An internal-keg filtering system

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dent

Under Pressure
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I got this idea last week and just had to try it out.

You know when you want to move a keg, but you don't want to stir up the sludge at the bottom;
Or if you want to take a keg to a BBQ or whatever, and you have to transfer it off into another keg to avoid bringing shame to your family name with glasses of haze beer?

Filtering kind of sucks. It works, but it tends to oxidise the beer, introduce possibility of infection, and prevent any further positive maturation the beer might have otherwise had. So this fixes at least two of those problems.


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Get your filter


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Cut it into 3 slices - you'll need just one - I used a 1mm angle grinder disc - a drop saw would probably work well also.

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Get some plastic - this is some perspex I had lying around - anything that silicone would stick to is fine.


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Drill an 8mm hole in one of the plastic bits.

Make a nice sandwich with a bunch of silicon. Jam a length of bev tube in the hole and silicon that up too. Leave to set for a few days. Once it has set, I boiled mine in some water for a while to sanitise the whole thing.

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It just so happens that the dip tube on a corny keg is the exact OD required for our kegging push-in connectors to fit perfectly. A straight connector is shown, but I ended up with a right angle one since it fit in the bottom of the keg better.


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So, you have to remove the dip tube, slide it up so you can reach the end of it, and attach the connector and filter. It may take a little stuffing around, but you should be able to get the filter to lie flat on the bottom of the keg. Reassemble the keg post, and you're good to go. Fill with beer from the fermenter.

Here's the end result.

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This was straight from the fermenter just yesterday - perfectly bright now, and the beer will actually improve over time, which is rather less likely to happen if I filtered it on the way to the keg.

So obviously this is a little silly, but it is a thing that works. It has some disadvantage in as you can't really fill the keg through the beer-in connector anymore, as you'd be putting sludge on the wrong side of the filter. You could, in theory, fill from the gas end, but you'd probably want to tip the keg over to avoid it splashing up in there, and it is altogether kind of awkward.

And I guess the keg might blow a little sooner, but that's no more beer than what you'd lose filtering it anyhow.
 
Nothing personal, Arthur Dent, but the world hates a smart ass. :ph34r:
 
That is the best home brew tip I have seen in ages. I have only one 50L fermenter and I am always dying of thirst waiting for the brew to settle out. I would be interested to know what micron size you are using and whether the flow rate drops off as you work your way thru the keg.
 
I think this is a 0.33 micron filter, 1 micron is more typical. I haven't run a full keg through it yet, but since a full filter can filter a few hundred litres without cleaning, I don't see why the shortened one will suffer - though it will take a while before I find out.
 
Nice one dent! Might have to add this to my project list- filtering is a bit of a pita and I'm all for anything that makes my brewing life a bit easier.

Where's you get the filter from? Wondering if a 0.5 micron sediment filter (poly spun water filter) would work..
 
Oh yeah, the other point was that for the hop-hounds - in theory you should be able to dry-hop the keg willy nilly without any reprisal.

I think I'll do just that now.

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Dunno about the poly spun ones - seem pretty non-cleanable to me. The filters I have I bought a box of pleated ones for cheap from ebay, worked out to about $4 each or so.
 
I've never filtered but may need to take a couple of kegs to a wedding..... when you get them off fleabay what specific item do you look for?
 
Great idea! I'll have to try it once I get my kegging system up and running. :D Which is now sooner than later.

Maybe for the ghetto gear thread I'll try a sock filled with tampons ;)
 
Bribie G said:
I've never filtered but may need to take a couple of kegs to a wedding..... when you get them off fleabay what specific item do you look for?
There's many available, they're mostly the same with the main difference is the size in microns, which presumably relates to the largest item that will pass through the filter. 1 micron will stop the vast amount of yeast which would have the greatest effect on flavour. I find smaller is effective at getting rid of the rest of any other haze. I think this is the type I have. Most of the brewing retailers will have something appropriate.

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Mardoo said:
Maybe for the ghetto gear thread I'll try a sock filled with tampons ;)
Have a look a "Bog roll in a sock" in the ghetto tampon thread.
 
An update - I put 15g of hops straight in the keg and left it warm all week. In the fridge early this morning. Still bright, still flows nicely. Hops were a good addition too.
 
I don't keg (yet) and this is genius. Well done!
 
Jeez nice looking beer there Dent
Great idea too well done
Just wondering about the silicone you use is it some sort of food grade stuff you can buy
 
Thanks.

My understanding is the roof&gutter stuff is made food grade since it is to be used to carry runoff for water tanks.

Anyhow, version 2 will be stainless with O rings. B)
 
If you don't mind keep us posted with the stainless one sounds great
 
Dent

The accolades "best brew tip in ages", "nice one", "great idea", "genius" and "awesome" have all been said earlier in this thread and I concur.

In a recent thread on AHB people were lamenting the loss of innovators. This thread makes it clear that they are still with us.

Well done.

Steve
 
Very innovative. I'd dare say with a little bit more fiddling you wouldn't need to cut the dip tube at all.
 
This is a really nice idea. I'm wondering if it is possible to repurpose my craftbrewer filter to filter the beer in-line? From keg to filter to faucet? So the filter sits outside the keg between it and the tap? Or is there something similar to this we can already buy off the shelf?
 
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