Counter Pressure Bottle Fillers

[dicko]

Hi all,
I hate bottling :angry: and I am thinking of getting a CPBF. and I have a few questions.

What do all the users of this style of equipment think of this method?

What type of units are the best? (in your opinion) - no flames or flame siuts please!

Do you need to have all the bottles chilled cold while bottling?

How quick do you have to cap the bottle after filling it from the keg?

I am thinking of getting the unit that 3B have on their web shop. Does anyone have one of these?
And what do you think of this type?

Cheers

 

[normell]

Hi all,
I hate bottling :angry: and I am thinking of getting a CPBF. and I have a few questions.

What do all the users of this style of equipment think of this method?

What type of units are the best? (in your opinion) - no flames or flame siuts please!

Do you need to have all the bottles chilled cold while bottling?

How quick do you have to cap the bottle after filling it from the keg?

I am thinking of getting the unit that 3B have on their web shop. Does anyone have one of these?
And what do you think of this type?

Cheers

Hi Dicko
I have one of the Phills type, used it a cuppla times
1. best to have the bottkes chilled
2. don't have to be super quick to cap
But for all the stuffing around, I now prefer to fill straight from the tap.
I turn the despensing pressure right down, pour a pint to settle the pressure down, then pour carefully into the bottle.
But with either method, DON'T try to do it half wacked, unless you like beer shower's

Normell

 

[dicko]

Hi all,
I hate bottling :angry: and I am thinking of getting a CPBF. and I have a few questions.

What do all the users of this style of equipment think of this method?

What type of units are the best? (in your opinion) - no flames or flame siuts please!

Do you need to have all the bottles chilled cold while bottling?

How quick do you have to cap the bottle after filling it from the keg?

I am thinking of getting the unit that 3B have on their web shop. Does anyone have one of these?
And what do you think of this type?

Cheers

Hi Dicko
I have one of the Phills type, used it a cuppla times
1. best to have the bottkes chilled
2. don't have to be super quick to cap
But for all the stuffing around, I now prefer to fill straight from the tap.
I turn the despensing pressure right down, pour a pint to settle the pressure down, then pour carefully into the bottle.
But with either method, DON'T try to do it half wacked, unless you like beer shower's

Normell

Thanks Norm,
I'm afraid "half wacked" is often the case at the bottling line in my brewery :lol:

I only want to bottle a six pack from each keg and the main reason is that my kegged beer ALWAYS seems to taste better than the bottle primed variety.

Cheers

 

[Jase]

Hi all,
I hate bottling :angry: and I am thinking of getting a CPBF. and I have a few questions.

What do all the users of this style of equipment think of this method?

What type of units are the best? (in your opinion) - no flames or flame siuts please!

Dicko,

If my memory serves me well, and it hasn't in the past, I think Doc bottled his Xmas case beer with a CPBF. Not too sure what type though, he may be able to help there.

Come to think of it, I was no help at all :huh:

Cheers,
Jase

 

[barls]

ive been looking at the beer gun for this purpose any ideas on these

 

[Guest Lurker]

Hi Dicko

I have 1) a CPBF that I think was made by ESB, came with my kegs, and 2) a Blichman beer gun and 3) some racking hose pushed over the end of a pluto gun. To be honest 3) is my preferred option. 1) has about 6 valves levers and connections and to be honest I've never worked out how to connect it. 2) does tend to produce foam unless you hold your tongue exactly in the right position and has on occasion caused diacetyl in the bottled beer despite flooding the bottle with CO2 first. 3) seems to work pretty well, not that much foam.

 

[Doc]

I've had the Phils CPBF and found it really good. Just a pain to clean.
I now have the Blichmann BeerGun. Works really well, but still a nuisance to clean but not quite as bad as the Phils one.
If I know the beers don't have to last long, a piece of tubing over a picnic tap with chilled bottles works great. Cap on foam and all is good. I posted some pics in a similar topic recently. If you want and can try and dig them up.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Jase]

Hi Dicko

I have 1) a CPBF that I think was made by ESB, came with my kegs, and 2) a Blichman beer gun and 3) some racking hose pushed over the end of a pluto gun. To be honest 3) is my preferred option. 1) has about 6 valves levers and connections and to be honest I've never worked out how to connect it.

GL,

Any chance of seeing a picture of your CPBF?????

Cheers,
Jase

 

[BigAl]

Dicko, ive got one of the more beer CPBFs.

Its basically a 3 way brass valve with a stainless stem and bleed valve. Ive added a male snaplock to the "beer in" line and a air fitting for the CO2, so when i want to use it i just pull out my beer tap and snap on the CPBF and CO2 line.

Its really good if you want to fill lots of bottles, say for example you were filing a carton of your finest to give away for christmas, i did it for the AHB Sandgroper chrismas case with a rice lager.

If you want to do one or two, its too much buggering about, cleaning it etc. I still fill from the tap if i want a couple of bottles to drink out, especially if im drinking them soon after filling.

Yes you still need to put the bottles in the fridges. How much foaming depends on how warm the bottles are and how gassed the beer is. For a really gassy lager I generally fill the bottle up so that foam comes out the bleed valve, and the level is about an inch from the top (minimize the amount of oxygen in it), if i dont do that i can only fill the bottle a few inches from the top.
You pretty much need to cap it straight away....its good to do that anyway as it keeps the beer gassed and oxygen out.
Im sure a less gassy beer would be much easier to fill.

