Ball Lock fittings for non-pressure transfers?

[Yuz]

Hey Brewers!

Do typical QD fittings require pressure to pass fluid? I'm considering making a Fermenter Tap-to-Liquid Disconnect adapter - would the gravity be sufficient to push brew through the QD?

I'm using a hose to fill up kegs atm - it works fine but ideally I'd like to use my Transfer line that I use for Fermentasaurus-to-Keg transfers on my traditional Fermenter also.

I think this would minimise infection risk and oxygen exposure.

 

[earle]

No pressure required. Someone posted a photo recently doing just what you're suggesting.

Same idea also works for keg-keg transfers using transfer line with a liquid QD on both ends, and another line with gas QD on both ends. Transfer works by syphon effect with the full keg on a bench and the empty keg on the ground, just need to hook up the liquid QD's, release a little of the pressure in the lower keg to get the flow going, then connect the gas QD's to keep the flow going.

 

[Yuz]

Thanks Earle, makes sense to do it this way I think - my only concern is that a traditional fermenter would have a bit sediment going through the tap & out (collecting from the bottom), unlike Fermentasaurus (collecting from top). Could this sediment block QD / Ball Lock?

 

[earle]

That was my concern when looking at the photo that I referred to but it seemed to be fine for that brewer. I would run a bit of beer through the fermenter tap as waste first just to clear any settled yeast and debris. I can't speak from experience in this type of transfer though. Hopefully someone who does it can chip in.

 

[Parks]

I would run a bit of beer through the fermenter tap as waste first just to clear any settled yeast and debris.

This is precisely what I do -

* sanitise and CO2 purge keg leaving maybe 100ML of starsan in the keg and some pressure.
* Hook transfer hose with beer disconnect up to keg releasing starsan and CO2
* Use releasing starsan to clean the exposed parts of the fermenter tap
* As CO2 release nearly stops (after starsan is gone) push hose onto fermenter tap and disconnect from keg
* attach transfer hose to PET bottle using a stainless carb-cap
* fill PET bottle, chill, carb, drink ASAP
* open PRV on keg
* attach fermenter to keg and fill

This achieves a fully closed CO2 transfer as well as not getting that first crud from the tap into your keg.

 

[Yuz]

Makes sense, thanks gentlemen.
Perhaps it's my just my subconscious attempt to justify another Fermentasaurus

 

[mtb]

Yuz I think your subconscious is right, you simply need another Fermentasaurus.

 

[mtb]

..on the QD blockage question - it's been a problem for me with heavily dry-hopped beers. I avoided the problem by simply removing the poppet from the beer post on the receiving keg during transfer. Once the transfer was done, I sanitised and reinstalled the poppet.

 

[[email protected]]

I use a small beer pump to transfer from my fermenter to my kegs, I fill one keg with CO2 first and then hook my pump and other kegs up to this keg in line. I then purge all air from the 3 other kegs and the pump. I pump the beer through a 1 micron filter and into the first keg through the out port. This fills the keg from bottom to top, always leaving a layer of CO2 on top. The beer then goes through the in port and into 2nd keg and so on until fermenter is empty. I then hook my CO2 up to the pump and purge all beer from pump and filter. I then disconnect pump and filter and keep running CO2 into the out port of the first keg, this achieves levelling out the volume in the first three kegs and also force carbonates to a degree

I have been doing it this way for over three years and never had an infected batch. Beer is clear and with minimum oxygen seeing it.
Cheers

 

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Whoops, wrong photo. That is cleaning fermenter and kegs

 

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This is proper photo

 

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Forgot to mention, I use a small peristaltic pump to remove the semi solid plug from the fermenter discharge port and also harvest my yeast using the peristaltic pump. This gives a very controlled discharge until beer is starting to flow.

 

[Yuz]

Tez, that's commitment and a half!

 

[[email protected]]

Cheers Yuz, I hope it helps you with ideas. I haven’t had to buy yeast for the last 18 months using this method. And it’s clean, virtually no spillage. It’s also just set and forget until fermenter is empty or filter needs changing. When I dry hop with pellets I go through 3 or 4 filters but if I don’t dry hop I can get away without having to change a filter.

 

[takai]

You can do that without a pump too, just put 2psi or so into the keg and then hook up a line from the blowoff tube to the gas port on the final keg. Once you have pressure equalisation then a brief burb from the prv of one of the kegs will initiate flow from the fermenter to the kegs.

Its even easier if you have fermenters that can tolerate pressure, as the higher system pressure will allow for a bigger differential from keg to fermenter.