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  • Erratic Dissolved O2 on filler

    I'm having some dissolved O2 issues with my 8 fill head rotary filler. Here are some measurements:
    Beer in Brite = 10ppb
    Beer in Filter = 22ppb

    I took measurements of 16 consecutive cans from the filler at different times of the run. Here are my results: (all cans are shaken to combine O2)
    Fill head# (13:40) (14:50)
    1 53 75 274 174
    2 75 59 96 55
    3 76 144 55 89
    4 230 99 292 55
    5 44 24 45 51
    6 143 201 102 46
    7 151 152 77 39
    8 136 53 154 42

    To explain: Fill head #1 made a can with 53ppb and the next can off that same fill head was 75ppb at 13:40. I took another set of measurements at 14:50 and that same fill head had a can at 274ppb and the next = 174ppb.

    Before this run I took apart fill heads 1-4 and replaced some gaskets but it seems to not have had an effect.
    Some other info:
    The cans are rinsed with ozonated water as they enter the filler. The cans 'foam up' as they leave the filler and travel on conveyor to the seamer. The manufacturer of our filler told us it is best to foam up the cans to reduce o2 pick up. The beer goes from the tank to the low-shear pump to the sterile filter and into the filler. The pump runs at about 40psi and the filler pressure is 1.6 bar. The beer travels straight up 1" pipe about 12 feet and then about 30 feet from coldroom to filler where it drops down 12 feet to inlet. The seamer has a foam-scraper to knock off the top bit of foam (the big bubbles). We have a bubble breaker and rail-gassing but we find it only adds O2 to the cans. These measurements are of 355ml cans.

    Has anyone had an issue like this before? Any help is appreciated.

  • #2
    Originally posted by Beerballs View Post
    I'm having some dissolved O2 issues with my 8 fill head rotary filler. Here are some measurements:
    Beer in Brite = 10ppb
    Beer in Filter = 22ppb

    I took measurements of 16 consecutive cans from the filler at different times of the run. Here are my results: (all cans are shaken to combine O2)
    Fill head# (13:40) (14:50)
    1 53 75 274 174
    2 75 59 96 55
    3 76 144 55 89
    4 230 99 292 55
    5 44 24 45 51
    6 143 201 102 46
    7 151 152 77 39
    8 136 53 154 42

    To explain: Fill head #1 made a can with 53ppb and the next can off that same fill head was 75ppb at 13:40. I took another set of measurements at 14:50 and that same fill head had a can at 274ppb and the next = 174ppb.

    Before this run I took apart fill heads 1-4 and replaced some gaskets but it seems to not have had an effect.
    Some other info:
    The cans are rinsed with ozonated water as they enter the filler. The cans 'foam up' as they leave the filler and travel on conveyor to the seamer. The manufacturer of our filler told us it is best to foam up the cans to reduce o2 pick up. The beer goes from the tank to the low-shear pump to the sterile filter and into the filler. The pump runs at about 40psi and the filler pressure is 1.6 bar. The beer travels straight up 1" pipe about 12 feet and then about 30 feet from coldroom to filler where it drops down 12 feet to inlet. The seamer has a foam-scraper to knock off the top bit of foam (the big bubbles). We have a bubble breaker and rail-gassing but we find it only adds O2 to the cans. These measurements are of 355ml cans.

    Has anyone had an issue like this before? Any help is appreciated.
    Have you run any cans unshaken? This can help you determine if you are having a headspace air problem or a problem somewhere between the filter and the fill head. Could be a good jumping off point for troubleshooting. What’s your carbonation level in the problematic beer?

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by TonyT View Post
      Have you run any cans unshaken? This can help you determine if you are having a headspace air problem or a problem somewhere between the filter and the fill head. Could be a good jumping off point for troubleshooting. What’s your carbonation level in the problematic beer?
      Hey Tony,

      I have tried some unshaken cans and have seen similar results. Next canning run I will test a few more unshaken cans to confirm. I notice when the fill head lifts from the can there are some big bubbles already in the foam so I'm thinking it might be something to do with the decompression snift valve. Or perhaps there is some vibration as the can travels along the conveyor to the seamer which is adding O2. Thanks for your suggestion. I'll let you know how it goes.

      Carbonation is 2.70 in the tank and comes out about 2.60-2.65 in the can.

      Comment

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