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  • 1.  Product Pump for Beer Distribution to Atmospheric Can Filler?

    Posted 08-30-2023 14:22

    Howdy, all. I've been wondering if anyone out there is using a product pump to send beer from the brite tank to an atmospheric can filler. Our current process involves pressurizing our brite tank to a higher level than we like to keep our beer cellaring, so after we're done packaging and there's still beer in the tank, we depressurize it which wastes CO2 and decreases the air quality in the brewery (we ventilate the place aggressively to avoid any issues associated with this). Product pumps are standard for a lot of faster counterpressure rotary lines. Do you think we could add a product pump, a pressure sensor and some controls to our system and achieve the necessary pressure to properly fill cans on our atmospheric filler with good results?

    I appreciate any feedback.

    THANK YOU



    ------------------------------
    Dave Chichura
    Ex Novo Brewing
    Corrales, NM
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Product Pump for Beer Distribution to Atmospheric Can Filler?

    Posted 08-31-2023 13:26

    Hi Dave,

    Yes, a product pump will be a major upgrade for you. In addition to the drawbacks you mentioned, a lot of brewers with lower-speed canning lines have trouble with CO2 breakout in the filler supply hose, which causes low-fills.  With a product pump you can put a tee right before your filler, run a second hose back to your bright tank, and circulate the supply line as much as necessary to keep it cold and free of break-out.

     

    Yes, you could use a small centrifugal pump with a pressure sensor and a drive with a PID loop.  But a simpler solution is to just use an air-driven diaphragm pump.  It's not so energy-efficient, but it's fairly low-cost, easy to set up and easy to regulate the down-stream pressure.  It worked well for us when I worked at Santa Fe Brewing and we were running a 6-head Cask canning line.

     

    Cullen Dwyer

    Q/A Manager

    P: 978.874.9965 X1160


    Wachusett Brewing Company, Inc.
    175 State Road E.
    Westminster, MA  01473

    www.wachusettbrewingcompany.com

     




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Product Pump for Beer Distribution to Atmospheric Can Filler?

    Posted 09-12-2023 17:05
    Abundant apologies for my tardy response, Cullen. Thank you very much for your input. I'm talking with someone about helping us with a solution next week. It may be simpler than I had thought before, so we may be able to get by with using a VFD-driven pump and the existing pressure sensors/controllers that we have.

    THANK YOU.



    Dave Chichura
    Brewery Manager
    Ex Novo Brewing
    Corrales, NM




    Original Message


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