Diy: Filter Beer For $30!

[BjornJ]

I dont think a 5 micron fillter would catch much at all... 1 or 2 micron "absolute" is what you need ..

DIY projects are good but if the info is not all there it just frustrates ...

Cheers

Not sure what information is lacking here about the making of a beer filter, but sure you can expand on that?

I bought the 5 micron filter cone as it was the cheapest cone available at my local bunnings, after reading about 5 micron beer filtering several places.

A quick look now came up with a store selling beer filters: http://www.filterstore.com/kit.asp
"The 5.0 micron filter gets rid of any sediment in your beer. The 1.0 micron filter gives you a brilliantly clear beer. And the 0.5 micron filter enables you to eliminate almost all chill haze from your brilliantly clear beer."

Homebrew digest: http://hbd.org/mtippin/filter.html
"The important thing to note in this context is that filtering to 5.0 microns will remove most of the yeast; filtering to 1.0 microns will remove many haze causing particles in your beer; filtering to 0.5 microns will remove nearly all chill haze causing proteins as well. Filtering below 0.5 microns can have detrimental effects on your beer..."


Don't confuse this with a thread selling the benefits of filtering beer, or demanding anyone buy the same filter cone that I did

What I wanted was to show a fun project,

thanks
Bjorn

 

[~MikE]

5 micron nominal filter will remove most of your yeast i'd imagine, the smaller cells are around 5micron in diameter. 1micron nominal (will have an effective range of 1-3 micron at worst) would be your best bet. as for cleaning, try to filter clean beer. as it's cells you're mainly filtering, they contain a whole heap of insoluble compounds that when the cells eventually die, will clog your membrane - in my experience you can virtually kiss it goodbye after that.

EDIT: beaten, like a step-child /EDIT

running water in reverse may help the membrane, otherwise, if you're game, 1M NaOH (which i strongly don't recomend you use) will dissolve most insoluble material from biomass (lipids proteins etc) - followed by 30% isopropanol (which i also don't recommend) to dissolve some of the more PITA lipids. this may revive the membrane, may kill it, might'n't be enough, it's just how i clean chromatography columns in the lab. probably your best bet is to run clean stuff through it to begin with.

 

[Ross]

..... as for cleaning, try to filter clean beer. as it's cells you're mainly filtering, they contain a whole heap of insoluble compounds that when the cells eventually die, will clog your membrane - in my experience you can virtually kiss it goodbye after that.

I filter the cloudiest beers & use PBW to clean - My current cartridge (1 micron absolute) is still going strong after well over 50 brews through it - no clogging issues todate.

Cheers Ross

 

[BjornJ]

Ross,
I've read that you can bottle carbonate after using a 1 micron filter as well.

Do you know if this actually works?

thanks
Bjorn

 

[~MikE]

I filter the cloudiest beers & use PBW to clean - My current cartridge (1 micron absolute) is still going strong after well over 50 brews through it - no clogging issues todate.

Cheers Ross

haha, i just read up on PBW and it describes it as an envirenmentally friendly replacement for caustic soda (NaOH) so it's little wonder why it works so well, although it seems like it's buffered caustic to drop the pH a little bit, with a detergent added.

i would be concerned with the PET filter membrane and mode of action of this cleaner. i know there's only a certain amount of NaOH one can pass through the membranes i frequently use in the lab before the degradation makes it such that you can no longer trust the filter rating. with PBW having a pH of 12 and the PET filters i use typically having detergent compatibility limited in the 1-5% range (depending on the detergent), i'd be concerned about the long term effects that has on your membrane. may explain why it's flowing so well after 50 'cleans'

do the cartridges come with a chemical compatibility spec sheet?

edit:

Ross,
I've read that you can bottle carbonate after using a 1 micron filter as well.

Do you know if this actually works?

thanks
Bjorn

yes, yeast reproduce by 'budding' - yeast buds can make it through 1micron filters. i imagine the lag phase in the growth cycle would be significantly increased.

 

[Ross]

Ross,
I've read that you can bottle carbonate after using a 1 micron filter as well.

Do you know if this actually works?

thanks
Bjorn

Yes, it works fine

Cheers Ross

 

[~MikE]

I filter the cloudiest beers & use PBW to clean

the chemical compatibility thingy was bugging me, i looked up in the GE osmonics labstore for the chemical compatability of their PET (aka PETE) filters (the molecular structure doesn't change between manufacturers).

http://www.geosmolabstore.com/OsmoLabPage....325&1215200

seems it's only stable between a pH of 4-8, which puts PBW well outside of it's ph stable range, FYI.