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  • Kegging

    Hey guys,

    Probably a dumb question .
    I know there are many ways to fill your kegs .
    I am wondering, what different ways you guys are doing it ?
    At the previous brewery I worked at.
    We at first had a sight glass, from brite tank, to 6 head manifold, 1/2" threaded line to couplers with
    return lines from couplers that went to reducer and back into the tank in the arm.
    When we saw foam go to beer we cut it . foam typically going back to tank so there was no loss .
    I hated it, it was such a pain. It was appropriately named the Medusa .

    Later we upgraded to, sight glass, to manifold, 1/2" threaded line,
    to Micromatics coupler with fob and no return line at all .
    we would have to stick a pin into the fob to knock the ball down .
    This def. seemed better,but still had to have someone stuck on kegs the whole time eyeballing it .
    From my understanding these type of couplers are actually designed to fill upside down.
    But who the hell does that in the small craft world?

    So now I am at a new facility,and I am thinking there has got to be a better way in this day and age
    that also doesn't cost 50 billion dollars .
    Or doesn't drop a ton of foam to the drain .
    Or is the second way we were doing it pretty much the way to go?

    So here's my question what do you guys do that seems most efficient ?
    If you guys could can I see some pics of your setups ?


    Thank you guys .
    Work is the curse of the drinking class

  • #2
    I have a sight glass to 1/2" tubing split off to two couplers with valves (checks removed) on beer in and gas out. I run the gas/foam out to a bucket. My keg washer fills kegs to 12psi and I maintain 13-14psi in my brites when filling. My process is to connect the coupler, open the beer in valve to balance, slowly crack the gas out to maintain pressure in the keg, when I start seeing foam put a hand on the gas valve and as it changes to beer go wide open for a half second then quickly close, leave the beer on for a second or two to make sure there's proper pressure then close the beer valve and switch to the next keg. On a 7 bbl run I might end up with 1.5 gallons of waste in the bucket and take 45 minutes to fill. For my 15 bbl bright those numbers roughly double. If I start doing a lot more 15 bbl runs I'll add two more couplers so I can fill 4 at a time.

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    • #3
      Listen to Andrew. Good technique. It works. Same exact one I use and have used. The faster you bleed CO2 out of your keg, the more foam in the keg. Keep the tank head pressure constant, be patient, and your keg will fill with minimum loss and minimum expense.

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

      "who said what now?"

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by andrew_FSBC View Post
        I have a sight glass to 1/2" tubing split off to two couplers with valves (checks removed) on beer in and gas out. I run the gas/foam out to a bucket. My keg washer fills kegs to 12psi and I maintain 13-14psi in my brites when filling. My process is to connect the coupler, open the beer in valve to balance, slowly crack the gas out to maintain pressure in the keg, when I start seeing foam put a hand on the gas valve and as it changes to beer go wide open for a half second then quickly close, leave the beer on for a second or two to make sure there's proper pressure then close the beer valve and switch to the next keg. On a 7 bbl run I might end up with 1.5 gallons of waste in the bucket and take 45 minutes to fill. For my 15 bbl bright those numbers roughly double. If I start doing a lot more 15 bbl runs I'll add two more couplers so I can fill 4 at a time.
        I do this basically except that I use 3/16ID beverage hose to maintain CO2 levels. Never considered using 1/2" tubing. Advantages? Also do you leave the CO2 exit valve slightly open the whole time? I just occasionally open it for a couple seconds then close it.

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        • #5
          Filling Upside down is technically the best way

          We have a rack for filling upside down. It's great.

          Set up is 4 T's to create the manifold with threaded /TC fittings. We use the micromatic couplers which are expensive but very nice and last a long time.

          The inlet (the gas inlet) of the coupler is where the beer flows in. We use 1/2" ID hose from the manifold to coupler. Since the keg is being filled upside down, there is virtually no foam. 1/4"ID hose is used on the outlet(Beer out) of the coupler. There is a tiny bit of foam that is released once the keg is full, but essentially no loss.

          Our rack is for four kegs manually filled and can really fill fast. The rack also has a pallet spot so we just flip the kegs over onto the pallet and pull them off with the truck when full. Easy, no lifting full kegs, and little to no foam.
          ________________
          Matthew Steinberg
          Co-Founder
          Exhibit 'A' Brewing Co.
          Framingham, MA USA

          Head Brewer
          Filler of Vessels
          Seller of Liquid
          Barreled Beer Aging Specialist
          Yeast Wrangler
          Microbe Handler
          Malt Slinger
          Hop Sniffer
          Food Eater
          Music Listener

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          • #6
            Originally posted by MatthewS View Post
            We have a rack for filling upside down. It's great.

            Set up is 4 T's to create the manifold with threaded /TC fittings. We use the micromatic couplers which are expensive but very nice and last a long time.

            The inlet (the gas inlet) of the coupler is where the beer flows in. We use 1/2" ID hose from the manifold to coupler. Since the keg is being filled upside down, there is virtually no foam. 1/4"ID hose is used on the outlet(Beer out) of the coupler. There is a tiny bit of foam that is released once the keg is full, but essentially no loss.

            Our rack is for four kegs manually filled and can really fill fast. The rack also has a pallet spot so we just flip the kegs over onto the pallet and pull them off with the truck when full. Easy, no lifting full kegs, and little to no foam.
            would you mind snapping a picture of that setup?

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            • #7
              Hello Matthew!

              For small breweries, I follow Andrew's procedure minus the fast open at the end. Perfect fills with negligible waste. Matthew, could you tell me why you fill inverted? And why that might lead to any less foam than filling through the spear?
              Phillip Kelm--Palau Brewing Company Manager--

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              • #8
                I'm loving all these options of filling kegs. One question, do you hold co2 top pressure of the conditioning tank or use gravity and a centrifugal pump before connecting up to the keg couplers?

                Thanks.

                Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

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