Call Me Back
If you’re looking for the answer to ‘How much glycol do I need in a chilled water system?’ this is the right post.
Glycol is a staple in all chiller-based cooling systems operating at or below 6˚C, adding antifreeze protection.
It’s recommended that you use high-quality glycol with built-in OAT inhibitor packs to suit your process operating characteristics.
This will help to protect your system from glycol degradation, corrosion, and bacteria as well as bringing system PH stability.
It is very important to use the correct mixture of inhibited glycol to water in your system; too little encourages bacteria growth and brings with it the risk of freezing.
Degradation of glycol can cause lactic acid to form, leading to rapid system corrosion left untreated.
Equally, too much glycol can lead to system inefficiencies from reduced heat transfer ability and increased viscosity.
Glycol concentration percentage chart
To correctly dose glycol you’ll need to know how much water your system holds, a specialist like ICS Cool Energy can help with this.
Once you have calculated the volume of your system, you can use our glycol percentage chart:
| FREEZE POINT | FLOWCOOL IG Industrial grade glycol |
FLOWCOOL PLUS Mono propylene glycol |
FLOWCOOL BIO Bio derived glycol |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glycol volume % |
Refractive index |
Glycol volume % |
Refractive index |
Glycol volume % |
Refractive index |
|
| -10 | 22.1 | 1.3553 | 26.7 | 1.3624 | 27.4 | 1.3614 |
| -11 | 23.8 | 1.3571 | 28.6 | 1.3646 | 29.5 | 1.3636 |
| -12 | 25.4 | 1.3587 | 30.4 | 1.3666 | 31.4 | 1.3657 |
| -13 | 27.0 | 1.3604 | 32.0 | 1.3686 | 33.2 | 1.3677 |
| -14 | 28.5 | 1.3619 | 33.6 | 1.3704 | 35.0 | 1.3696 |
| -15 | 29.9 | 1.3634 | 35.1 | 1.3721 | 36.6 | 1.3714 |
| -16 | 31.3 | 1.3648 | 36.5 | 1.3738 | 38.2 | 1.3731 |
| -17 | 32.6 | 1.3662 | 37.8 | 1.3753 | 39.6 | 1.3747 |
| -18 | 33.9 | 1.3675 | 39.0 | 1.3767 | 41.0 | 1.3763 |
| -19 | 35.1 | 1.3687 | 40.2 | 4.3781 | 42.4 | 1.3777 |
| -20 | 36.3 | 1.3699 | 41.4 | 1.3794 | 43.7 | 1.3791 |
| -25 | 41.5 | 1.3753 | 46.3 | 1.3850 | 49.2 | 1.3851 |
| -30 | 45.8 | 1.3797 | 50.4 | 1.3897 | 53.6 | 1.3899 |
| -35 | 49.5 | 1.3834 | 54.2 | 1.3939 | 57.3 | 1.394 |
| -40 | 52.9 | 1.3867 | 57.0 | 1.3977 | 60.7 | 1.3975 |
| FREEZE POINT | FLOWCOOL FS Low oral toxity |
|
|---|---|---|
| Glycol volume % |
Refractive index |
|
| -10 | 26.7 | 1.3616 |
| -15 | 35.1 | 1.3700 |
| -20 | 41.4 | 1.3763 |
| -25 | 46.3 | 1.3812 |
| -30 | 50.4 | 1.3853 |
| -35 | 54.2 | 1.3891 |
| -40 | 57.7 | 1.3926 |
Remember a minimum of 25% is recommended to allow correct application of the inhibitor pack and keep the fluid biostatic (inhibits bacteria growth).
We recommend flushing and sanitising your system before adding a new water/glycol solution and regularly testing the water quality.
Our specially formulated Flowcool glycol range provides ultimate system protection including Flowcool FS for food and beverage manufacturing – offering low oral toxicity levels where there is a risk of incidental contact with food (NSF registered).
As part of our 100+ point planned preventative maintenance programs we provide additional chilled water and glycol tests as standard. For more information on our Flowcool glycol range or planned preventative maintenance programs, call 0800 774 7426.
