My filter setup

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

z987k

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
3,513
Reaction score
37
Location
Anchorage
Well it seems there is not a lot of information out there on filtering(taboo subject right?)... and I'm sort of interested in it, so today I went down to Farm and Fleet and picked up an omnifilter whole house filter for $17.
OB5.jpg

Now at the store they only sold 5 micron filters, so I didn't buy a filter yet, as I would like to go 1 micron.

So I looked around the internet and it turns out the standard 9.75"(sometimes called 10") x 2.75" filters pretty much all fit each brand. So after looking at prices, of all places the best deal I have found is on morebeer for $3.75 per filter for 1 micron nominal filters.

I still haven't found a local source for 3/4" NPT to 3/16" hose barb, but I bet mcmaster carries them. Pictures and live in action to come as soon as I get it together. I'm thinking this will cost around $20-25 to build and $3.75 per use, so not too bad... Assuming you already have corny kegs and the valves for them.

I've read some stuff on hbd that says you can slowly backflush a filter with sanatizer to clean it a bit and then store it cold in a plastic bag for more than one use. That would bring the cost down even more.

Also I noticed morebeer sells what amounts to this system for $40. Not bad if you don't want to turn the 2 hose barbs into the housing to make your own.
 
I went to plumbingsupply.com in order to find the hardware to go from the 3/4" npt to the 3/16" barb. I used a step down coupler in between. They have it in copper and stainless so u have some choices. If you use a 5 micron filter it filters out alot more than you would think. I have been told if you go smaller it starts to strip out some of the flavor, have never tried it so i really don't know from experience.
 
I've seen that setup on morebeer, and I always wondered how you'd use it without oxidizing your beer. I guess you could flow co2 through it, but how long would you need to do that to ensure that enough air has been removed for the housing and filter?

I'm curious to hear how this works for you. Plate filters, though much more expensive, don't seem to have as much worry of oxidation, so I'm leaning in that direction.
 
I use a filter like that and I just push sanitizer through, which pushes all the air out. Then I push that out with CO2, so all the liquid is replaced with CO2. I have never had any oxidation problems with it.
 
I use a filter like that and I just push sanitizer through, which pushes all the air out. Then I push that out with CO2, so all the liquid is replaced with CO2. I have never had any oxidation problems with it.

Makes sense. I guess you have to hold it upside down when you're blowing the sanitizer out, right?
 
That is what I planned on, sanitizer followed by a push with co2.
I still think I'm going to go with the 1 micron this time. I may grab a 5 to see how it goes, if it doesn't get as brilliant as I want it, I'll stick with the fine.

Clarifying is obviously a part of filtering, but in reality all I'm really looking for here is to speed up the brew date to glass date time. My beer are already rather brilliant without the use of any finnings but I would like it to take less time to do that.
 
i'll be curious to see how this ends up working out for you, i've often thought about going this route. i know david_42 has a very similar setup i don't think he uses it much anymore, but he says it works very well.
 
I use it as needed, but that's probably less than twice a year. By the way, 5 micron filters do an excellent job on beer.
 
I am fermenting a flavored beer, the Orange Cascade recipe found on this site. I am also looking to implement a filtering system for clearing my beer. I am leaning towards the cartridge filter, but was wondering what a 5 micron filter will and will not, remove...

The recipe calls for coriander and orange peel to be put in the boil, for aroma and to some degree flavor. Will a 5 micron filter have any effect on these components of the beer?
 
I am fermenting a flavored beer, the Orange Cascade recipe found on this site. I am also looking to implement a filtering system for clearing my beer. I am leaning towards the cartridge filter, but was wondering what a 5 micron filter will and will not, remove...

The recipe calls for coriander and orange peel to be put in the boil, for aroma and to some degree flavor. Will a 5 micron filter have any effect on these components of the beer?

5 micron should have no effect on those. It should get a majority of the yeast though and potentially some chill haze if you filter cold enough.

So are you guys filtering before the fermentor or before the keg?
I'm filtering before the keg. I transfer usually from primary to a keg to get it really cold (31-33F) and then it gets pushed with co2 from one keg to another with the filter(1micron) in-line.

Like david_42, I did it with a few beers and fine it usually unnecessary, but it's nice to have around and it really does speed up the some of conditioning process if you are short on time.
 
