We no need no stinking beer gun...

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@HbgBill Well, I had the same problem. BUT I've found the right one. I believe that Canadian Fermtech is making both. So you'd find the one with slighty smaller diameter.
 
@Tall_Yotie All that because foam is like 100% of CO2, and that's precisely what we want - no air inside. You can fill normally, sure but quality in quality out - right? :) If you gonna drink those bottles quickly, and stored cold - no problem.
You prob. builded up too big pressure, you'd fill sloooowlllyyy :( And burp 3-4 times OR use some needle:) I know it's a helluwa pita process.
 
I made one of these last night with a piece of racking cane and a baby bottle nipple (had some laying around from making gaskets for MLT bulkheads). I put the racking cane thru the nipple as it was upside down, pushed to bottom of bottle, then inverted nipple downwards and held pressure on cane and nipple with one hand while working the tap with the other. Filled two bottles with minimal foam.

Didn't have stopper handy and wanted to try something. Definitely less air-tight than stopper but I got the hang of it after a while. Gas on 1psi and keg bled completely prior.
 
I've been doing this when taking beer to friends houses at the last minute. It works great with a growler too. My beer bottles are Tecate bottles from Baja and are 44oz's. I've kept them 4-5 months without issues.
 
In advance, SORRY IF THIS HAS BEEN ASKED but I am in no way searching this whole thread for the answer to my question. How do you guys rinse out/sanitize this design before use? Is it necessary to have an extra keg that I can fill with starsan solution to rinse out my bottle filler before use? Just finding the concept of bottling say a stout with this once then trying to bottle some ipa the following day or what have you, and being left with a contraption filled with stale stout and/or any nasty bacteria i dont want in my bottles.
 
In advance, SORRY IF THIS HAS BEEN ASKED but I am in no way searching this whole thread for the answer to my question. How do you guys rinse out/sanitize this design before use? Is it necessary to have an extra keg that I can fill with starsan solution to rinse out my bottle filler before use? Just finding the concept of bottling say a stout with this once then trying to bottle some ipa the following day or what have you, and being left with a contraption filled with stale stout and/or any nasty bacteria i dont want in my bottles.

You would just soak in oxyclean or PBW like anything else and then rinse and sanitize. Don't make it too complicated. It's just a tube and a stopper. Individually how would you clean them?
 
Well there is no specific instructions on how to attach the thing to the faucet/keg so I am a bit confused. I was planning on buying a liquid out adapter attached to 5 ft of line attached to the picnic valve with the wand sticking out of it. With this, I would have to disconnect the line from the adapter every time I wanted to clean it which sounds like a pain to me, unless there is a better and easier method of doing this? then please specify...
 
The racking cane just gets shoved into the picnic tap for the bottling process. Afterwards you pull it out. Then u can clean it and go on with life as though your kegging sysem never changed.
 
Well the thing is that i now have a kegerator and use perlick faucets. So hooking up a picnic valve means detaching my liquid lines going into the perlicks and attaching my beer gun device. I guess since my setup is different i will have to adjust accordingly
 
If you did decide to have another line with a picnic tap on it, for cleaning I just take it apart, both sides, and soak in oxy clean. Then I rinse by shoving a 1/2" hose in one side and plugging so water runs through. I spray sanitizer in one end and hold up so it runs through. Or just make a line cleaner with a garden sprayer.
 
Standard 3/8 racking cane? I'm fixing to do this as I'm going to keg my first here this week.
 
I cracked both picnic taps I had on my kegs trying this. Just picked up a new one, is there a way you guys are getting the racking cane in without cracking the plastic? I dont want to break another one trying.
 
I cracked both picnic taps I had on my kegs trying this. Just picked up a new one, is there a way you guys are getting the racking cane in without cracking the plastic? I dont want to break another one trying.

mine just slides right in. Maybe there are slight variations of picnic taps. Mine came from beveragefactory I believe.
 
