Filter Cleaning

[jbowers]

Hey,

So filtering was a great success. Had instantly drinkable beer and almost no wastage to trub etc. Worth the extra half hour of cleaning stuff etc for sure.

I've followed advice given here about cleaning it and soaked it in napisan for a couple of days - doesn't seem to have helped. Most of the cartridge looks really white and like new, however there are quite a few yeast/trub clumps lying under the plastic part surrounding the filter cartridge. Is this ok? Can't really think of how else to clean it, I can't really get inside the cartridge itself to clean it.

Cheers

 

[kelbygreen]

all I do is once as soon as I finish filtering put the lid on the keg take off the filer lines and take it over to the sink then back flush with the hose connected to the out line and run till the water runs clear out of the in line. Have the kettle getting to the boil when you flush and turn it off when it gets hot (not boiling) then I drain the water out the filter and put about a teaspoon of 100% sodium perc on the inside and one on the outside of the filter then fill with the hot water and put the lid on.

You can go carb the keg up now or just hook it up what ever you like. Leave the filter for about 30-40 mins then drain and give a light rinse put the filter back in and put about another teaspoon of sodium perc in the filter and fill with hot water again and just leave it sit for how ever long you like (1 hour minimum) if the purge button or little ball valve has any steel on it like mine the sodium per makes them rust out over night so make sure if there is a metal that will rust not to leave it to long. just rinse well and dry, sanitise like normal.

I now had to take my purge button out and use foam and duct tape over the hole to block it up, the handle on the little ball valve is almost rusted right threw to.

 

[jbowers]

That sounds good, will do something similar in future. Does your cartridge have any stuff in it though?

 

[kelbygreen]

it has a few little dark spots near the plastic on the top and bottom but other then that looks fine.

I did leave it in my fermenter last week when I was away working and didnt flush it back. Came home and the fermenter had a nice skin on it and stunk like something rotting lol. So I put 5 cap fulls of bleach and 5 of vinegar and left it for 3 days, Everything smells like bleach now in my shed lol so I think for the little effort to back flush and clean it there far out weighs buying a new filter, lines and fermenter. I will try brew in the fermenter again, fingers crossed its not fucked (same with the filter).

 

[Thirsty Boy]

What you describe is one of the reasons I would never, ever buy a filter that was encased on one of those plastic casings. One of the most important steps of cleaning, and one of the most overlooked - is inspection. And you cant see the whole surface of the filter if its enclosed in plastic, so how the hell can you even tell if its clean let alone do anything about it if it isn't?

back flush your filter immediately after use to get rid of surface soiling, if backflushing still doesn't get rid of everything that might be stuck to the surface, use a high(ish) oressure jet of water to get in amongst the pleats of the unit - dont put it in nappisan (or even into a proper cleaner) until there is nothing loose - otherwise that loose stuff might come off and end up on the "wrong" side of the filter, and then into your next beer. When the surface has nothing left on it that can be physically "washed away" then you apply a chemical agent to break down any organics that have adhered to the filter.

If you do it every time, do it straight after filtering and perhaps use a decent cleaning agent like PBW instead of nappisan, there is no need for a couple of days soaking - PBW does the job in minutes.

If after extensive use, your filter starts to slow down, then an overnight soak in a more concentrated solution will break down the organincs and speed it up again - but if you use proper cleaner every time you clean you probably wont need the extended soak.

 

[kelbygreen]

Thirsty I use 100% sodium perc napisan is only about 30% or something (brand depending) it works in about half a hour, prob less but thats safe for me.

 

[jbowers]

Thanks for the info thirstyboy. I really should buy some PBW in larger quantities - it works so well around the brewery. Will try backflushing and pressurised spraying. If that doesnt work I suppose I'm in the market for a new filter cartridge? I don't like the looks of little clumps of stuff in my filter...

 

[Thirsty Boy]

nappisan is OK
100% sodium perc is better
and a purpose designed built alkaline cleaner is better again

cost rises with effectiveness.

Something most people dont do, but that makes the cost of a cleaner like PBW much lower than you think, is to re-use the stuff. It stays effective and works well over many multiple uses. I have a 20L cube of it pre-made up and when i am done cleaning with it, I run it through a funnel (with a built in strainer to take out any chunky bits) back into the cube. Any loose stuff drops to the bottom and you draw clear cleaning solution through the tap from above it. Every now and again I top up the levels of cleaner and I keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get too discoloured or go cloudy. I am about a third of the way through my second jar of PBW in about 3-4 years.

 

[argon]

What you describe is one of the reasons I would never, ever buy a filter that was encased on one of those plastic casings. One of the most important steps of cleaning, and one of the most overlooked - is inspection. And you cant see the whole surface of the filter if its enclosed in plastic, so how the hell can you even tell if its clean let alone do anything about it if it isn't?

I found the one i bought from Ross had a plastic mesh surround to the pleated filter cartridge. I ended up just cutting that off so when cleaning i can get my fingers in the pleats and spray them clear of debris.

back flush your filter immediately after use to get rid of surface soiling, if backflushing still doesn't get rid of everything that might be stuck to the surface, use a high(ish) oressure jet of water to get in amongst the pleats of the unit - dont put it in nappisan (or even into a proper cleaner) until there is nothing loose - otherwise that loose stuff might come off and end up on the "wrong" side of the filter, and then into your next beer. When the surface has nothing left on it that can be physically "washed away" then you apply a chemical agent to break down any organics that have adhered to the filter.

On my laundry sink i can fit a bit of silicone tube over the faucet. I remove the beer out disconnect and connect the silicone hose to it to back flush hot water at mains pressure. After that has removed most of the yeast in the housing, i open it up and then spray the cartridge with as hot water as i can handle, pinching the tube for a bit more pressure... not hose pressure but better than straight from the tap. Seems to get most of it clean of larger bits in the pleats.

If you do it every time, do it straight after filtering and perhaps use a decent cleaning agent like PBW instead of nappisan, there is no need for a couple of days soaking - PBW does the job in minutes.

If after extensive use, your filter starts to slow down, then an overnight soak in a more concentrated solution will break down the organincs and speed it up again - but if you use proper cleaner every time you clean you probably wont need the extended soak.

Then a soak in napisan or PBW or Sodium perc. They all work, just some take longer than the other.
PBW is my preference... but have run out and i'm too cheap to buy some more. Will have to organise myself for the reuse method.


Edit: splng... cutting not scutting

 

[Nick JD]

I found the one i bought from Ross had a plastic mesh surround to the pleated filter cartridge. I ended up just succting that off...

You cut the plastic surround off? Any chance of pics - I might do the same.

 

[argon]

You cut the plastic surround off? Any chance of pics - I might do the same.

cartridge and potential pics at home, but i just took a stanley knife to it at each end then it just pulled off. Now i can really get into the pleats for a much easier clean.

 

[Florian]

Just to be clear, Argon is talking about the filter from craftbrewer, not the one from mybeershop.
Not sure if you could cut the plastic of the mybeershop ones, never had one in my hand, but from photos it looks like it might be a challenge.