How to use counter pressure filler?

[WhiteDog87]

I just bought a counter pressure filler and I am a little unclear about a few things:

1. What is the proper way to clean and sanitize the counter pressure filler? Is it necessary to use a second keg to push cleaner and sanitizer through, or is there a better or easier way to go about it?

2. When filling bottles with the counter pressure filler from a keg, does the keg need to be connected to a co2 tank? (I have one co2 tank that i was planning on connecting to the filler, but i am unsure if i need a second tank to attach to the keg simultaneously. The beer in the keg is carbonated and i only plan on filling around 6 bottles)

3. After i have filled the bottles from the counter pressure filler, does the beer need time to rest in the bottle, or is it ready to take to a party and serve that night?

 

[kosmokramer]

I just bought mine as well but from what i understand you take you hoses off and submerse everything in you sanitizer.
To provide co2 you only need 1 tank but you will need a "t" and extra line.
And if you are going to party and serve tonight why not serve off the keg? But provided you are properly carbed from kegging i dont see a reason not to drink at your lwisure.

 

[dbreienrk1]

1. soak metal in hot water then sanitizer. rinse tubes with warm water then rinse in sanitizer

2. yes, the keg should be connected to keep adequate top pressure on it for filling.

3. ready to go as long as the keg was properly carbed up.

 

[somedudefromguam]

Probably a good idea to clean it the first time. Soaked mine in 1step then forced water through it w/a keg to rinse. After using it to fill, I usually give mine a good rinse, or soak in 1step, but a rinse does a fine job. Unless I am giving the beer away or planning on storing the brew for longer than maybe a week, I dont worry about sanitizing. It would take a long while before you had any apparent off flavors. The alcohol and cold temp of the fridge pretty much takes care of that any funny bacteria that might come off your bottling wand or from the bottles.
About the co2 being attached to the keg while filling, you probably will need pressure on the keg. As you pour the brew, the pressure in the keg will decrease. At the same time the pressure you are putting in the bottle with the wand will probably stay the same, I think this might cause some problems. Maybe just give it a shot and see! Also, it might be cheaper to buy a simple tee barb and split the line instead of buying a whole new tank, since you are operating at the same pressure on both sides anyways.
The beer is pretty much ready to drink at this point! As long it is at a drinkable temperature. One thing I always do is: fill the last bit of bottle neck with foam and cap on foam, it gets a little messy sometimes if you are not careful, but it removes all of the oxygen which could cause off flavors.
Hope this helps some. Sorry if I am long winded....Out of breath just from typing!
Have fun!
Eric

 

[dbreienrk1]

heres a crappy diagram of the setup

 

[WhiteDog87]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful!

Unfortunately i have had zero success actually using my filler. I wasted a gallon of beer and made a huge mess in my kitchen and i'll I was able to get out of the filler was a bunch of thick heavy foam. No idea what I am doing wrong, the video on morebeer.com makes it look so frickin easy and I have had nothing but difficulties.

Any suggestions?

 

[kosmokramer]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful!

Unfortunately i have had zero success actually using my filler. I wasted a gallon of beer and made a huge mess in my kitchen and i'll I was able to get out of the filler was a bunch of thick heavy foam. No idea what I am doing wrong, the video on morebeer.com makes it look so frickin easy and I have had nothing but difficulties.

Any suggestions?

Is it the more beer model? How long is your beer line and what temp is everything at?

 

[WhiteDog87]

Yes it is. I believe it is made by fermentap? Beer and co2 fresh out of the fridge a little under 40F. Beer line is 3 feet long.

 

[kosmokramer]

Yes it is. I believe it is made by fermentap? Beer and co2 fresh out of the fridge a little under 40F. Beer line is 3 feet long.

99% sure it is the length of you line. Try about ten feet. What is your co2 at? I have extra bevseal 3/16 line i can send if u want to pay a couple buxfor postage

 

[somedudefromguam]

Ive been there before! Really frustrating sometimes. It also helps to chill your bottles to cut down on foam issues. Sometimes I don't even use the counter pressure filler, I just fill a bottle right off the tap and cap it...

 

[drocu]

I've never used a counter pressure bottle filler so take this advice with a grain of salt, but you never mentioned what pressure you're filling at. If it's at a normal, carbonating PSI, then you'll definitely need more line because 3 feet is too short.

If you lower it to <5 psi, then you may be okay. Since the beer should already be properly carbonated, you should only need a very small amount of pressure to push the beer through the tubing and into your bottles. That's why the "We no need no stinking beer gun" thread works at =<5 psi.

 

[kosmokramer]

I've never used a counter pressure bottle filler so take this advice with a grain of salt, but you never mentioned what pressure you're filling at. If it's at a normal, carbonating PSI, then you'll definitely need more line because 3 feet is too short.

If you lower it to <5 psi, then you may be okay. Since the beer should already be properly carbonated, you should only need a very small amount of pressure to push the beer through the tubing and into your bottles. That's why the "We no need no stinking beer gun" thread works at =<5 psi.