Yes, I use the inserts when bottling.
Also, just jam a plastic bottling wand into your picnic tap. No need to use the rubber stopper, drilling holes, etc. Reduce your keg pressure to get a nice slow fill without excessive foaming, then cap on foam.
 
I will give it a go. As far as the insert goes, I was thinking of dedicating one to the bottle filler tubing. It slides easily into the tubing and I could place it right above the racking cane. Then i might not need six feet of line. Thoughts?
 
As long as it restricts the flow. I've never thought about putting the insert in the beer line but the physics are the same, slow down the flow.
Let us know how it works!
 
Yes, I use the inserts when bottling.
Also, just jam a plastic bottling wand into your picnic tap. No need to use the rubber stopper, drilling holes, etc. Reduce your keg pressure to get a nice slow fill without excessive foaming, then cap on foam.

I did this for a long time, and just recently replaced it with the Bowie Bottler. With the stopper, I can fill under standard serving pressure (which is useful since I've got 5 taps and don't like mucking around with opening the keezer and changing pressure on all those kegs) with no foam loss. I'd much rather have a system I can use at normal serving pressure.
 
Just found this thread after purchasing a counter-pressure beer gun. I was searching the webs for videos demonstrating how it's used ... when I stumbled upon this thread. Long story short -- made this BeirMuncher filler last night and filled a few bottles for my first entry into a competition. Worked like a charm. Spilled a bit, but that was due to me forgetting to shut off the tap between bottles.


Anyway, if BeirMuncher is still active on this board, I wanted to thank him personally for making my life easier and this hobby a bit more enjoyable.


CHEERS!!:mug:
 
what are the downsides to just attaching tubing to the dispensing faucet and placing the tube at the bottom of the bottles?
 
what are the downsides to just attaching tubing to the dispensing faucet and placing the tube at the bottom of the bottles?

It works OK, I have seen some places that fill growlers at the bar that way. You get a bit more foam and lose a bit of carbonation, but for the short-term it is fine. I actually sometimes get lazy and if I'm going somewhere and want to bring a few brews with me, I'll just fill a few chilled bottles right out of the tap with no tubing or anything. I wouldn't submit them to a competition like that or anything, but if I'm drinking them fairly soon it works out OK.
 
Biermuncher (or any) beer gunners, what are your thoughts on going this route vs. a more standard racking 2 or so gallons to a bottling bucket, adding appropriate amounts of priming sugar, and bottling 'normally' then kegging the rest vs the beer gun process?

Question 2, my buddy gave me a device that attaches right to my non-perlick tap and has about a foot of beverage line attached to it. It always gets all foamed up when I try to bottle or fill a growler. I'm clearly missing the obvious steps of bleeding the keg of CO2 and of having the bottles colder. Can I have success just using this as opposed to getting a racking cane and stopper?
 
natewv said:
Biermuncher (or any) beer gunners, what are your thoughts on going this route vs. a more standard racking 2 or so gallons to a bottling bucket, adding appropriate amounts of priming sugar, and bottling 'normally' then kegging the rest vs the beer gun process?

I never know how many bottles I'm going to need from a given batch. I just pull exactly what I need when I need it, mostly for competitions, but sometimes to share with folks, and this technique has worked flawlessly and, for the most part, effortlessly for me for the past several years.
 
Biermuncher (or any) beer gunners, what are your thoughts on going this route vs. a more standard racking 2 or so gallons to a bottling bucket, adding appropriate amounts of priming sugar, and bottling 'normally' then kegging the rest vs the beer gun process?
Nothing wrong with splitting up the batch and bottling some the old-fashioned way. It's just a bit more work is all. Plus, the beer gun is just flat-out cool and fun to use. It is also nice to not have to wait for bottle conditioning. I have settled in to a routine where I keg everything, drink off the tap for a while, then bottle the last bit with my beergun or BMBF to free up the keg when I need the space.

