Closed Transferring From Keg to Carboy Problems

[Reposado]

+1 on the hop matter, I use this method without any problems until something gets plugged, and it doesn't take much. Just watch your pressure, 1 - 2 psi max. Set your filter in just far enough not to leak, but loose enough to blow out if you over pressurize.

[San_Diego_Matt]

So I changed the name of this thread on my phone so I could post to it from work without that previously ridiculous title I picked out of frustration.

So, to clear a couple things up, my carboy was on top of my fermentation freezer and the keg was on the ground...it's how I always transfer and has always worked in the past when I wasn't so obsessed with the idea of a closed transfer. I had been dry hopping the beer at 60 degrees so it was relatively cool and I do use pin lock kegs, but I pushed down on both of the connectors when I thought the transfer should be happening, but nothing was happening.

So, the reason I was so focused on a closed transfer is because this is my first lager and it's going to sit in the fridge lagering for a couple months so I wanted to do everything I could to not expose the beer to any air/O2 during the transfer.

What I did was fill the keg, clean it and all its parts, put the dip tubes in, posts on, lid on, still full of starsan solution and then pushed it all out with CO2, I then hooked up all my tubes and went to work.

What I think happened is that when I hooked the keg connector to the beer out side of the keg to transfer the beer in, the keg was still pressurized at about 12PSI and as soon as I connected it, it shot CO2 into the carboy through the racking cane straight to the bottom of the carboy and stirred up the 4oz of settled hops in there I had been dry hopping with and I'm guessing some of that stuff clogged the connector on the keg causing the beer to not transfer.

So I just ended up removing the keg lid and unscrewing the hose off the end of the keg connector, putting it down to the bottom of the keg and transferring that way...like I always do.

I guess I don't know what an Auto Siphon is....I usually transfer using my stainless racking cane, a carboy cap and a sanitary air filter. I hook it all up, run the tube from the end of the racking cane into the bottom of whatever I'm transferring into, pinch off the tube near the racking cane, blow into the sanitary air filter, release and the transfer goes without issue.

I have a racking cane sock (mesh thing) to go over the end of my racking cane on order so in the future this should help keep hop material out better than the little caps on the end of the racking cane I've been using.

So there you have it.

Thanks for the help so far and I guess I'm just lucky that the 12PSI I was transferring with didn't blow the carboy sky high

[bcmaui]

Auto-Siphon is basically a racking cane with a pump mechanism to start the flow of liquid.

The stainless racking cane and using a sterile flow of CO2 (or air) to start the transfer seems like an easier system to clean and is what I would like to try next.

I have not used a better bottle yet, but wonder if there enough give in the sidewall to start the siphon by just squeezing it, or do you still need some outside pressure to start the flow?

http://morebeer.com/view_product/6355/1 ... asy-Siphon

[Mylo]

I do the closed transfer thing all the time. I find it works the majority of the time with no issues. I don't push the beer out of the carboy with CO2, cuz I think that is just too dangerous. I use the sterile filter and just start the flow with my lung pressure. It might be because you have a bubble of air in your line (and the end of the dip tube in a few ounces of starsan?) - or a little bit of trub - like the others have said.


Mylo

[bcmaui]

Nice VeeDub toys, BTW.

They are no fun unless you take them out of the box.

[San_Diego_Matt]

We choose to keep the toys in the packaging...those are the cheap ones anyways and take the real thing out and about.



Suck it Woods and JP!!

[bcmaui]

Yeah - I miss my weekend 1969 bus (it was a Swiss Army Surplus with Switzerland license plates when I bought it for $500 in the early 80's in Newport Beach). And my daily ride was a 67 Squareback which was another $900.

Once college for my two kid's is paid off, I want an early 60's bus again. Looks like you have the earlier high engine compartment rather than the pancake engine I had - they switched in 67 or so.

Your's looks sweet BTW. 1963-1965 ish? Might even be an earlier one and a right hand drive unless you have doors on both sides.

[San_Diego_Matt]

the Type 4 engines (the pancake ones) started in 1971 I think. I don't know that much about the later ones, but yours may have been a bit different than the US models with it being from Switxerland and all. Ours is a 63 Double Door Panel. It's got cargo doors on both sides and a full width bed in the back. It's got a 1776 single port engine and it's by no means fast, but it'll do 67-68 on the flat open highway. It could go faster, but it's got the original small nut (heh!) tranny from 63 that holds it back a bit. We have a big nut (heh!) 67 tranny that we'll swap in someday that will give us a few additional MPH on the highway and bigger brakes in the back. The trailer is cool, but is also a pain in the ass and we usually leave it at home unless we're really loaded up or really want to show off. Most of our stuff will fit on the full length roof rack.

The deck lid (engine door) is basically the same size as all other buses except for the really early ones that are called barndoors and thier deck lid goes all the way up to the beltline where the V in the front starts and continues all the way around the bus.

We've also got tents for both sides which really opens it up when you're out camping. We keep one of the tents closed up and use it as a changing room, we sleep in the bus and then pull the sides back on the other tent and use it as a living room.

The license plate says Hop Heds too