I have four filter setups to go with my four handles.....I have installed them after the keg but before the taps....This will allow your yeast to continue to age your beer, and don't use anything smaller than a 5 micron filter as the .5 ans 1 micron plug up very easy...

My .02 worth use of it what you will
 
I buy my sediment filters for the RO systems that I use here. Not sure what brand morebeer sells, but I've had great results with their filters over some of the others I've used. I have no idea if they're "food grade" or if it even matters. Cheap too. Just a thought.
 
I just filtered for the first time tonight, and I'm less than impressed so far. I bought an Omnifilter housing similar to the one in the OP. I used a single 5 micron string wound filter of the same brand. All three kegs are still VERY cloudy. I didn't want to go finer than 5 microns, but this certainly isn't the result I'm after.

Here's my rationale for filtering...if you care: I brewed a pale ale. After only two weeks, the flavor profile was perfect. I wanted to keg it while the hop flavor was still very fresh. The OG was quite stable, but the yeast had not quite finished dropping out. So, I opted for filtering. Since this beer is so tasty, I decided on a 5 micron filter to rid the beer of sediment but retain flavor. Maybe I'll reconsider and look for a 1 micron filter this weekend.
 
Yuri,

If you go much finer than 3 micron, you will start to strip out some of the flavor along with the haze causing proteins. You might want to try charcoal filters to help with adsorption. I have had good luck with those in the past.

In the pubs I have worked, we typically used filter media at the 3-5 micron range. These are known as polish filters. They will not strip everything out but should give you very clear beer.

I fined the beers and dropped the temps to roughly 40 F before filtering.

Coors uses 0.5 micron filters in their Enzingers to achieve sterile filtration,
 
I figured that 5 micron would clarify things at least enough to be presentable. I'm beginning to suspect that the filter was installed a bit crooked. I have another one. Perhaps I'll give it another try tomorrow.
 
I have four filter setups to go with my four handles.....I have installed them after the keg but before the taps....This will allow your yeast to continue to age your beer, and don't use anything smaller than a 5 micron filter as the .5 ans 1 micron plug up very easy...

My .02 worth use of it what you will

Not a bad idea, but don't your filters get kinda funky, or does keeping them in the kegerator prevent that?
 
I just filtered for the first time tonight, and I'm less than impressed so far. I bought an Omnifilter housing similar to the one in the OP. I used a single 5 micron string wound filter of the same brand. All three kegs are still VERY cloudy. I didn't want to go finer than 5 microns, but this certainly isn't the result I'm after.

In general, 1 micron will be the level required to remove yeast.

I have quite a bit of filtration experience in the commercial wine world. Done properly, going down to 0.5 micron (to remove bacteria) will not effect the flavor profile. In the long run, I've actually noticed (eventually) better flavor and mouth feel profiles in filtered wines. There are some reductive things that can negatively effect wines in bottle aging that are avoided with filtration.

There is a 'filter shock' phenomena that occurs much like bottle shock. With wine there is usually plenty of time to recover, and allowing it a month or so to recover is not unusual. With beer, that may be difficult to do on either home or commercial levels!

My red wines only get an 8 micron filtration (what some wineries will label as unfiltered because it's really only keeping the flies out of the bottle), but it's usually already quite clear from aging, before it ever sees the filter.

I have zero experience with filtering beer, though recently had an engaging conversation with the assistant brewmaster at a sizable microbrew in St. Louis (Schlafly) and they do 1 micron pad filtrations on all their beers that a haze is not part of the character. I've never found their beers thin or lacking in flavor/character, including a recent Pilsner style they've added. They were setting up to start fuging their beers and talked about it being a replacement for filtration. My experience with fuging wine is that it will remove yeast, but not hazes. It will be interesting to go back and see what they are experiencing with the fuge.​
 
I just filtered for the first time tonight, and I'm less than impressed so far. I bought an Omnifilter housing similar to the one in the OP. I used a single 5 micron string wound filter of the same brand. All three kegs are still VERY cloudy. I didn't want to go finer than 5 microns, but this certainly isn't the result I'm after.

