In Line Carb Stone Process

[DueSouth]

Hi Folks,
We've got the GW Kent in line carb stone and can't seem to do much with it. I've got 15 lbs CO2 pressure on the FV, 10 lbs on the brite. Things run pretty good for the first 5 bbls or so then it seems the transfer stops. It's surprising with 15 psi in the FV and 10 psi in the brite the beer stops moving altogether but it does.

I've got the carb stone inlet at about 30 psi. At 20 it doesn't even make bubbles in the sight glass.

If anyone has successfully used one of these I'd love to hear the process.

[Bainbridge]

Are you using a jumper hose to equalize the pressure between the two tanks during transfer?

Edit: Derp. You're transfering with pressure differential. We use a pump.

[a10t2]

How tall are the tanks? Is there a net elevation change? Are the gauges calibrated? How are you venting the brite?

Wetting pressure for carb stones is typically about 5 psi, so flow starting in the low 20s (15 + 5) would make sense.

[DueSouth]

How tall are the tanks? Is there a net elevation change? Are the gauges calibrated? How are you venting the brite?

Wetting pressure for carb stones is typically about 5 psi, so flow starting in the low 20s (15 + 5) would make sense.

Standard 30BBL and 60BBL tanks. They're side by side. Gauges appear to be working fine. Venting the brite through the ball valve on the CIP arm.

We finally got it through but didn't even have enough carbonation to read on the Zahm after a 2 hour transfer (30BBL).

[BrewinLou]

Not sure how close the Kent rig is to a pinpoint carbonator... But we use our inline right after the filter, so it is pretty fast, we do a 60 in an hour. You need a high flow regulator to push the needed co2 in fast enough. So we are using the pump on the filter to push the beer in.

The weight of the liquid itself will have to be overcome in your transfer model. It may take more pressure than you think to do this transfer, you are pushing co2 in the source tank and co2 in the carb stone so the stone co2 adds a bit more resistance to the transfer. I suggest you either A use a pump and get it done faster, or B remove the equalization hose from both tanks and bleed down very slowly the destination tank while adding co2 to the source tank. Also make sure you use a long hose after your stone so the small bubbles have time to dissolve into the liquid before hitting the tank. Not to say there will be no bubbles in the sight glass on the destination tank but a small stream is fine. I highly suggest the faster method as you are warming the beer the longer is stays in the hose which causes it to absorb less co2. Good luck

[DueSouth]

Thanks Joel. Not sure how pinpoint the Kent one is either. Honestly I'm giving it one more shot before purchasing another one. I found one that can do 35 gpm for about $8k but I can't find much info on the model. Which one do you use if you don't mind me asking?

[BrewinLou]

We have a Whittman. I think you can get the same level carbonation with a homemade rig, and save 10k. If your stone will fit in a 1" hose it would be better than putting a it in a 1.5, less gap is better. Hook up a cip pump with a variable feq drive. You can tune the pump down to the max flow rate of the regulator you are using. We have a big brass regulator with a 1/2" outlet on it running at around 45 psi this time of year (sorry no flow rate) on a 1.5" transfer hose. Best of luck.

[DueSouth]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to build something next week. I'll let you know how it goes.

[DueSouth]

I rigged this up. Transferred 30BBL's in about 2 hours. Stone regulator was set at 20 psi. Zahm said 2.1 volumes after transfer. Getting closer!