Spunding Valve

[rude]

Just wondering who uses what type of valve for pressure fermenting

Have seen the KK ones but apparentley they are very touchy to control

Have looked for some in RS spares as below

SMC AP100 Rc 1/4 Female Pressure Relief Valve Female RC 40mm 1/4in, 0.05 → 1Mpa

This one was $85 bit dear but if it is good will part with the cash

They are listed under pneumatic or exhaust ppr valves

The range is in Mpa is that measurement 1Mpa, one million pascals ?

I have sent e-mail to CraftBrewer but no reply as their RegQDvar looks ok adjustable up to 100psi
& comes with the gauge & bits ready to go ,anyone have one of these & do they adjust well ?

Would like a valve that goes up to at least 30psi so kegs finish carbed

All advice appreciated Rude

 

[takai]

I have used one like this in other applications: http://www.amazon.com/Control-Devices-Pressure-Relief-Adjustable/dp/B007GDY3CU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458626761&sr=8-1&keywords=spunding+valve

But depending on the scale it could be difficult at lower pressures.

 

[rude]

How do you find this for adjustments hit & miss
Do you mean hard to adjust for say 15psi

What application do you use it for ?

Thanks for reply

 

[Danscraftbeer]

The KK one works fine actually. Its fine adjustment but does set right as long as the pressure is there. I replaced the 15psi guage with an 80 psi.

 

[TheWiggman]

Just wondering who uses what type of valve for pressure fermenting

Have seen the KK ones but apparentley they are very touchy to control

Have looked for some in RS spares as below

SMC AP100 Rc 1/4 Female Pressure Relief Valve Female RC 40mm 1/4in, 0.05 → 1Mpa

This one was $85 bit dear but if it is good will part with the cash

They are listed under pneumatic or exhaust ppr valves

The range is in Mpa is that measurement 1Mpa, one million pascals ?

I have sent e-mail to CraftBrewer but no reply as their RegQDvar looks ok adjustable up to 100psi
& comes with the gauge & bits ready to go ,anyone have one of these & do they adjust well ?

Would like a valve that goes up to at least 30psi so kegs finish carbed

All advice appreciated Rude

Ginger beers get all pedantic about units but this is why.
M = mega
Pa = Pascal. Big P, small a. Small p means something different.
M is 10^6 or 1 million, yes.
1 atmosphere is around 0.1 MPa or 101.3 kPa. If the gauge you are looking at has MPa increments it's too high for the purpose of adjusting for carbonation pressure. Carb is typically around 70-85 kPa (0.07 - 0.085 MPa) for most beers.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Ahh but the device link was rated min spec of 0.05MPa so 50kPa if using for pressure fermenting then pressures used are between 15 and 22psi and I know thats more than 100kPa but CBF doing the conversion. Another member has used that gauge for pessure fermenting and it apparently was easier than the off the shelf spunding valves. Obviously way pricier and you'd still have to track down a guage and fittings.

MB

 

[mb-squared]

I have used one like this in other applications: http://www.amazon.com/Control-Devices-Pressure-Relief-Adjustable/dp/B007GDY3CU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458626761&sr=8-1&keywords=spunding+valve

that's the one I use. works great as long as you can keep it dry. I ferment in a 50L keg with a regular coupler in it. the gas port is connected to a corny liquid post and I put this spunding valve on the gas connect to the corny. stays dry that way and works great!

 

[rude]

Thanks Wiggman this is a valve not a gauge so 0.05 Mpa to 1Mpa would alow me to carb
albeit at the lower end of the adjustment

So using a converter 7 psi to 145 psi or 50kpa - 1000kpa hopefully I have it right

Thanks Danscraft so its not too bad good to hear
Would like something up to 30 psi though as that one only goes to 15 psi but still not bad
What & where did you buy you're gauge 80psi

Still waiting for feed back on CraftBrewer's valve gauge set up as it looks ok too

 

[rude]

Replied too quick cheers all

mb squared sounds like the go using a cornie to put the valve on to keep dry

MB yes have to source gauge fittings works out a bit pricey but if it works better then will go that road

 

[trevgale]

I tried the keg king spunding valve and found it to be impossible to set accurately. I looked at getting a different style one from the US and decided that I would make a digital one instead. I bought a pressure transducer and a pressure controller from Auber Instruments and a 1/4" solenoid valve of ebay. I put it all in a project box and connected it to the gas in port using a quick disconnect. It lets me accurately set the pressure and be confident it is set right.

