Subject: Cider Digest #2062, 3 March 2017 Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 13:11:04 -0700 (MST) From: cider-request@talisman.com Cider Digest #2062 3 March 2017 Cider and Perry Discussion Forum Contents: RE Reusable micron level filters (William Grote) Re: re-usable micron-level filters? (Monica Miller) NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one. Send ONLY articles for the digest to cider@talisman.com. Use cider-request@talisman.com for subscribe/unsubscribe/admin requests. Archives of the Digest are available at www.talisman.com/cider#Archives Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: RE Reusable micron level filters From: William Grote Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2017 09:03:15 -0500 Hi Dick I have the keg-to water filter housing w/ cartidge-to keg set up but have used it up until now with either the pleated or sting based filters of 1 micron and .5 micron which generally have speeds of 1-2 gallon per minute and are single use, messy and expensive. They do a 'reasonable' job but certainly not for sterile filtering. The 12 minutes per gallon recommended for this is a considerably slower pace, and the pressure recommendations are much higher - most people use these systems with clear vinyl tubing and hose barb connectors - I predict a lot of leaks. However since I already have the set up and just need the cartridge, I will give this one a shot and report, thanks for the heads up! One thing that might help, the manufacturer recommends cold crashing in your source keg before filtering, that brings a lot of sediment to the bottom of the keg. I have been using a float system in my kegs, which replace the metal dip tube running down to the bottom with a stainless steel float attached to a silicon hose - (this then attaches to the liquid out post) so you draw your cider or beer from the TOP the keg, rather than the bottom, where all the sediment is. When cold crashing in the keg, you can get really clean cider this way, so perhaps I will get faster results than 12 minutes per gallon. I have never tried keg to keg filtering from one of these floater kegs, most of the time they give me clean results as is, but if in combination with these stainless steel filters, I might get results that approach a sterile filter result, which would be fantastic! Even if not sterile, the amount of treatment required to stablize things prior to bottling could be reduced. Best William Grote ------------------------------ Subject: Re: re-usable micron-level filters? From: Monica Miller Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2017 19:42:48 +0000 I filtered two different 5 gallon batches of cider last weekend with the 5 micron stainless filter. Both batches were previously dry hopped in corny kegs. Despite using a stainless mesh basket, lots of "bits" were left floating in the cider. The filter instructions indicated filtration would take an hour. My first batch took about 6 minutes at fairly low CO2 pressure. The second batch (done the following day) was far murkier and took closer to 15 minutes. In comparison to using a plate filter with paper discs, this was far easier and quicker, including clean-up. I purchased a filter housing and hoses with flare fittings and swivel nuts. Mine also came with a 3rd short section of hose with fittings for back flushing. To sanitize and flush the housing with CO2 in preparation for filtering, I pushed a couple gallons of Starsan from one clean keg to another through the assembled housing/filter. After filtering, I connected the back flush hose to a utility sink faucet and the out port of the housing, and blasted hot water through the unit for a couple minutes. The filter appeared clear but there was a small pile of debris remaining at the bottom of the housing. I removed the backflush hose, unscrewed the housing, and rinsed it out thoroughly. The first time, I then put the back flush hose on the in port of the housing, connected it to a small submersible fountain pump in a bucket of PBW solution, and recirculated it through the system for 15 minutes, followed by a hot water rinse. The second time, I didn't bother with the pump/recirculation, I just tossed everything in a bucket of PBW solution for a static soak. IMO, the pump isn't a necessity -- I used it because I already had it for keg cleaning. I haven't pulled any cider off yet to check for clarity -- both kegs are in the process of being carbonated. The cider flowing through the hose into the keg looked very clear, so I'm optimistic. - --Monica Miller Sadorus, IL ------------------------------ End of Cider Digest #2062 *************************