• CounterPressureBottleFiller

Keg Powered Counter Pressure Bottle Filler

Counter Pressure Bottle Filler Mk III (Plug 'n Play)

This is the same as mkII in principle of operation. It is the one I currently use, the earlier revisions are further down the page.

1. It uses stainless steel and food grade plastic parts. I have found my earlier models were both hard to clean and dry out. Not a good environment for brass.
2. It uses push-in connectors all round. Easy to dismantle, clean and dry.
3. Push-in connectors also allow me to swap in liquid QD for keg-keg transfer, and also to swap between rubber bung or for bottle.
4. Because the moving parts are all connected rigidly, operating the taps is easier than the mkII version.

Here are the main components, the tap on the left I used for liquid (straight through path minimises turbulence) and the other tap goes to gas connection. These are normally coupled to the respective posts on a ball lock keg. The pushin fittings allow dismantling for easy cleaning.

Hooked up to a keg ready to go. Taps are closed and tube (which you can't see due to white on white) ready to go into a bottle.

I started out using BEVA tubing for the keg tubing and although this works, I have since switched to John Guest tubing which is designed for the pushins and have found the seal to be perfect. I have also taken to regularly smearing food grade grease on the tubing that goes into the pushin fittings. They still work if you don't but I find after a while it gets difficult to remove the tube. It also keeps the internal o-ring lubricated which should help maintain longevity.

The current options I have for filling bottles. From the left we have:

• QD for keg-to-keg and also bottle with male QD. See also PartyKeg.

• Male QD cap for PET bottles.

• This is a custom transfer mechanism I made. I don't use it anymore but the key thing is, make whatever fittings you would like to use and you are good to go.
• Short tubed rubber bung for stubbies.
• Long tubed rubber bung for long necks.

PET Bottle Filler Coupling

I have found that transferring beer to PET bottles is more of a challenge than into glass. I am guessing this is because of the elasticity of PET bottles. It seems that with glass, there is no big deal in getting adequate carbonation even after removing the CPF and capping. Doing this with PET bottles seems to me to result in significantly lower carbonation. The gadgets in this section are what I use if I need to fill PET bottles.

One improvement I made is not really part of the CPF per se but facilitates my preferred method of transferring to PET bottles. This approach offers:

1. A means of transferring to bottle without the need to recap after removing CPF.
2. Great control over the release of pressure during the filling operation.

The down side is that it is more expensive than the bung and not everyone is kitted up to make the screwcap. It may be possible to attach a coupling to a regular PET bottle cap, I haven't tried it but it might work (the nut that fastens the coupling might prevent the cap from screwing down completely).

I first made a rig from a colder coupling but I ended up using a standard quick disconnect:

Keg To Keg Transfers

Because my CPF is plug'n'play, I use the same setup for keg to keg transfers. Here is a pic of filling to my PartyKeg.

Cleaning

The tap assembly is very easy to clean. QD's are another matter.

I made this from solid brass. One end clicks into your garden hose snap-on connecter and the other end mates with a QD. You can then blast water through the tubing to flush it. This would have to be easily the most frequently used cleaning accessory I own. Someone out there could make these and sell them.

Keg Powered Counter Pressure Bottle Filler Mk II

As noted above, the Mk I is not full counterpressure, it relies on the initial fill of beer to equalize pressure in the bottle. In my experience using it, this has not been a drama however I thought of a simple extension to the idea, I added a second line complete with tap and QD for gas connection on the keg.

It retains the "no plumbing" bottle fixture and flexible tubing to suit a range of bottles. The picture above is the tube that goes into the bottle and the gas and beer taps. It is possible to buy 3 port taps but I found a) they are very expensive, and b) the ones I saw did not have an off position.

Upload new attachment "cpfkeg.jpg"

No surprises here - a liquid QD and gas QD.

The modus operandi goes something like this:

1. Close taps (unless you like wet and wild)
2. Attach QD's to correct posts on keg.
3. Push bung into bottle opening for a good seal.
4. Open gas tap to equalize bottle pressure.
5. Optionally bleed some gas out of bottle by manipulating the bung for a "controlled leak". If you are going to drink it the same night then I wouldn't bother.
6. Close the gas valve.
7. Open the liquid valve fully. Nothing should come out.
8. Manipulate the bung to achieve a controlled release of gas from bottle, allowing fluid to flow in, slow is good. Avoid sudden, large releases of gas (from the bottle).
9. Fill the bottle to desired level.
10. Close fluid valve.
11. If you got some foaming to here then it is a good idea to let it rest.
12. Remove bung and seal bottle.
13. At your leisure, drink beer.

I plan on improving it by screwing the valves directly into T - maybe using some smaller butterfly valves. Also minimise obstruction and bends in fluid path.

Counter Pressure Bottle Filler Mk I

Well I designed my own counter pressure bottle filler. Its pretty cheap and so far it works a bewdy.

Actually it was pointed out that it is not a "proper" counter pressure filler because initially there is no counter pressure. In practice I am not sure how significant the difference is, since the pressure equalizes quickly, and I would expect the thin layer of foam that is produced to isolate the beer from the air in the bottle. If anyone else tries this, I would be interested to hear how it works for you.

Update: someone borrowed it and said it worked fine. I also just used it with an APA (quite highly carbonated). The consensus is that it probably foams a little more than a "proper" CPF but the beer is fine. Certainly a lot less wasted beer (due to foam) than just filling unpressurized.

Maybe I should call it the Beer Powered Counter Pressure Filler.

Some of the features:

1. Simple construction. Some BEVA tube, rubber stopper and ball valve. You also need something to connect to your beer supply, I used a liquid quick disconnect straight onto a keg.
2. Inexpensive.
3. Copes with bottles of different heights due to the use of a flexible tube.
4. No fiddling around with separate pressurization.

Some downsides:

1. No separate pressurization. It relies on the beer filling the bottle to create its own counter pressure.
2. I am not sure about the materials compatibility, I could have paid 5 times as much for a stainless steel ball valve and tails but I just used plated brass.
3. Because I used a quick disconnect on the keg side, cleaning is an issue, same as my pluto gun. I guess I will pressure clean it each time I clean a keg.
4. Getting the BEVA tube through the bung was a challenge, a combination of food grease and warming the bung helped. I also warmed the tube but you need to be careful to avoid stretching.
5. Some aspects of the operation require two hands, so you have to put your glass down occasionally.

How do I use it?:

1. Turn off the ball valve.
2. Connect the quick disconnect to the keg.
3. Shove the rubber bung in the mouth of the bottle. Maintain some downward pressure on the bung.
4. Open the ball valve fully, smaller openings tend to foam the beer. Unless you have a serious leak, the flow will stop when the pressure in the bottle equalizes with the keg.
5. Manipulate the bung to create a controlled leak. Let the beer flow by controlling the release of gas around the bung.
6. When it is near the top close the ball valve.
7. When you release all the pressure as you remove the bung you will get some foaming. I deliberately let some foam right out of the bottle, I figure there won't be much O2 left in there.

8. Your beer will end up slightly less carbonated that the beer in the keg, if nothing else you vent to ambient pressure when the bung is removed at the end. If you get lots of foaming then that is also CO2 coming out of solution. The carbonator is your friend when you want more carbonation.

Here is an alternative: Mike Dixon's CPF

paul sorenson