Beer engine help.

[Brian Harradine]

Hi guys. Sorry that it has been a while since I have been on here but I have been busy making changes to my brewery. I have built a two tap keeper in a deepfreez and am experimenting with an hand pump system. I have setup a refrigerator in the same way you would for a fermentation fridge and use bag in a box system for the beer with an inline JG one way valve. Now working on the minimal carbonation of the beer so that it doesn’t wind up all over the fridge and floor having burst the bag. I do still use some bottles but no where near the number I used before. Any advice on minimal carbonation would be appreciated.

 

[Lawrence22]

Hi guys. Sorry that it has been a while since I have been on here but I have been busy making changes to my brewery. I have built a two tap keeper in a deepfreez and am experimenting with an hand pump system. I have setup a refrigerator in the same way you would for a fermentation fridge and use bag in a box system for the beer with an inline JG one way valve. Now working on the minimal carbonation of the beer so that it doesn’t wind up all over the fridge and floor having burst the bag. I do still use some bottles but no where near the number I used before. Any advice on minimal carbonation would be appreciated.

`maybe you have already but I think you'd be better posting this on the main forums where it would more likely be noticed by someone with beer engine experience.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I think you'd be better posting this on the main forums where it would more likely be noticed by someone with beer engine experience.

Moved to beer equipment discussion thumb

 

[foxy]

Hi guys. Sorry that it has been a while since I have been on here but I have been busy making changes to my brewery. I have built a two tap keeper in a deepfreez and am experimenting with an hand pump system. I have setup a refrigerator in the same way you would for a fermentation fridge and use bag in a box system for the beer with an inline JG one way valve. Now working on the minimal carbonation of the beer so that it doesn’t wind up all over the fridge and floor having burst the bag. I do still use some bottles but no where near the number I used before. Any advice on minimal carbonation would be appreciated.

Not knowing the amount you are carbonating, I will answer to what I do, I add one tablespoon of sugar to 20 to 23 litres of beer, some will add less 1 teaspoon. If you are using the collapsible bag I would suggest getting one of the camping collapsible water carriers. Give it a clean using bicarb to get rid of the plastic taste, otherwise you will taste the plastic in the first batch in your beer.

 

[peebee]

Not knowing the amount you are carbonating, I will answer to what I do, I add one tablespoon of sugar to 20 to 23 litres of beer, some will add less 1 teaspoon. If you are using the collapsible bag I would suggest getting one of the camping collapsible water carriers. Give it a clean using bicarb to get rid of the plastic taste, otherwise you will taste the plastic in the first batch in your beer.

I was interested in these "camping" water carriers so had a look into them …

Seems some are made from PVC not polythene (PE). Makes them more resilient? Probably also the reason for the taste/smell? There does appear to be thicker PE ones too. I also came across polyurethane ones. The problem with the usual thin (ish) PE ones is that they are gas permeable and the contents will have a "use by" of 4-6 weeks. Other materials might have lower gas permeability (oxygen in, CO2 out) but I'm not sure about their suitability for storing beer. The smell/taste in PVC containers probably comes from plasticiser residues and they are forever getting bad press. Don't forget, one commonly used plastic puts all the other plastics into the shade when it comes to gas permeability … Silicon.

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I prime with 12-15g of sugar in 20L but don't know how that translates to spoons? I've heard of people putting heavy books on collapsible containers to help retain some CO2 condition (even freshly vented "Real Ale" has some appreciable carbonation - about 1.1 v/v of CO2).

I used JG one-way valves to start with. They do come with a small "risk". You rely on the "cracking pressure" (and the weight of beer in the pipes) to stop the beer pouring out of the unattended pump. So make sure the beer container is below the pump, and perhaps fit an isolating valve in the beer-line. The fancier "check valves" for hand-pumps are a better bet (they are "demand valves"). I've got a RLBS check valve to try as someone reports them as being suitable. It may have a stiffer "cracking pressure" but I've not tried it yet (but initial observations don't seem to suggest a higher cracking pressure). Personally I use the RLBS demand valves (and rigid containers - Corny kegs - and variable LPG regulators; but that's by-the-way).

Good idea to have an isolating valve about the hand-pump spout to preserve beer left in the pump between sessions (and replace any gas transparent silicon tubing before the pump's nozzle).