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So I've just tasted my first canned beer (5% saison) 3.5 months after canning and I can now detect a bit of staling. Unfortunately this batch went a bit quick as I would have liked to taste a can every month to see when it goes downhill. The last tasting before this was 1 month after canning in which I couldn't detect any degradation.

My Helles (5%) is at 2 months and still tasting great.
Has anyone kept any tasting notes related to shelf like and would like to share?
 
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I thought this might be of interest to some of you people that can your homebrew.

This machine is called a "necker".

It takes a can with straight walls and puts a neck, a flange, a reform bead around the dome, and checks each one for any holes at the modest speed of around 1850 cans per minute.

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I thought this might be of interest to some of you people that can your homebrew.

This machine is called a "necker".

It takes a can with straight walls and puts a neck, a flange, a reform bead around the dome, and checks each one for any holes at the modest speed of around 1850 cans per minute.

View attachment 122629
Can I have one in green, with polished brass knobs on :drinkingbeer:?
 
Hey guys. We are looking to manufacture a can filling machine that will fill can's automatically. So you would just load the can into the machine and press a button and it will fill to the desired level.

We are wondering if we connect this device to the internet or not via our RAPT portal. To connect it to the internet the additional electronics would cost about AUD$10 extra.

I don't think it's very valuable to have a can filler connected to the internet but it would keep track of your canning speed (cans per minute), number of fills, average fill time, it could even log the temperature of the beer during the filling process. It also means we might be able to release new firmware if we find ways to improve the operation of the machine.

So the question to you guys is would you rather:

1. Can filling machine without internet connectivity for $100
2. Can filling machine with internet connectivity for $110

What would you guys prefer?
 
As long as it won’t delay the product coming out, the option 2 (on the basis it may help optimise the process).

TBH, if you’re willing to fork out for a can seamer and then filler, and extra $10 won’t be a problem
 
As long as it won’t delay the product coming out, the option 2 (on the basis it may help optimise the process).

TBH, if you’re willing to fork out for a can seamer and then filler, and extra $10 won’t be a problem

From the perspective that it will keep records of previous batches and fill speeds this would be helpful to optimize the process. If it's not connected to the internet it will basically come down to people manually recording the data by hand or some other means. So yes it's possible that it might be useful for ongoing optimization.
 
Can all this RAPT stuff be switched off in either hardware or software?

Or does it just not connect if you don't/can't use it?
 
I'm in the same boat as HB, if it does not change expected delivery timeframe, I'm happy either way
 
Can all this RAPT stuff be switched off in either hardware or software?

Or does it just not connect if you don't/can't use it?

Yes you can use all the RAPT devices without any internet connection if you like. You just loose the logging features and possibly loose automatic firmware updates.
 
What sort of design are you looking at? Any pictures or drawings you guys willing share?
 
What sort of design are you looking at? Any pictures or drawings you guys willing share?
I’m interested and would consider investing in one (it would make my counter pressure filler that I made up redundant though)😰
 
I made my own Arduino Controlled Can filler, worked right up until the crappy Solinoi Valves clapped out
 

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I made my own Arduino Controlled Can filler, worked right up until the crappy Solinoi Valves clapped out

What solenoid valves did you use?

I know solenoid valves are handy as they are "off the shelf" but the issue with solenoid valves are they generally cause more foaming as they are not designed for beer flow. Also solenoid valves are also generally not very sanitary in the way they are designed. They might work to some degree but most of them are far from ideal.
 
Yes you can use all the RAPT devices without any internet connection if you like. You just loose the logging features and possibly loose automatic firmware updates.
I understand that I can use it without a connection. But can I switch the connection off? I don't see any reason to have it on when I can't use it.
 
As a fellow arduino enthusiast i am pretty impressed by this!

Do you have any info on how you put it together?
Hmmm it does look interesting I’d like to know more too

I used the code that Harry shared while making his system () then adapted it for a dual line system. 8sec CO2 blast followed by the beer flowing. It was triggered to stop by the closing of a 5v circuit.

What solenoid valves did you use?

I know solenoid valves are handy as they are "off the shelf" but the issue with solenoid valves are they generally cause more foaming as they are not designed for beer flow. Also solenoid valves are also generally not very sanitary in the way they are designed. They might work to some degree but most of them are far from ideal.

Unfortunately just some cheep solenoid valves, that as you suggested caused added foaming, and then gumped up pretty quickly, despite lots of cleaning.

It's still an awesome talking point in my brewery
 

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@KegLand-com-au

Is there any update on the can filler you eluded to the other month? Super interested in what you come up with?

Yes it's a can and bottle filler and should be available soon. We are just waiting on some of the tooling to be completed. Once this is done we will upload a video to youtube for you.
 

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