history of oil heated brewhouse

Hello, I’m Neo, the CEO of COFF Ningbo, the inventor of the oil heating system, COFF Ningbo is the creator of the oil heating craft beer equipment, and is the only company in China that owns the patent certificate of the oil heating craft beer equipment.

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The evolution of oil heating systems

2017

we started in 2017, successively invested 300,000 US dollars in research and development funds, focusing on research and development of oil-heated craft beer equipment, and in November 2017, we developed the first generation of 100L oil-plus craft beer equipment system, and passed the aging test of 2 consecutive months of uninterrupted equipment operation. Becoming more familiar with and mastering the performance of the oil heating equipment, in 2018 COFF submitted a R&D patent application to the State Intellectual Property Office of China. In August 2019, we obtained the utility model patent certificate issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China.

2018

1BBL、2BBL、3BBL、5BBL. 2018: COFF began upgrading the first generation 100L oil-heated craft beer equipment system in accordance with the first generation in February 2018 and successfully upgraded it to a second generation oil-heated system, at which time COFF expanded the specifications of the oil-heated craft beer equipment system to the U.S. capacity of 1BBL, 2BBL, 3BBL, and 5BBL.

In May 2018 our old customer in Denver, USA decided to buy the second generation oil heating craft beer equipment system developed by us as the experimental equipment for its brewery, and in February 2019 we upgraded the oil heating system for the third time again according to the feedback from our old customer in Denver, the purpose of the upgrade is mainly to improve the appearance of the equipment and the function of the wort piping layout. Meanwhile, COFF participated in Nuremberg Craft Beer Equipment Exhibition in Germany in October 2019, and exhibited the 2BBL third generation oil heating craft beer equipment system, which was highly praised by customers, and signed a contract to buy the exhibits on the spot with a guest from Portugal (Funchal Islands) at the exhibition site.

2019

After the 2019 Nuremberg Craft Beer Equipment Exhibition in Germany, at the same time, we got to know our only designated agent in the U.S., MB, and at the same time, in February 2019, COFF Company once again upgraded the oil heating system for the fourth time, that is, COFF Company’s newest model, the fourth generation of oil-heated craft beer equipment systems, the upgrade is mainly from the energy-saving, environmentally friendly, modularization of the concept of This upgrade is mainly based on the concept of energy saving, environmental protection and modularization. At present, our cooperation with MB company is very happy and gradually open the American market, we believe that the oil heating system will be a trend, but also a beginning.

Various Heating Ways

Currently on the market there are conventional electric heating, direct fire heating, steam heating these three ways, we do an analysis for these three ways.

Direct fire heated

Advantages:
1.Fast heating (with good design)
2.Easily adjustable heating rate
3.Convenient operation

Disadvantages:
1.You need to have a large gas line, and if you don’t have one you need to have it installed by a professional installation team.
2.Gas safety systems require some specialized knowledge once you have an engineer designing it and then you need someone trained to maintain it.
3.Need a big chimney.
4.You need a fire tank, it’s big, and it’s hard to maintain without cranes and lifting equipment.
5.High equipment costs (in case of professional direct heating)
6.Localized high temperature heating at the bottom tends to scorch the wort mixture such as the protein component.

electric heated

Advantages:
no gas lines, so you can put them on the ground floor. Low capital cost, very affordable to install, one time payment.

Disadvantages:
1.Electric heating elements can burn and are difficult to clean;
2.Large gauge wire, not a big deal if you are 10 feet from the control box, but a lot if you have to go 100 feet or more;
3.The power must be large enough to support simultaneous heating of the boiling and hot water tanks, which will increase the size of the required wiring and the investment cost.

Steam heated system

Advantages:
1.Large heating area, save time, no burning
2.Easy to clean, no gas lines (you can even have the boiling tank as a separate stand-alone)

Disadvantages:
1. The capital cost of installing a boiler is high, it takes a dedicated person to install the boiler and install all the steam piping to get all the steam through the boiler safely, everyone needs to be trained, you do hear about it Boiler explosions happen mostly in apartment building heating, but brewing systems as well, and any operation needs to be carried out by a pipe fitter.
2.Water chemistry maintenance, which can be a challenge for brewpubs without specialized training
3.Descaling the water supply system is also something that must be done on a regular basis

The Coff oil heating system has been upgraded to address the shortcomings of traditional beer brewing systems.

Oil heated system

Advantages:
1.it is a medium capital cost, more expensive than an electrically heated brewing system, and its installation is far less expensive than a steam system
2.With the same large jacket area as steam systems, you can adjust the evaporation rate by controlling the oil temperature.
3.There’s only one tank that transfers energy to all of them.
4.The heating rods can be operated independently of each other with low power requirements.
5.High-temperature electric heaters have no contact with the wort, making cleaning easy
6.Modular design, saves space
7.No gas line
8.No steam boiler and water chemical treatment
9.The mash stage heats up easily like steam

Features:
1.All tanks are insulated, which is a real boost to energy efficiency, and the brewer’s workspace is cooler and safer!
2.Double hot water tank capacity, CIP operation at the same time as brewing, which is really helpful You can do this when you are cleaning or brewing, or if you want a second batch, it can give you a good start for your second batch!
3.There’s a countdown timer so you can have hot water ready to brew when you set it up ahead of time, ready to brew up when you walk in the door
4.When coming out of the mash tun and going to the boil, it heats up quickly at the end of the stirring
5.Very adjustable evaporation rate
6.The brewing process is a very logical hard hose connection that saves labor by not having to lug hoses around
7.All tanks contain cip cleaning balls
8.Self-contained heat exchanger
9.The footprint is very small, all the features are on one base which is absolutely amazing, you just pull it out of the container, it has some casters and you can roll it into place, take the casters off, put it down and connect it to power and water and you’re ready to brew, it’s very easy to clean and you have CIP anywhere you need it.

maintenance cost

Oil heating systems also have significant advantages over the other three categories when it comes to maintenance and repair costs:

Fire Heating

The burners, nozzles, chimneys on the kettles need to be maintained, if not maintained the production efficiency will drop and the kettle will smoke.

Steam Heating

Regular inspections are done at least once a year, and many brewers will either do this themselves or hire a consultant to do this for them on a monthly basis.

Electric Heated

Cleaning electric heating rods, which is very labor intensive, you have to clean them in every batch.

Oil Heating

Replacement of the oil used for heating in the equipment only every 3 years

repair cost

Fire Heating

1. The nozzles have a limited lifespan, of course we can clean the nozzles, then we have to replace 88 nozzles, about $7 each, the chimney needs to be replaced, they will rust from the inside;
2. Controls such as relays wear out
3. Gas safety system, if you don’t want to lose the flame sensor during boiling, it’s best to have spares on hand at all times

Steam Heating

Steam pipes are prone to contamination and if not cleaned will result in clogged steam pipes or reduced heating and possibly a lost batch of beer. In addition to the contamination of the steam pipes, the corresponding valves can also be damaged, so they need to be chemically cleaned regularly with carbonates, and in the case of more complex contaminants, such as silicates, which can’t be etched away even with nitric acid, higher cleaning costs are required.

Electric Heated

Electric heating elements can fail, and if you have one that fails, it’s absolutely horrible because it’s in the middle of a batch of beer and you can’t replace it without emptying the tank, and if you have a spare tank, you’ll need to transfer it to a spare tank with a pump, and then put the new element back into the tank and then start the boil again.

Taking all the requirements into consideration, brewers who are looking for high efficiency and energy saving can try the oil heating brewing system, because this innovative brewing equipment can bring better experience to customers compared with other brewing systems. We welcome more partners to join us!

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