I was planning on purchasing the 4 head manual counter pressure bottle filler from KW Kent for $8,695. I saved up the money and called them to order it and we were about 6 weeks out from our launch date. When I called they said they had sold the last one the day before and that they would not be getting any in for 3 to 5 months. Nobody else carried them, but I found one in the UK. They would not sell it to me for insurance reasons, or something.
I had decided on this filler after contacting breweries who used it.
One brewer filled 22 oz bomber bottles with it and they looked up their records for me and the very first time they used it they bottled 8 barrels of beer in about 5 1/2 hours. That is just the bottling time, they had about 2 1/2 hours of setting up and sanitizing prior to bottling.
Anyway, I could not buy the bottling machine I wanted, so I made one.
I had talked to people and read all I could find on how different bottling machines worked, so I had a basic understanding. I had bottled many times as a homebrewer with a counter pressure bottle filler and HATED IT!
I was going to just make several counter pressure fillers and mount them so it would be hands free. The key to a good counter pressure filler is to use an adjustable pressure relief valve instead of a needle valve. With a needle valve, when you adjust it to the right back pressure, it works great, but as soon as foam hits it, you need to open the valve so it will continue to fill. With a relief valve when foam hit it, it will maintain the back pressure and continue to fill at a stead rate.
We made a lame video of our first test bottling from a 1/2 barrel keg if you are interested. The original frame was painted wood. We are making it out of stainless now.
Why bottling on a nano scale?
It is more work to bottle, but it is the only way I could figure out how to make a profit on such a small scale. I visited small breweries who kegged only and they barely covered expenses. We make a profit and pay 5 full-time employees on just a little under 4 barrels of production a week and our goal is only 8 barrels a week.
I hate kegging because the kegs are expensive and you have to fight to even get a tap because there are way more beers than taps. Also you take a risk of a financial loss every time you drop off a keg. I don't know about everybody else, but the keg deposit will not replace the keg.
We are on a couple taps locally, but not to make a profit. We are on a few taps, so I can go out and buy people my beer and talk to them about it. Then they will go buy a bomber bottle of my beer and share it with a friend and tell them how the brewer bought them a beer and told him how he brews it.
FYI, because I was not able to purchase the bottle filler, I took that money and bought a 9 barrel Bright Tank (Got it on sale from Glacier tanks), three 10 barrel polyethelene cone bottom tanks (From Plastic-Mart.com) and built a 4 barrel brewhouse (hot liquor tank, mash tun and brew kettle, 160 gallons ea). We brew 2 four barrel batches to put 8 barrels of beer in our fermenters. YES it is hard work. The first 4 barrel batch took 18 hours (Growing pains) the last 4 barrel batch took 8 hours, but we hope to get it down to 6 hours eventually. Heating up water and chilling the wort takes longer for 4 barrels that 10 gallons.
I had decided on this filler after contacting breweries who used it.
One brewer filled 22 oz bomber bottles with it and they looked up their records for me and the very first time they used it they bottled 8 barrels of beer in about 5 1/2 hours. That is just the bottling time, they had about 2 1/2 hours of setting up and sanitizing prior to bottling.
Anyway, I could not buy the bottling machine I wanted, so I made one.
I had talked to people and read all I could find on how different bottling machines worked, so I had a basic understanding. I had bottled many times as a homebrewer with a counter pressure bottle filler and HATED IT!
I was going to just make several counter pressure fillers and mount them so it would be hands free. The key to a good counter pressure filler is to use an adjustable pressure relief valve instead of a needle valve. With a needle valve, when you adjust it to the right back pressure, it works great, but as soon as foam hits it, you need to open the valve so it will continue to fill. With a relief valve when foam hit it, it will maintain the back pressure and continue to fill at a stead rate.
We made a lame video of our first test bottling from a 1/2 barrel keg if you are interested. The original frame was painted wood. We are making it out of stainless now.
Why bottling on a nano scale?
It is more work to bottle, but it is the only way I could figure out how to make a profit on such a small scale. I visited small breweries who kegged only and they barely covered expenses. We make a profit and pay 5 full-time employees on just a little under 4 barrels of production a week and our goal is only 8 barrels a week.
I hate kegging because the kegs are expensive and you have to fight to even get a tap because there are way more beers than taps. Also you take a risk of a financial loss every time you drop off a keg. I don't know about everybody else, but the keg deposit will not replace the keg.
We are on a couple taps locally, but not to make a profit. We are on a few taps, so I can go out and buy people my beer and talk to them about it. Then they will go buy a bomber bottle of my beer and share it with a friend and tell them how the brewer bought them a beer and told him how he brews it.
FYI, because I was not able to purchase the bottle filler, I took that money and bought a 9 barrel Bright Tank (Got it on sale from Glacier tanks), three 10 barrel polyethelene cone bottom tanks (From Plastic-Mart.com) and built a 4 barrel brewhouse (hot liquor tank, mash tun and brew kettle, 160 gallons ea). We brew 2 four barrel batches to put 8 barrels of beer in our fermenters. YES it is hard work. The first 4 barrel batch took 18 hours (Growing pains) the last 4 barrel batch took 8 hours, but we hope to get it down to 6 hours eventually. Heating up water and chilling the wort takes longer for 4 barrels that 10 gallons.
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