Counter Pressure Filler - bleeder valve

[Herms]

Hey,

I've been counter pressure filling for years. I think I bought my original filler from St. Pats.

My only problem is that the bleeder valve sucks. It has little adjustment in the range I use it. Does anyone out there have any part numbers, links to a supplier, or a picture of a valve with the ability to finely tune the flow rate?

Thanks,

Mark

[BrewTa2]

I have a filler that uses a brass needle valve available at Lowes or Homo Depot. Similar to:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... 40/PB9106C

[Mylo]

My only problem is that the bleeder valve sucks. It has little adjustment in the range I use it.

You could try the valve that BrewTa posted... But maybe the problem is elsewhere (ahem, "user error" ). What pressure are your filling at? I find that if I fill at normal keg pressure, then the flow can be too fast and I notice a "small range" of adjustability with the bleeder valve. Contrary, if I fill at 2-3 lbs, the flow is fine, but too many bubbles start coming out of the beer and I can't fill them to the top. 6-8 lbs seems to work the best for me. I can go real slow and get ~ 1/4" of head forming on the top - which is then just perfect for capping on the foam.


Mylo

[Herms]

I think that's the valve I already have.

I've been bottling at 18 psi, as suggested by Jamil.

I guess that the lower the bottling pressure the more adjustment the valve would have.

At 18psi my bottling has been going very well, if I didn't have this valve issue I could bottle a little faster, not big deal, just thought I might be able to find a better needle valve.

At all pressures I seem to have the same issue, I usually operate with the valve almost completely turned off, and that seems to fill a little slow, when I try to adjust it, it jumps to a setting that is too fast. Probably has something to do with me being so close to it being closed.

I've tried bottling at 4 and 15 psi, had the same issue, maybe I'll try to replace the valve.


Two thing I have learned about bottling:

Put another 1/4 turn valve in line with bleeder valve. That way you only have to adjust the bleeder once, then you just open and close the vent with the 1/4 turn valve.

Don't let foam get into the vent. Once foam is in the vent , it can't vent properly, and it leaves pressure in the bottle, so when you remove the bottle it gushes, since it is still under pressure. If foam does get into the vent make sure you get it out.

Thanks for the help,

Mark

[Mylo]

Dude, that is way too high! I have never heard of anyone CPF'ing that high. The reason that it is filling with the valve closed is because you can't make that good of a seal on top of the bottle. So as the CO2 leaks out, the beer is going in.

I would say that there would never be a reason to fill at a pressure higher than normal keg pressure - unless you had REALLY long lines on your CPFiller.

At too low a pressure, you will start to build too much of a head (because there is not pressure to push it back down into the beer. At too high a pressure, you will also build a head - because of the turbulent filling will knock the CO2 outta solution. That's your problem. Not the valve.


Mylo

[DannyW]

At too low a pressure, you will start to build too much of a head (because there is not pressure to push it back down into the beer. At too high a pressure, you will also build a head - because of the turbulent filling will knock the CO2 outta solution. That's your problem. Not the valve.

A counterpressure filler equalizes the pressure between the keg and the bottle so there should be no turbulent flow, no sharp pressure gradient, and no foam. If you are trying to use a beer gun at 18psi you will be sad, but a counterpressure filler should have no problem with it.

[Mylo]

Yes, you are technically right, Danny. The point here is that with that amount of pressure, the bleeder valve becomes "not sensitive enough" (or the "usuable range" is very, very small) - and you struggle to keep the flow slow enough to not knock the CO2 out. The CP filler keeps beer from flowing into the bottle because the same pressure on top of the beer in the bottle is the same pressure as on the top of the keg. When you open the bleeder valve, the pressure above the beer goes down and the bottle fills. The output holes on those bleeder valves are too big, allowing to big of a pressure differential at that high pressure. That means too fast of a flow and too big of a head. You could, theoretically put a cap over the end and drill a smaller hole in it - so you could still run it at the elevated pressure. The easier solution would be to just dial down the pressure on the whole system - but not too low or your beer will be offgassing the whole time.


Mylo

[Herms]

Next time I bottle I'll try dialing down the psi, but at 18 psi zero to very little foam appears as you bottle. Might be able to get similar results at 12 -15 psi. But I've been there before. I think I originally filled at exactly what keg was carbonated at.

The original purpose of the post was to find a more sensitive bleeder valve that would allow for finer adjustment while filling at the higher pressure.


Thanks,

Mark