Filtering

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I reckon a test is in order and propose:

1) Replicate the scenario you have in the picture with the Ikea furniture, but with a fermenter full of water.
2) See how fast the water flows through the system and keep removing bits from the downstream side of the system until you get the flow you think you should be.
3) Replace the bit that fails.
4) If it turns out that you dry-hopped with flowers and there were a couple stuck in the tap, replace the tap and say that was the problem...

 

[Pumpy]

tried to run the beer out directly into the opening of the keg rather than the post and nothing. Even pushing 50 kpa of CO2 into the IN on the filter and it still doesn't even create enough force to push the beer out (and no there are not any leaks.)

Fourstar - Give up gravity for a brew or 2 & filter under pressure between 2 kegs. You should have no problems.


Cheers Ross

I thought he tried it under pressure

Fourstar you dont have the IN connected to the OUT and the out connected to the in do you ?

 

[Fourstar]

I thought he tried it under pressure

Fourstar you dont have the IN connected to the OUT and the out connected to the in do you ?

That is correct and no, i didnt have it in reverse.

 

[domonsura]

Just be aware that the $15 cartridges are "nominal" not "absolute" So you are more likely effectively filtering at approx 3 micron.

++++
Cheers Ross

Not quite, when the specs I have been given indicate a size variance of less than 1 micron, which would still leave it as less than 2 micron - which at a cartridge price a fraction of the price & a visual result equal to that of the filter cartridge you supply...it would seem to me that the rest is beside the point. Bright beer is bright beer regardless of how many 20 dollar notes you filter it through..

I bought your filter set originally, after that pad filter debacle some time back, & I've tested & compared your cartridge and mine side by side several times with no visual difference that I or those that were asked could tell. 5 beers in a row from memory, of various clarity. Same result. Except that I managed to blow a hole in your one (although that could have feasibly been my error, but to this day I still don't think so at a pressure barely enough to move the beer. Still, it could have been a one off...)and had to replace it, and even at the lower price at the time, it still hurt the pocket. That doesn't make mine a better filter than yours, but it does in my opinion make it better value for money. Both of them were fine for gravity filtering to a point but slowed as they became clogged with yeast at roughly the same points with no clear winner, and both were perfectly fine with keg to keg under pressure with no issues whatsoever other than the one perforated filter I mentioned. Mine cost me less, so I went with that one. I am fairly happy that I can replace mine 4 times over before I could buy one of yours. And that's still with an acceptable margin on it. Not suprisingly, we sell quite a few of them and other than the stuff up with the first batch of them not having PR valves, I'm not aware of any complaints about performance. Hard to argue with that - even if you do seem to want attempt to represent it likely to produce an inferior result.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

As it turns out - My first filter cartridge was an expensive one, it didn't fit my housing properly, I got a lot of bypass and I ended up throwing it away - So I bought two cheaper ones.. about $15 each actually. I had a hell of a lot of trouble with poor performance; and destroyed two of the paper pleated filters before I went with another more expensive one from Craftbrewer - which works perfectly and has for quite a while. Those cheaper ones were not ones purchased from Beerbelly, they were however paper pleated filters with black ends and a remarkably similar looking sticker on them though. I found them to be far less robust and wouldn't buy a paper filter again... so its two sides to every story and cheap or expensive isn't even the major subplot. I'm guessing both work well under the right circumstances and both suck it big time under the wrong ones. Thats the way its worked out for me at any rate.

Perhaps we could leave that particular argument for a retail thread?

Whether its $70 dollars or $15 dollars - the object of this thread is to see if Fourstar needs any sort of a new filter cartridge at all, or whether there is something else wrong in his process. So to stay on the actual topic..............

Fourstar - try the nappisan soak for a couple of days if you want, but for me, the nappisan is a "maintenance" cleaning regime. PBW will do a much better job of shifting actual built up organic matter for a "fix" type clean. I also find that simple backflushing just does not effectively clean the filter. It can run as clear as you like, but there is still plenty of stuff in the crevices that doesn't even move. The short soak in nappisan probably just bleaches it all nice and white so you cant see it anymore.

If you don't have any, I can shoot you some PBW = and as I said, if you want to try my filter in your set-up so you can tell if its even the cartridge thats the issue, just gimme a hoy. I reckon I can manage the 10 minutes it might take me to walk to your place from mine. Cost you a beer though

Thirsty

 

[Pumpy]

View attachment 33766

There is an awful amount of foam in that line did you teflon tape the John Guest fitting thread ?

Pumpy :huh:

 

[domonsura]

I'm guessing both work well under the right circumstances and both suck it big time under the wrong ones. Thats the way its worked out for me at any rate.
Thirsty

That would in my opinion be a fair assessment. Fair to say that about a lot of the bits and pieces we all use for our brewing too. I just didn't think it was necessary for the theoretical and irrelevant difference to be pointed out in such a way.

In terms of whether or not 4star needs a new filter (after reading his intial post), I would suspect not. It's just that with some beers being filtered under gravity, the buildup of yeast towards the end of the filtering process does indeed make it harder for the beer to pass through, my experiences were similar with either filter - hence I recommend filtering under (very low) pressure from keg to keg as I don't have the same issues when I do this unless the beer is very very cloudy with yeast.

 

[Fourstar]

There is an awful amount of foam in that line did you teflon tape the John Guest fitting thread ?

Pumpy :huh:

Yep. I had leaks before doing that, now its as tight as a nuns!

Thanks for all the tips and offerings guys. I'll most likly be filtering my light aftera 48 hr crash chill tomorrow and constant washing and soaking in nappisan until then. At this point its linen white and if a tip her upside down i get consistant flow from the out post. so it looks like the filter should be clean and free of debris.

Only time will tell, i'll keep you posted.

 

[NickB]

Fourstar - just filtered my summer ale now, and even though it had 30g of loose flowers dry hopped, it filtered fine in around 20 mins.

I did the PBW soak overnight as suggested by some, and boy, the amount of crap that came out that nappysan never touched was amazing. I would be trying this

Cheers

 

[~MikE]

Not quite, when the specs I have been given indicate a size variance of less than 1 micron, which would still leave it as less than 2 micron - which at a cartridge price a fraction of the price & a visual result equal to that of the filter cartridge you supply...it would seem to me that the rest is beside the point. Bright beer is bright beer regardless of how many 20 dollar notes you filter it through..

that and anywhere between 1-3 microns is going to make no difference what so ever. your yeast cells are 5-10 microns in size and are easily filtered out, you need to go down to .45 micron filters to get yeast buds out of your sample and at least .45 if you want to start significantly filtering proteins/lipids etc. you need .2 micron if you want to filter everything that isn't soluble.

 

[komodo]

Any one run "twin" inline filters? ie one 5 mic (nominal) and one 1 mic (absolute)?

 

[Fourstar]

Success!

Filtered my Baseballers Light in 16 minutes! Yes, 16 minutes! A long cold crash chill seems to have solved my issues. No bubbles whatsoever in the housing/lines during filtration and diamond bright beer in the glass! Most of all, my recent purchase of a med pressure rambo burner investment to solve my inconsistant rolling boil seems to have solved my haze issues ive had as of late. Been thinking its got todo with poor break formation and seems i may be right! HOOORAY!

Or im getting some further assistance with the Filter too!

YIPPEE!!!! :beerbang:

 

[Ross]

Great to hear Fourstar :icon_chickcheers:

Cheers Ross