Recommendations for the best counter pressure bottle filler please.

[Galena]

Some photo's attached...

Thanks for the detailed description, very helpful. Are those draw slides you have utilised?
Edit: Sorry I see you already answered that

 

[Galena]

I meant to say if you're never going to have taps then building a stand for a cheap counter pressure filler might be better...

Taps may be one day when I have finished the house project and then got fed up with walking out to the brewery for a pint in the middle of winter .

but if you plan to get taps then the Tapcooler (or Kegland knock off) ability to plug straight into a tap is very useful as you don't have to sanitise or clean any beer line. It takes 30 seconds to set up:

That's a very good point, do they only fit to specific taps?

 

[JockyBrewer]

Taps may be one day when I have finished the house project and then got fed up with walking out to the brewery for a pint in the middle of winter .


That's a very good point, do they only fit to specific taps?

Nearly all of the forward sealing taps you'd want in a homebrew setup: Nukatap, Intertap, Vent-Matic, Perlick 600 series, Ultratap.

They won't fit rear sealing taps, such as commercial pub beer fonts. You don't want those anyway for a homebrew setup - while they pour quickly, they need to be cleaned after use or they get mouldy/seize up with dried out beer.

 

[private4587]

Any photos by any chance?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I’ve tried others and to my mind the Boel itap is the ONLY professional counter-pressure filler on the market. The others are all a bit (or a lot) more faff. The itap is a pleasure to use.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I’ve tried others and to my mind the Boel itap is the ONLY professional counter-pressure filler on the market. The others are all a bit (or a lot) more faff. The itap is a pleasure to use.

The iTap is a nice bit of kit for sure but no less of a faff to operate than the cheap one I have. I have both and the process is basically the same for both, just one uses a rotating valve to operate and one uses a button and a hand pull to operate. Other than that they are pretty comparable in terms of ease of setup, ease and quickness of use and clean up afterwards. The iTap has, by far, the biggest price tag, so nice bit of kit if you can afford it for sure, but if you cant then there are much cheaper alternatives out there that will do just as good a job.

I prefer the way the cheap Ali express T-filler purges with CO2 from the bottom of the bottle as it pretty much pushes out air from the bottom up, but I've never had oxidation issues wit the iTap. But I prefer the way the iTap fills from the outside of the bottle. So pro's and cons with each.

But both are better, in my view, than the intertap (in that you can have a permanent setup) and certainly better than a beer gun.

 

[Caramel Ox]

Is this not beer gun territory?

I would be interested to know beer gun effectiveness for keg bottling. Can it also be used for unpressurised bottling from the fermenter or is the beer pressure too low?

 

[stripeyjoe]

Here's a youtube on using carb caps for counter pressure filling, TBH, a lot less bother than a beer gun!

 

[JockyBrewer]

If you want a really cheap way of filling bottles then you just need 2 metres of 3/16" line and a party tap:




I bottled a very hoppy hazy IPA using this and my Tapcooler, and left it on a warm shelf for 2 weeks. Tasting side by side with a serving straight from the keg the Tapcooler bottle was identical to a keg serving, and party tap fill was very subtley different - the hops were going from fresh fruit to slightly overripe fruit. But if I'd been served it without the keg beer next to it I'd never have noticed.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

The iTap is a nice bit of kit for sure but no less of a faff to operate than the cheap one I have.

I can operate the itap pretty much hands-free but struggled with the cheaper devices using both hands!

I also got really irritated by the compromises of the cheaper units - like dribbling beer from the filling tube after filling each bottle. They are just not fit for purpose in my view.

 

[MashBag]

Does anyone have a no mess counter pressure filling system.

For bottling (for conditioning) I make no wet mess. Unless it goes a bit sideways.

Mess has always put me off counter pressure filling.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Does anyone have a no mess counter pressure filling system.

 

[SMP Brewery]

I also got really irritated by the compromises of the cheaper units - like dribbling beer from the filling tube after filling each bottle. They are just not fit for purpose in my view.

I’m getting the hang of my nukatap filler now. And have no issues with the dribbling beer, I place it in a jug after each bottle and when finished drink from said jug. Job’s a good un

 

[Justin Dean]

Simplified process. Quicker and more organised.

 

[WM7793]

Hi everyone, bit late to the conversation. Been away for a few days.
I use the WilliamsWarn counter pressure bottler. It’s not cheap at £160 but it works an absolute treat.
Here’s the link if you’re interested
https://williamswarnuk.com/the-homebrewing-kit/brew-bottler/There’s also plenty of videos on utube.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I can operate the itap pretty much hands-free but struggled with the cheaper devices using both hands!