What i would do it make a frame to hold bottles while filliing. Its almost a 3 handed operation and you need to keep pushing the CPBF down onto the bottle whilst. Ive once had the bottle slip on the bar i knocked the valve open to the beer setting and spilt beer everywhere.

I can post a few picks of it if you like.

Cheers
Bigal

 

[dicko]

Thanks guys for your replies,

I had some doubts I guess, otherwise I wouldn't have asked.
I have got a pluto gun and a picnic tap (plastic) so I might try one of these with some hose before I lash out on something that may end up accompanying tupperware. :lol:

Just one question to Doc and GL,

How long does the beer stay carbonated when you use the picnic/pluto and a hose as opposed to the CPBF?

Cheers

 

[Darren]

Dicko, If the beer is real cold and carbonated and the bottle is cool it will stay carbonated until you open it.

The trick is to go nice and slow. Low pressure on the regulator, low flow into the bottle. Tilting the bottle helps.

cheers

Darren

 

[Batz]

Thanks for asking this Dicko
Wondering about the same lately,Ross does this and I have asked to check it out on Thursday.
I want to see a couple of pet bottles filled like this,then a couple with primer.
I'll give them a month and then try them.

Batz

 

[dicko]

Thanks for asking this Dicko
Wondering about the same lately,Ross does this and I have asked to check it out on Thursday.
I want to see a couple of pet bottles filled like this,then a couple with primer.
I'll give them a month and then try them.

Batz

Hi Batz,

Let me know how you get on.
Ross may have a "secret Ross' method" h34r: :lol:
I would be happy to buy a CPBF but I am the same as most and only want to spend my kids' inheritance if the equipment will do the job.

Cheers

 

[warrenlw63]

Hi Dicko

I have 1) a CPBF that I think was made by ESB, came with my kegs, and 2) a Blichman beer gun and 3) some racking hose pushed over the end of a pluto gun. To be honest 3) is my preferred option. 1) has about 6 valves levers and connections and to be honest I've never worked out how to connect it.

GL,

Any chance of seeing a picture of your CPBF?????

Cheers,
Jase

Jase.

Mine's an ESB CP filler as well. I've made a slight modification to it. I've put in a couple of 1/4" ball valves in place of the original triggers which were starting to corrode when I sanitised the unit. They were the same things that you depress when you pump your car tyres up at the petrol station. Other than that' it's the same model. The current configuration is more ergonomic to use as well.

I find they work quite well and aren't terribly difficult to use. h34r: Just make sure you've not been sampling excessively beforehand. It's quite easy to forget your purge, bleed, pressurise routine otherwise. :lol:

To clean I just sit in a pot full of Napisan and hot water with all the valves open. Rinse it off in some clean water then sanitise in some iodophor for 30 mins before use. It's not all that difficult to do.

Have to agree with what all the others have said. Bit of a pain to fill one or two bottles. You have also make sure your beer is fairly cold and you freeze your bottles beforehand. Other than that the storage conditions/times of the bottled beers are subjective. Personally I wouldn't keep them any more than a month or two maximum.

Hope this helps.

Warren -

 

[Millet Man]

To clean I just sit in a pot full of Napisan and hot water with all the valves open. Rinse it off in some clean water then sanitise in some iodophor for 30 mins before use. It's not all that difficult to do.

That's how you clean the CPBF or yourself. :lol:

Back OT, I've been thinking about the blichmann beer gun but looks like I might try filling from the tap first to see how that works.

Cheers, Andrew.

 

[warrenlw63]

LOL! :lol: I seem to leave typos in all the right places.

That was meant to be sit the CP filler in a pot of Napisan. :blink:

Reminds me of a joke I heard several years ago when some bloke wanders into a Doctor's office with some very bad burns around his feet.

Doctor asks... What happened?

Man says, got a can of baked beans from the supermarket. Followed the instructions on the can... Says to stand in boiling water for 10 mins. :lol:

Warren -

 

[BottleBitch]

I have used a CPBF once,to bottle a brew for a friends wedding, the funny think was that after bottling for ages, your mind kinda wonders off, and then BAM!!!!, beer all over the kitchen roof because you opened the wrong valve.

if I'm not worry about 02 pick up, i find a coopers or like PET bottle pushed hard against my beer tap, does the trick, just open the tap and slowly crack the bottle away from the tap to reduce the pressure in the bottle to let more beer in, and when its full and i mean really full, I slam it down on the bench to make it fob over, then put the cap on.

it would be nice if some could come up with an idea for a simple conter pressure bottle filler, and takers?

 

[BigAl]

Dicko,

Heres that pic for you.

Its a fairly well made unit, tig welded stem etc.

For me it will still only be used occasionally, the prefered easy option for take-aways is pouring straight from the tap. :beer:

 

[BigAl]

Having major AHB problems here in the West...im giving up for now, cant edit cant delete....sorry guys.

 

[dicko]

Having major AHB problems here in the West...im giving up for now, cant edit cant delete....sorry guys.

Hi Big Al,
Thank you very much for your efforts.
The pics only came out in part, and I understand, as at times it is nearly impossible to upload or download anything when traffic is high with my connection.
I might see if I can buy one of those three way valves and I could probably make the rest myself with a frame for supporting the filler as well as the bottle as per the info in my PM to you.
I tried just filling a pet bottle from the keg and altho' I only left it for 24 hours before drinking, it seemed to work OK.
Cheers