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Hey all,
I assume the topic of purging has gone around quite a bit, but I was looking for some thoughts on my particular setup and procedure.
The brewpub I work at pours directly from serving tanks outfitted with a typical CIP arm, but no vent arm connecting to the true top of the vessel. As such, I felt as though the typical slow purge from the bottom of the tank while venting would leave a pocket of air at the top. The air above the sprayball has nowhere to go and so won't be vertically displaced in the same manner as the rest of the tank. Put another way, the spray ball and accompanying piping is acting something like an upside-down standpipe dispensing air, leaving some amount of air behind once a certain level has been reached.
Similarly (and although I'm not outfitted to sterilize or de-aerate easily), I could never fill the tank completely with water and push out with CO2, as it would begin to overflow at the sprayball, leaving the same pocket of air as above.
As such, I've been using the pressurize-through-carb-stone-and-vent method under the logic that upon depressurization, the spray ball would be pulling gas from all directions - including above it - taking air along. I also know this method is generally considered less effective, but so far seems to work well for me. Now, I don't have a DO meter to be able to test these procedures (no less the optimal pressure and duration), but does anything here on paper stand out to suggest that this is indeed the best practice for my tank? Or is there a flaw in my thinking?
I assume the topic of purging has gone around quite a bit, but I was looking for some thoughts on my particular setup and procedure.
The brewpub I work at pours directly from serving tanks outfitted with a typical CIP arm, but no vent arm connecting to the true top of the vessel. As such, I felt as though the typical slow purge from the bottom of the tank while venting would leave a pocket of air at the top. The air above the sprayball has nowhere to go and so won't be vertically displaced in the same manner as the rest of the tank. Put another way, the spray ball and accompanying piping is acting something like an upside-down standpipe dispensing air, leaving some amount of air behind once a certain level has been reached.
Similarly (and although I'm not outfitted to sterilize or de-aerate easily), I could never fill the tank completely with water and push out with CO2, as it would begin to overflow at the sprayball, leaving the same pocket of air as above.
As such, I've been using the pressurize-through-carb-stone-and-vent method under the logic that upon depressurization, the spray ball would be pulling gas from all directions - including above it - taking air along. I also know this method is generally considered less effective, but so far seems to work well for me. Now, I don't have a DO meter to be able to test these procedures (no less the optimal pressure and duration), but does anything here on paper stand out to suggest that this is indeed the best practice for my tank? Or is there a flaw in my thinking?
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