Pump/filter set-up

Does anyone use a pump and H20 filter set up to filter uncarbed beer?
I've seen CO2 / filter transfers, but none using a march pump.
My plan is to pump from my conical, through the march pump, into the filter then into a corny (using a valve to control flow and reduce chance of aeration).
Just wanted to see if anyone has had luck (or no luck)with something like this.

I guess I'll try it and see what happens.

I would think that as long as you force carb immediately, you should be able to purge any oxygen that gets in there. Please update your results and what type of filter you used 'cause I have some low flocculating yeast that needs to get out of my beer!!!

I think you may have a problem with air in the filter media. As you start running the beer in, it will start displacing the air which is gonna end up in your beer. Kinda like the bubbles you are likely to see if you take a dry sponge and stick it under water then squeeze it. I think you'd need to completely saturate the media before you started the transfer then you have to worry about sanitation.

I also think using a march pump will REALLY whip the beer and I could certainly see air being introduced at this point. Which is why most folks use co2 pressure to transfer.

I had no aeration problems, used a 5 micron filter, and the beer is hazy. The filter didn't seem to have any affect on clarity, perhaps a 1 micron filter? But at this point (after clean up, etc.) it doesn't seem worth it, as far as competitions go - time and gelatin maybe the best answer.

Cold crashing works extremely well for clarifying beer.

I've never used one but look under the wine making supplies at the homebrew retailers or your LHBS and there is a device that is a plate type filter with a self priming pump that is very common. Pretty reasonably priced but you could roll your own cheaper using the plate filter setup and self priming pump B3 (morebeer.com) sells.

The march pump will work fine but I think it would be a bit of a hassle and would spring for an extra self priming pump myself as I think it would be less likely to introduce oxygen (and you have to prime it once with sanitizer and once with beer if you use the March).

The obvious third option is to just rack to a keg and filter from keg to keg with c02. This is what I would do in your situation.

Ohio-Ed said:

I also think using a march pump will REALLY whip the beer and I could certainly see air being introduced at this point. Which is why most folks use co2 pressure to transfer.

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I have wondered about this, as I see it at the pump if it does whip it up and you get bubbling would this not be just "boiled" beer due to the pressure decreasing to a point where the beer will change phases to a gas (or at least the water in the beer). Basicaly woundn't it be beer steam not air that you are seeing. PLease feel free to enlighten me and tell me I am wrong

I use a march pump from my conical, through drop in water filters. I go 5 micron, then to a one micron. It gets all the yeast out, but like you said, there is still some haze. I believe this haze is from protiens that are two small to be filtered out. I am going to try cold filtering to get the protiens to clump together and hopefully filter out. Any introduction of air is minimal and is only what is in the line. The beer displaces any air out of the pump cavity. The only problem ive had so far is pumping out quite a bit of foam, which ive somewhat controlled with flow rate. I am still working on this, but so far beer has been crystal clear except for chill haze.