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  • Carbonation question

    Hi all

    So Ive spend the last few months reading everything there is to know about force Carbination as we about to force carb our first 10bbl batch, im pretty sure ive got it worked out in my head now, but there are a few questions i wanted to ask

    I have attached a photo of the carb stone set up we have purchased. I know most people on here put the carb stone into the tank via tri clamp but i was wondering if there would be any merit in connecting the sight glass to the triclamp on the tank then putting the carbstone into that, that way we can clearly see the carb stone working through the sight glass?
    wouldn't the above idea also be useful if someone forgot to put the carb stone in before the beer

    secondly

    in the parts we have been supplied there is a side entry port, my partner seems to think that we can attach a pump to this and recirculate the beer in the tank ie - beer out of one triclamp port - though the pump - through the carb stone and back in the the triclamp port above - is this a silly/bad idea

    here is a link to the parts we have purchased - http://www.liquidsolutions.co.uk/att...20Aerator.pdfy

    any advice would be much appreciated

    cheers

    Jon
    Attached Files

  • #2
    You can absolutely carbonate that way but it will be very very inefficient. The absorption of the co2 is not nearly as good as when it is inside tank in the middle.

    Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

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    • #3
      Originally posted by jonnyseka View Post
      Hi all

      So Ive spend the last few months reading everything there is to know about force Carbination as we about to force carb our first 10bbl batch, im pretty sure ive got it worked out in my head now, but there are a few questions i wanted to ask

      I have attached a photo of the carb stone set up we have purchased. I know most people on here put the carb stone into the tank via tri clamp but i was wondering if there would be any merit in connecting the sight glass to the triclamp on the tank then putting the carbstone into that, that way we can clearly see the carb stone working through the sight glass?
      wouldn't the above idea also be useful if someone forgot to put the carb stone in before the beer

      secondly

      in the parts we have been supplied there is a side entry port, my partner seems to think that we can attach a pump to this and recirculate the beer in the tank ie - beer out of one triclamp port - though the pump - through the carb stone and back in the the triclamp port above - is this a silly/bad idea

      here is a link to the parts we have purchased - http://www.liquidsolutions.co.uk/att...20Aerator.pdfy

      any advice would be much appreciated

      cheers

      Jon
      Hi Jon,
      First off, I would strongly dissuade you or your partner from doing the whole pumping of the beer past the stone in the T-fitting. Even with a pump that has a great seal in it, you are still unnecessarily whipping the beer around. I do agree that it would be best for the stone to be in the bottom middle of the tank but not all of us are blessed with such a tank design.
      I have had excellent success by attaching a T-fitting to the bottom port of my brite tank. I attach a hand valve to the side port of the T and insert a carbonating stone into the other port of the T. I bring the head pressure up to 15 psi, tank temp around 30ºF, and bubble CO2 through the stone and, therefore, up through the vertical column of beer. I have my CO2 regulator set higher than the head pressure and I do have a blow off hose connected to the CIP arm into a bucket of sanitizer (Sorry gitchegumee! I know you hate the blow off but it works for me.). Using this procedure, I am able to carbonate a 10 bbl batch to 2.8 volumes in about 7-9 hours. Your mileage may vary.
      Luck to ya'

      Prost!
      Dave
      Glacier Brewing Company
      406-883-2595
      info@glacierbrewing.com

      "who said what now?"

      Comment


      • #4
        Are you trying to carb in a fermenter or a bright tank? Need more specifics of your equipment setup to really comment.

        If you are at 30-34F and filtering/transferring your still beer to a bright tank, you could use that gas stone assembly to try to carb inline during transfer. Will need back pressure of about 12-15 on the receiving tank and careful venting during transfer to prevent foaming.

        Best to carb naturally in the fermenter using a bunging device through the end of fermentation, and then maintain head pressure during cold conditioning. Assuming closed pressure fermenters.
        Todd G Hicks
        BeerDenizen Brewing Services

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Todd Hicks View Post
          Are you trying to carb in a fermenter or a bright tank? Need more specifics of your equipment setup to really comment.

          If you are at 30-34F and filtering/transferring your still beer to a bright tank, you could use that gas stone assembly to try to carb inline during transfer. Will need back pressure of about 12-15 on the receiving tank and careful venting during transfer to prevent foaming.

          Best to carb naturally in the fermenter using a bunging device through the end of fermentation, and then maintain head pressure during cold conditioning. Assuming closed pressure fermenters.
          Hi Todd

          sorry i should of made this clearer in the first post
          We are fermenting/dry hopping in open top fermenters at the moment ( hope to get some conical FV's in the future) when the beer is ready we are transferring to a BBT , this is where we hope to force carb.

          cheers

          Comment


          • #6
            I would not use the sight glass to extend out of tank, as someone else stated it is very inefficient, and should only be something you fall back on in a pinch (bad stone in tank, someone forgot to put stone in tank, etc). You want the stone extending into the tank so that the tiny bubbles disperse into the beer.

            Comment


            • #7
              If the beer is cold at 30-34F or so leaving the fermenter, you could use a pin point carbonator. You would have to have back pressure with venting on the receiving tank to prevent foaming.

              GWKENT has one here http://www.gwkent.com/pin-point-carbonator.html

              But you could try to use that gas diffuser to get some carbonation into solution.
              Todd G Hicks
              BeerDenizen Brewing Services

              Comment


              • #8
                You can do it. Same fundamentals as a pinpoint carbonator. I would use a 1" T and sight glass to create a choke point for the stone. Also, good rule of thumb is you need 1 foot of hose for every bbl per hour you run your pump at, that is in between the stone and the bbt tank bottom. Gives the co2 time to dissolve. On our pinpoint we have to change the speed of the co2 addition depending on the ambient temp of the brewery, summer slower, winter co2 absorbs faster due to hose temp being cold. It is good to check the BBT sight glass for large co2 bubbles going into the tank. you want small, very fine to no bubbles by the time the beer enters the BBT. Prost.
                Joel Halbleib
                Partner / Zymurgist
                Hive and Barrel Meadery
                6302 Old La Grange Rd
                Crestwood, KY
                www.hiveandbarrel.com

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                • #9
                  is any one able to explain to me the scientific difference between having the stone in a port inside the tank and having it externally, surely the gas bubbles just find their way up through the beer just as easy in both scenarios

                  cheers
                  jon

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                  • #10
                    If there is a noticeable difference, I would assume it's from the bubbles running along the top of the external tube and then up the side of the tank wall rather than being generated inside the mass of liquid.

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                    • #11
                      It seems that what happens is that the small bubbles join to form large bubbles as they enter the tank, reducing the surface area of CO2 and slowing its absorption.

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                      • #12


                        I carbonate this way, an external carb stone through an SS extension and sighthglass. I carbonate 30bbls of beer in roughly 3 hrs at 40-45psi with a continuous co2 bleed maintaining 15psi in the unitank. Works great when biofine is added at the start of carbonation. Usually packaged within 48-72hrs of carbonation.


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