Question 2, my buddy gave me a device that attaches right to my non-perlick tap and has about a foot of beverage line attached to it. It always gets all foamed up when I try to bottle or fill a growler. I'm clearly missing the obvious steps of bleeding the keg of CO2 and of having the bottles colder. Can I have success just using this as opposed to getting a racking cane and stopper?
You sure can. You'd be amazed what a difference chilling the bottles will make (and the line that you attach to your tap - if that line is warm, it will foam up before it gets to the bottle. Any increase in temperature on the way to the bottle = foam). Also, turn the pressure way down to about 2-3 PSI. Like I said, sometimes I am lazy and just fill right from the tap, no tubing or anything. And as long as I chill the bottles and turn the pressure way down it works out OK.
 
Nothing wrong with splitting up the batch and bottling some the old-fashioned way. It's just a bit more work is all. Plus, the beer gun is just flat-out cool and fun to use. It is also nice to not have to wait for bottle conditioning. I have settled in to a routine where I keg everything, drink off the tap for a while, then bottle the last bit with my beergun or BMBF to free up the keg when I need the space.

You sure can. You'd be amazed what a difference chilling the bottles will make (and the line that you attach to your tap - if that line is warm, it will foam up before it gets to the bottle. Any increase in temperature on the way to the bottle = foam). Also, turn the pressure way down to about 2-3 PSI. Like I said, sometimes I am lazy and just fill right from the tap, no tubing or anything. And as long as I chill the bottles and turn the pressure way down it works out OK.

So then what is the advantage of the stopper using BM's method?
 
So then what is the advantage of the stopper using BM's method?
It keeps the contents of the bottle under pressure while you're filling, thus further reducing foam. that's why you have to poke the side of the stopper to keep it going, because the pressure inside the bottle gets to where the beer will stop flowing. I have used my BMBF with and without a stopper, and it definitely foams less with the stopper. When I didn't use the stopper before, my fill level ended up a bit low once everything settled because of the extra foam.
 
I've been wanting to try this for a quite a while now and today was my opportunity. Worked like a charm! I lost about 3oz while bottling 4 bottles just due to not having a smooth process. I call that success.

I'll be cracking a bottle in a few days to check carbonation and another one in a week or two just to verify for myself that they hold up.

Thanks for the write up!
 
I did tried this last year and it worked perfectly. Dont ask me how but it purges itself. Drank one months later and was still perfectly carbonated! Thanks
 
It keeps the contents of the bottle under pressure while you're filling, thus further reducing foam. that's why you have to poke the side of the stopper to keep it going, because the pressure inside the bottle gets to where the beer will stop flowing. I have used my BMBF with and without a stopper, and it definitely foams less with the stopper. When I didn't use the stopper before, my fill level ended up a bit low once everything settled because of the extra foam.

Exactly
 
This may have been answered somewhere in the preceding 84 pages, but in case it hasn't: How do you cut the bevel in the tip of the racking cane? Hacksaw? Hot knife? Table saw? Dremel? What's the best way to get a clean cut?
 
Hey

Has anyone built a 2, 3 or 4 bottler filler version of this? I was thinking you could make a frame that held all the taps and fillers and had some sort of linkage that was connected to all the taps that activated them all at the same time? Like a quad throttle body linkage on a carburettor?

Thoughts?
 
This may have been answered somewhere in the preceding 84 pages, but in case it hasn't: How do you cut the bevel in the tip of the racking cane? Hacksaw? Hot knife? Table saw? Dremel? What's the best way to get a clean cut?

I'm wondering the same thing, anyone?
 
Dremel tool makes it soooo easy. Took me about 1 minute. Then I brought it in the house and held it under flame for about 2 seconds and "glassed: it up. Now it's perfect.
 
Just like cat007, I used a hack saw and sandpaper. It wasn't tough, but I imagine that a Dremel would make it way easier.
 
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