Inline sight glass (?)

[good4whatAlesU]

Scored this bad boy from a retiring researcher who knew I was into brewing - impressive engineering. Looks like a big inline sight glass (pressure vessel?) - about 1 Litre capacity with an SS mesh at one end.

The only thing on my system that runs at pressure is a serving line from the keg. I suppose I could put this bad boy "in-line" as a filter? Ye-gods, talk about over-kill!

 

[breakbeer]

You could turn it into a Randall. Pack it with fresh hops & serve your beer through it

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Sounds like a brilliant idea. I've never even heard of a Randall before googling it just now.

Looks like fruit can also be used to good effect in a "Randall"?

 

[breakbeer]

Yeah, you can fill it with anything you like.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a go.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

I've seen one of those before but damned if I can remember where. I think it's some kind of media trap, hence the wingnuts on the head that has two parts.

If it is the thing that I remember, the inner one of those two parts has threaded holes so the whole thing stays assembled when you remove the outer. This was to facilitate emptying.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Thanks LC I'll have another look when I get home tonight.

The guy I got it off was a plant physiologist (horticulturalist) but even he didn't know what it was - inherited it off an even older researcher I think ... yes definitely looks like a media trap/ filter of some kind. The bottom tap is copper/ brass?

Came with another part (which I haven't shown a photo of) which has an extra SS filter wedged between another two steel plates. Will photo tonight.

Edit: I'm also not sure of what pressure rating it may have. I'd not like to take too much risk on that glass section.
Edit Edit: Actually I suspect they used a vacuum pump to pull the liquid through the filter rather than pressurise it from the top. I suppose if I had a vacuum pump I cold pull the wort (or finished beer) through it ... hmmmm.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Pressure rating for a cylindrical structure is very easy to calculate:

material yield strength x wall thickness / internal radius.

Glass strength is often taken as 30 MPa but heavily derated if reliability is important, often by a factor of 4.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Cheers, will run some calipers over it this-evening.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Found the other bit - another filter plate and bowl. The glass steel frame has EKWIP" and a number stamped into it. Filter paper?

Gotto be filtration unit...

 

[Mardoo]

Whatever it was, it now should be the most awesome homebrew Randall around.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Nectarines coming into season up here, a plan is forming.....

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Ekwip is indeed a brand of filtration equipment, common in the wine industry.

I think it's an old scavenger: when you blow down an earth filter because it's packed out or blocked up, some wine remains on the inlet side. If the product value is high this is run back through a scavenger to recover it from the earth.

 

[TheWiggman]

Seems like a pretty neat design, note the hex nut with the pressed ridges to bleed the air out during filling.
For regular carbonation pressure (70 kPa or therabouts) I wouldn't imagine there would be any issues and it would handle it fine. I'd suggest checking the seals where the glass meets the end plates and ensure these are intact and not perished. Do a dry run with water (?) first to check for leaks before accidentally having to tip a litre of beer out.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Good tip TW, yes the glass rim seems to sit in a rubber seal which after all these years may possibly have perished - worth a run with water to check out.

LC - you mean diatomaceous earth (or similar) used in wine (and beer?) filtering. On occurrence of a filter blow out, would be filtered back out of solution through the "scavenger".?

Edit: Best fit-out option? - might be to find out what that empty thread on top is - and fit a ball lock post to it. Simply connect the keg outlet hose up to it an run it through. ..