I also got really irritated by the compromises of the cheaper units - like dribbling beer from the filling tube after filling each bottle. They are just not fit for purpose in my view

Dribbling beer is not such an issue if you are doing a continual flow and loading a bottle as soon as you've filled one. A layer of kitchen wipes sorts that out. Yes, an annoyance but hardly makes it 'not fit for purpose'. Maybe wasting a few ml of beer in 20 litres. One area of wastage with the iTap is you get a spray of beer foam when you release it from the collar...I have to have a handful of kitchen towel to hold the neck when releasing to prevent a foam shower each time, so that wastes as much as the dribbling on the T-valve setup. My T-valve setup in my rather Heath Robinson stand is just as hands free as my iTap.

Both are effective solutions...one is very cheap and a bit more DIY, the other quite pricy. If you want something that is aesthetically pleasing and neat and tidy then the iTap is the way to go, but if you don't mind the T-valve solution with the spaghetti of hoses and lines then that is just a dirt cheap option. But both just as effective in the context of counter flow bottle filling. You pays your money and make your choice.

As far as mess is concerned I'm not sure any packaging solution is totally mess free is it? You're always going to get something leaking out of somewhere. Ultimately you want to be capping on foam so in the very least you're going to get a slight overflow of foam with each bottle that will make some mess.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Dribbling beer is not such an issue if you are doing a continual flow and loading a bottle as soon as you've filled one. A layer of kitchen wipes sorts that out. Yes, an annoyance but hardly makes it 'not fit for purpose'. Maybe wasting a few ml of beer in 20 litres. One area of wastage with the iTap is you get a spray of beer foam when you release it from the collar...I have to have a handful of kitchen towel to hold the neck when releasing to prevent a foam shower each time, so that wastes as much as the dribbling on the T-valve setup. My T-valve setup in my rather Heath Robinson stand is just as hands free as my iTap.

Both are effective solutions...one is very cheap and a bit more DIY, the other quite pricy. If you want something that is aesthetically pleasing and neat and tidy then the iTap is the way to go, but if you don't mind the T-valve solution with the spaghetti of hoses and lines then that is just a dirt cheap option. But both just as effective in the context of counter flow bottle filling. You pays your money and make your choice.

As far as mess is concerned I'm not sure any packaging solution is totally mess free is it? You're always going to get something leaking out of somewhere. Ultimately you want to be capping on foam so in the very least you're going to get a slight overflow of foam with each bottle that will make some mess.

You shouldn’t have any spray from the itap, if you do you’re releasing the clamp prematurely. Just before the bottle is filled turn off the beer tap and open the vent to allow excess foam to flow out of the waste hose and down the drain. When you then release the bottle clamp the foam is to the rim of the bottle and you fit the cap with no mess.

I accept the cheaper solutions do the same job but for me the itap is a properly engineered solution where the lower cost options have compromises I don’t like (not just the dribble) and that deterred me from using them.

 

[Galena]

Hi everyone, bit late to the conversation. Been away for a few days.
I use the WilliamsWarn counter pressure bottler. It’s not cheap at £160 but it works an absolute treat.
Here’s the link if you’re interested
https://williamswarnuk.com/the-homebrewing-kit/brew-bottler/There’s also plenty of videos on utube.

Interesting, despite countless searches for counter pressure bottle fillers this is the first time I have seen this, I will have to watch some YT about it.
Thank you

 

[WM7793]

Interesting, despite countless searches for counter pressure bottle fillers this is the first time I have seen this, I will have to watch some YT about it.
Thank you

You’re very welcome.

 

[JockyBrewer]

You shouldn’t have any spray from the itap, if you do you’re releasing the clamp prematurely. Just before the bottle is filled turn off the beer tap and open the vent to allow excess foam to flow out of the waste hose and down the drain. When you then release the bottle clamp the foam is to the rim of the bottle and you fit the cap with no mess.

I accept the cheaper solutions do the same job but for me the itap is a properly engineered solution where the lower cost options have compromises I don’t like (not just the dribble) and that deterred me from using them.

I find that if you leave pressurised gas in the neck of the bottle then when you remove a filler it will spurt out beer.

If your filler has a dip tube then you just fill all the way until beer starts coming out of the pressure release valve. If it doesn't then you need to bleed some of the pressure before removing the filler.