I ferment in 50L kegs and typically start at 5psi and then set it to 15psi near the end of fermentation during a diacetyl rest. I then crash chill it and it is fully carbonated naturally. As well as saving on CO2 it also means I can serve straight away if I need to. One time I just hooked a filter inline and served directly from the fermenter.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I got the 80psi gauge at KK too. Its exactly the same.
Just unscrew the 15. Screw in the 80. With some plumbers sealant tape. Low cost.

 

[mb-squared]

I tried the keg king spunding valve and found it to be impossible to set accurately. I looked at getting a different style one from the US and decided that I would make a digital one instead. I bought a pressure transducer and a pressure controller from Auber Instruments and a 1/4" solenoid valve of ebay. I put it all in a project box and connected it to the gas in port using a quick disconnect. It lets me accurately set the pressure and be confident it is set right.

I ferment in 50L kegs and typically start at 5psi and then set it to 15psi near the end of fermentation during a diacetyl rest. I then crash chill it and it is fully carbonated naturally. As well as saving on CO2 it also means I can serve straight away if I need to. One time I just hooked a filter inline and served directly from the fermenter.

hey trevgale, any chance you could post some links to the bits and pieces? I'd like to look into this.

cheers,

 

[MastersBrewery]

I tried the keg king spunding valve and found it to be impossible to set accurately. I looked at getting a different style one from the US and decided that I would make a digital one instead. I bought a pressure transducer and a pressure controller from Auber Instruments and a 1/4" solenoid valve of ebay. I put it all in a project box and connected it to the gas in port using a quick disconnect. It lets me accurately set the pressure and be confident it is set right.

I ferment in 50L kegs and typically start at 5psi and then set it to 15psi near the end of fermentation during a diacetyl rest. I then crash chill it and it is fully carbonated naturally. As well as saving on CO2 it also means I can serve straight away if I need to. One time I just hooked a filter inline and served directly from the fermenter.

one of the guys over at HBT did similar but used an arduino or rpi to not only change set pressure and temp, he was using an off the shelf mass flow controller and therefore able to measure expelled Co2 and therefore approximate gravity, if you call accuracey of .001 approximate.

 

[mb-squared]

wow, this hobby just keeps getting more and more interesting...

 

[trevgale]

hey trevgale, any chance you could post some links to the bits and pieces? I'd like to look into this.

cheers,

No worries, these are the main components.

Pressure Controller
Pressure Sensor
Solenoid Valve

The only other components are a 1/4" tee, 1/4" hose barb, hose, gas disconnect, plastic project box from jaycar, power cable and a 1/4" end plug.

When I first put it together I just had the open end of the solenoid valve to release the pressure. However this would release too much pressure due to the ~1sec cycle time. Anyway I put a plug in the end of the solinoid with a 1mm hole drilled in it and this did the trick.

So it's not cheap but it does work perfectly and you can both see the exact pressure it is at and set the desired pressure.

 

[barls]

i use one of these
Ball lock QD Adjustable Pressure Valve W/Gauge

 

[rude]

Hey Barls you're my man how do you find it easy to adjust

Trevgale very impressive I assume you do lagers mainly
Any reason you don't just ferment at 15 psi all the way or nearly to the end

 

[barls]

i use mine for naturally carbing. its pretty easy turn until i get the number i want

 

[trevgale]

Hey Barls you're my man how do you find it easy to adjust

Trevgale very impressive I assume you do lagers mainly
Any reason you don't just ferment at 15 psi all the way or nearly to the end

I mainly use it for lagers, I wanted to experiment with pressure fermentation and was not happy that I could get repeatable results with the manual spunding valve. Fermenting at higher pressures can potentially result in damage to the yeast and result in not achieving full attenuation, based on what I have read. I am still playing around with it.

As I ferment in 50L kegs I tend to use it on all brews, even if it is only at 1psi just so that I can take samples during fermentation. It also make natural carbonation easy.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Makes me think of a pressure schedule. Start low to ease the yeast and grade up the pressure over a week? But that's not really simulating the commercial technique which is what we are trying to achieve isn't it? I took 15psi as a standard setting all the way. No need to adjust. Then again I cant see anything wrong with setting the pressure much lower. 1 to 10psi until it stops hissing then tighten the valve for another week. Done! chill, lager, transfer or just dispense and drink.
Ageing preferred.