Long distance from BBT to Filler questions.

[Azbrewdude]

We are in the process of getting a Meheen 6 head filler. We want to package about 50 feet away from the BBT with the only vertical gain being from the floor to the filler. My question is: will 15 PSI be enough pressure for this long of a run, or do I need a peristaltic pump to do the job?

[jebzter]

A lot of it will depend on how fast you are filling. I think your bigger issue will be the beer warming up over that distance to where 15psi may not be enough to keep the carbonation in solution. Larger fillers have a receiving tank nearby the machine to keep the beer cool and avoid long distance runs to the filler bowl. If you are dead set on 50 feet, do it with well insulated hard piping, hose is crazy expensive and harder to maintain temperature in.

[mmussen]

I would guess that with a 6 head filler you'll be moving beer fast enough to need very large CO2 lines and high flow regulators.
Instead of a peristaltic pump you may want to look into a diaphragm pump. The ones I've used were driven by air pressure and the pumps are very good at maintaining a set pressure on the outflow of the pump regardless of the speed of the flow.

Cheers

[TGTimm]

What the jebster wrote above--if your beer is much over 30F, you'll have endless foaming problems. I'd consider a insulated and glycol-cooled line for a run of 50', like a beer trunk/chiller pack system for remote taps (but larger dia--preferably 1" or larger).

If you use a pump, place it near your bright tank if possible so you're pushing the beer through that long run. Trying to pull the beer from the other end may lower the pressure in the line enough to result in more foaming problems.

We have run finished beer through hoses of nearly this length with nothing but fermenter pressure (to a keg-filling station). It works, but it's far from ideal.

[Mike Elliott]

Goodyear Brewer/Vintner hose

We also run a Meheen six-head filler. We use fifty feet of 1.5 inch fabric-covered suction/discharge hose and it works great.

BBT is set to 29F, beer arrives at filler at around 30.5F give or take a few tenths.

We run on CO2 pressure only and adjust it throughout the run to maintain an even pressure at the fill head, ie to compensate for decreasing vertical head in the tank. We get nice black fills with no problem. Initial head pressure in the tank is around 12 and increases slowly to keep fill head static liquid pressure at around 14, or eleven when flowing. I know the Meheen has an option to control pressure automatically, but we don't use it because of bad CO2 tank/line placement.

We use a low flow CO2 regulator and have no problems keeping up with demand. We are filling 16 oz bottles with 16 second cycles. If you are filling considerably more slowly, I would recommend insulating. If that still doesn't work, I totally agree with TGTimm on adding glycol cooling.

[Azbrewdude]

Goodyear/vintners hose

Any reason you're using the suction hose? Why not 1" -1.5" brewers hose?

We also run a Meheen six-head filler. We use fifty feet of 1.5 inch fabric-covered suction/discharge hose and it works great.

BBT is set to 29F, beer arrives at filler at around 30.5F give or take a few tenths.

We run on CO2 pressure only and adjust it throughout the run to maintain an even pressure at the fill head, ie to compensate for decreasing vertical head in the tank. We get nice black fills with no problem. Initial head pressure in the tank is around 12 and increases slowly to keep fill head static liquid pressure at around 14, or eleven when flowing. I know the Meheen has an option to control pressure automatically, but we don't use it because of bad CO2 tank/line placement.

We use a low flow CO2 regulator and have no problems keeping up with demand. We are filling 16 oz bottles with 16 second cycles. If you are filling considerably more slowly, I would recommend insulating. If that still doesn't work, I totally agree with TGTimm on adding glycol cooling.

[lhall]

From the man himself, from the FAQ section at http://www.meheen.com/support/troubleshootingfaq/ (always a good place to start)

Do: keep the hose from the Brite tank to the filler as short as possible and insulate it to keep the beverage as cold as possible.
Do: chill the beverage to 32F without freezing in the Brite Tank.
Do: push the beverage in the Brite Tank at 1-2psi above the equilibrium pressure of the carbonated beverage.
Don’t: put any sort of pump or filter between the Brite tank and the filler.
Do: use the smooth bore beverages hose supplied with your bottling machine connected directly to the Brite Tank outlet.
Don’t: use brewers hose, multiple connections or larger sizes of hose.
Don’t: extended Snift, Speed and eductor off-gas vents with hose longer than 3″ and always keep hose ends open to atmosphere.

We used about 40' of 1" braided PVC hose with 1/2" Armaflex insulation for our six-head.