Here's my rationale for filtering...if you care: I brewed a pale ale. After only two weeks, the flavor profile was perfect. I wanted to keg it while the hop flavor was still very fresh. The OG was quite stable, but the yeast had not quite finished dropping out. So, I opted for filtering. Since this beer is so tasty, I decided on a 5 micron filter to rid the beer of sediment but retain flavor. Maybe I'll reconsider and look for a 1 micron filter this weekend.

Like other people mentioned above, you may want to try a 1 micron filter. I have been using them on the last 5 batches with good results. Definitely, I have noticed an improvement in beer cloudiness. The beer clears up after filtration. I do my filtering when transferring from secondary to dispensing.

One more thing, I also do a cold crash to ~41F for a few days, then transfer.

Filter_Station.jpg


Hope this helps. Cheers! :mug:
 
You could run three of those in a row... 5 micron, 1 micron, .4 micron so you could filter all at once!


Another handy technique is to toss a cup or so of 5 micron DE into the filter housing with your 1 micron cartridge, which would take out the need for the first filter.

My pad filter will allow two levels of filtration and at times I will use 3 micron DE in front of the 1 micron pads, and then finish with 0.5 micron pads..... all in one pass.
 
I've been filtering for a while. I use a Buon Vino Mini Jet wine filter that comes with a pump. I cold filter from fill tube to fill tube while both kegs are under CO2 pressure from a common source. Works like a charm.

Typically I use the medium filter pads (1um) but have tried the the fine pads (.5 um) as well. Even they won't eliminate severe chill (protein) haze. I can't say I have noticed any change in flavor after filtering. A couple of nice things about the wine filter are cheap filter pads and minimum beer loss in the filter.

Cheers,
Paul

Like other people mentioned above, you may want to try a 1 micron filter. I have been using them on the last 5 batches with good results. Definitely, I have noticed an improvement in beer cloudiness. The beer clears up after filtration. I do my filtering when transferring from secondary to dispensing.

One more thing, I also do a cold crash to ~41F for a few days, then transfer.

Filter_Station.jpg


Hope this helps. Cheers! :mug:
 
I figured that 5 micron would clarify things at least enough to be presentable. I'm beginning to suspect that the filter was installed a bit crooked. I have another one. Perhaps I'll give it another try tomorrow.

I'm interested in whether the 5 micron string filter actually works. I am assembling a similar equipment setup and I was planning to use the string filter. For some reason I had it in my head that the 1 micron charcoal filter would remove flavor components. If that's not the case I'd like to know.

Who knew when I got into this hobby there would be so much chemistry, physics, and math?
 
You could run three of those in a row... 5 micron, 1 micron, .4 micron so you could filter all at once!

My setup is exactly like that with 7, 3, and 1 micron pads.
The beer temperature during filtration is around 34° F.
I use CO2 to push the beer through the filter pads.

Beer_Filter_Top.jpg



Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
My setup is exactly like that with 7, 3, and 1 micron pads.
The beer temperature during filtration is around 34° F.
I use CO2 to push the beer through the filter pads.

ClaudiusB

I only got one word, WOW! That is an impressive setup.

Cheers! :tank:
 
I've been filtering for a while. I use a Buon Vino Mini Jet wine filter that comes with a pump. I cold filter from fill tube to fill tube while both kegs are under CO2 pressure from a common source. Works like a charm.

Typically I use the medium filter pads (1um) but have tried the the fine pads (.5 um) as well. Even they won't eliminate severe chill (protein) haze. I can't say I have noticed any change in flavor after filtering. A couple of nice things about the wine filter are cheap filter pads and minimum beer loss in the filter.

Cheers,
Paul


For those concerned about chill haze, I found this BYO article that explains the defect and how to avoid it.

http://***********/stories/techniques/article/indices/23-clarity/490-conquer-chill-haze

John Palmer also talks about it in his book,
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-8.html and http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html


Finally, I read that sparging water temperature may contribute to the problem. This book is a good source,

Brew Chem 101, The Basics of Homebrewing Chemistry.

Brew_Chem.jpg



Cheers! :tank:
 
Something to remember, especially with the house units, is that with the micron rating, there is nominal and absolute. Most of the filters you buy are nominal. They are only rated to get like 70% or so of the 5/1/.5 micron particles. That may not cut it when filtering beer.
Make sure the beer is cold when filtering and get a 2 or 3 micron absolute filter if you're worried about going down to 1.
 
Back
Top