatures. Furthermore, this adaptability is matched by excellent energy conservation characteristics, as well as ease of installation and total corrosion resistance: delivering ultimate reliability as customers worldwide have come to expect from GF Piping Systems. Pipes range from 32-140 mm in diameter and are tested to 16 bar, while the installed weight is as little as one sixth that of metal alternatives. The benefits extend from 25% higher energy efficiency to being 50% faster to fit, they also offer excellent chemical resistance and reduced maintenance requirements. At the core of the offer is a carrier pipe formed from industrial grade polyethylene (PE) to provide strength at low temperatures. All components are factory insulated with closed cell High Efficiency (GFHE) insulation offering a thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/mK, while the outer sheathing is of black high density polyethylene (HDPE) or stainless steel.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: SIMON ALDER, MARKETING MANAGER,
GEORGE FISCHER SALES LIMITED, PARADISE WAY, COVENTRY CV2 2ST.
TEL: 024 7653 5535 FAX: 024 7653 0450
EMAIL: uk.ps@georgfischer.com WEB: www.gfps.com/uk