This filler recomends 10-14 psi. I dont know a formula to get the correct length but 10 feet is a good place to start

 

[WhiteDog87]

Thanks for the tip on the tubing. I'll try that before I try to use it again. It's kind of strange and very frustrating that the directions for the product make no mention of the tubing length having any affect on how the product works, so if that fixes the problem I will definatley be sending some emails to customer service. My psi was in the 10 to 15 range and I tried everything between there as well. Even went down to as low as 8 psi. Hopefully I have success next time I try to use it, but the keg I was trying to fill from is now empty.

 

[drocu]

This filler recomends 10-14 psi. I dont know a formula to get the correct length but 10 feet is a good place to start

I agree on the tubing length being at least 10 feet if you're going to using 10-14 psi.

But again, why use 10-14 psi? You're not carbonating the beer because it should already be carbonated. Therefore, why use such a high psi? Seriously, try dropping it to 2-4 psi. It can't hurt and I bet it will work fine.

 

[WhiteDog87]

I think the recommended psi is in order to keep the carbonation in solution in the beer (the counter pressure part of cpf) but hey im willing to try any thing at this point, so if the longer tubing does not solve the problem i'll give the lower psi a shot as well.

 

[nvs-brew]

if your keg is carbonated and has a decent amount of PSI, as noted say 10PSI, why would you need a T between the gas/keg?
Wouldnt there be plenty enough pressure to fill a few bottles without using a connection from the gas bottle itself?
Simple in/out..
Im not going to be bottling a full batch, so i dont seem to think this is a problem.. please let me know if i have something wrong here

 

[barnaclebob]

99% sure it is the length of you line. Try about ten feet. What is your co2 at? I have extra bevseal 3/16 line i can send if u want to pay a couple buxfor postage

Length Of Beer Line Doesnt Matter With A Counter Pressure Filler. Op Did You Tighten The Sliding Part Down? Thats The Mistake I Made. If You Arent Getting The Beer Into The Bottle MostlY Foam Free You Arent Following The Right Procedure. Sorry For The Caps, Dont Know What Is WronG With My Phone.

Just Saw The Op Was 2012... Nvsbrew You Need A T Fitting To Properly Use A Counter Pressure Filler Unless You Use It Like A Beer Gun.

 

[eluterio]

Length Of Beer Line Doesnt Matter With A Counter Pressure Filler. Op Did You Tighten The Sliding Part Down? Thats The Mistake I Made. If You Arent Getting The Beer Into The Bottle MostlY Foam Free You Arent Following The Right Procedure. Sorry For The Caps, Dont Know What Is WronG With My Phone.

Just Saw The Op Was 2012... Nvsbrew You Need A T Fitting To Properly Use A Counter Pressure Filler Unless You Use It Like A Beer Gun.

Jumping on this topic since I just bought one from more beer and I just used it last night. If you dont mind answering some question for this guy it would be greatly appreciated.

What do you mean by sliding part down? I wasnt aware of anything that slides unless your referring to the stopper.

Does it matter to have the co2 between 10-15 when you fill the bottles if the keg is already at pressure?

Cant you just use it like a beer gun and fill at 2-5 psi and cap on foam?

Thanks

 

[barnaclebob]

What do you mean by sliding part down? I wasnt aware of anything that slides unless your referring to the stopper.

Does it matter to have the co2 between 10-15 when you fill the bottles if the keg is already at pressure?

Cant you just use it like a beer gun and fill at 2-5 psi and cap on foam?

Thanks

The part that has the small vent valve and rubber stopper slides along the center fill tube if you loosen the top nut. This is so you can have the fill tube close to the bottom of the bottol to avoid splashing.

You can bottle at your regular keg/carbonation pressure with a counter pressure filler.

It is possible to use it similar to a beer gun but I'm not sure why you do this since its almsot the same amount of work as counter pressure filling.

The idea behind counter pressure filling is that the beer never sees anything under keg pressure until you pull the filler out to cap. This is done to maximize carbonation in the bottle. With the beer gun the idea is to transfer the beer to the bottles very gently (and with less work) so that you don't lose carbonation.

 

[jasonlonon]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I would add. No one ever seemed to mention the 'back pressure' spring assembly. If the OP is getting all foam, then it sounds like they have the spring assembly set too low, so that they are shooting 14 PSI beer into 4 PSI atmosphere. That will result in nothing but foam.

The first step in the CP filling process is to flush with C02 until a certain pressure is met. This pressure is set by the back pressure spring. I usually start with mine as high as it goes and then lower it until I can hear gas escaping. Then after a few seconds of escaping air, I will start the beer flow. It will be very slow, since you have 14 psi in the keg and around 12 psi in the bottle. To speed things up, you slowly loosen the back pressure spring. If this is down smoothly, you can avoid gas breakout.

Once the beer gets up close the top, I shut off the beer flow, and then loosen the spring some more. This avoids a big rush of CO2 out when I remove the filler, which I have found can also cause gas breakout.

Following this procedure I very rarely have problems with the CP filler.