Recommended Glycol Concentrations

What is the best balance?

Glycol is a critical part of most process chiller systems. Used in conjunction with water, the mixture is the liquid that flows through the chiller system and keeps your products cool. The amount of glycol and water in the mixture is not finite, however. It's important to recognize how much glycol you need, and in order to do that, you need to know what glycol can do in different amounts. The purpose of glycol is to lower the freezing point of water. Different ratios of water-to-glycol will result in different freezing temperatures. Using glycol properly means knowing how much you need to use. The lower temperature you want equals a higher glycol-to-water ratio.

Glycol Concentration Chart

Chart showing glycol concentration vs freezing point

Glycol Concentration	Freezing Point (°F)
10%	26°F
15%	22°F
20%	18°F
25%	12°F
28%	10°F
30%	5°F
35%	-1°F
40%	-12°F
45%	-20°F
50%	-34°F
55%	-50°F
60%	-62°F

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Water freezes at 32°F; however, glycol freezes at 9°F. Mixing the two lowers the freezing point of water, allowing it to run through a chiller system at much lower temperatures without freezing. Interestingly, the freezing point of a water-glycol mix is much lower than water or glycol individually. Let's run through a few examples: according to the chart above, if you wanted to reach an ambient temperature of 10°F, you would need a glycol level of 28% in your water-glycol mixture. An ambient temperature of -20°F would be attainable with a 45% glycol level. An ambient temperature of -50°F would be attainable with a 55% glycol level. In summary, the lower temperature you want, the higher glycol-water ratio you need. North Slope Chillers are the best product to use when cooling material. Using the right amount of glycol with the right chillers is essential to getting the job done.