How much is too much water?

[Stewie007]

Okay, so I'm considering how big of a reservoir to use. I'm going to use a steam table pan and I can get these things up to 15 Gallons capacity. It seems to me that 15 gallons would take forever to chill, so how much would you say is sufficient?

Oh, and additionally, I need a flow meter that can handle the frigid temperatures....

[Gautam]

I like the 2-3 gal range myself, but some people run over 10 and just give it hours to chill. And of course there are some chiller designs using under 1.

[Stewie007]

Okay, so the 7 gallon pan shouldn't bee too big of a deal. They have massive double sized pans that are 8 inches deep...... 15 gallons, but that'd be a bit too much hehehe.

[malkiewicz]

1 gal is good enough.... I've -20 with less than a gal..

[Stewie007]

I could certainly use 1 gallon, but I want some distance in time between cycles. My temperature differential would be eaten up pretty quickly.