Vacuum filtration system

Any hardware used for mashing, fermenting or aging.

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contrahead
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by contrahead »

japsinok wrote: how would you use this kind of filter apparatus?
Chill filtration. Dripping cold hooch through a coffee filter though, won't make it clear. You need a smaller/tighter filter, some form of force and colder temperatures to trap the lipids that cloud some spirits.

In this first video someone is using pressure from a pump to force sub-freezing distillate through a block of filters of some type.
https://youtu.be/OzGypuVGtdQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

In this second video the guy talks about using kieselguhr but shows few details about his filtering apparatus.
https://www.whisky.com/information/know ... skies.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
<or>
https://youtu.be/FTwkT-ohYiY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

<extra>
http://www.whiskyforeveryone.com/whisky ... ation.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chill_filtering" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Bushman
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

Sorry I missed this thread when you posted a month ago japsinok. I have often thought of compressing like with a press. It's interesting that my book on making liqueurs on almost every drink that you are soaking flavor to make the drink at the end they tell you not to squeeze the bag after Tincturing as it will carry over the sediments. Having said that to save filtering and filters I think it could be used as a first step or second step (after cooling) in the process.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by OtisT »

Hi folks. I experiment a lot with small batches of product and I am so tired of waiting for gravity filtration through a coffee cone filter. I plan to try vacuume filtration with a vaccume flask and buchner funnel that uses flat paper filters.

What grade of paper do you use?

I am looking for a recommendation on the right grade of filter to use. I'm guessing the answer will vary by product you filter. By grade I mean the largest size of particle the filter will allow to pass, measured in microns or possibly flow speed.

One filter listed as "medium-slow" filters to 7-14 microns and says it is for sugar collection, so this one is too fine a filter for my pantry dropper and other sweet products. I'll need something bigger, for sure.

Thanks for sharing any experience you may have with this. I've only found these filters sold in large numbers of a single grade. I'd love to experiment and try different sizes, but it's just too damn expensive to do that.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

Depends on how much I need to filter. If I have large amounts I will first Let it settle in the fridge, then syphon, from here I may screen it. A lot of time I will then pull through paper towels (cheaper) before use coffee filters.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bagasso »

OtisT wrote:One filter listed as "medium-slow" filters to 7-14 microns and says it is for sugar collection, so this one is too fine a filter for my pantry dropper and other sweet products. I'll need something bigger, for sure.
I think those filters are for filtering things out of sugars (honey, maple or agave syrups).

Pretty sure you need to get down below 0.005 microns (nanofiltration) to remove sugars.

Some people filter down to 0.5 microns to get rid of chill haze out of their beer.

On the first page of the thread I posted some wash filtered through plain printer paper. A little hazy but a noticeable difference.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by OtisT »

Bushman wrote:Depends on how much I need to filter. If I have large amounts I will first Let it settle in the fridge, then syphon, from here I may screen it. A lot of time I will then pull through paper towels (cheaper) before use coffee filters.
Thanks Bushman. Great solution but it's moving the wrong way for me, speed wise. I'm mainly interested in Quart at a time filtration. If I ever need to do a large batch, I may try your method.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

Sorry if I wasn't clear but I was not talking about large batches but a lot of sediments that would plug a filter fast. An example would be Tincturing strawberries or something that leaves a lot of particles.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by OtisT »

Bushman wrote:Sorry if I wasn't clear but I was not talking about large batches but a lot of sediments that would plug a filter fast. An example would be Tincturing strawberries or something that leaves a lot of particles.
Thanks. I see what you were getting at now.

And turns out your post helped me even though I miss understood it. Your paper towel comment gave me an idea. For my new Büchner filter, I simply cut 110mm circles out of large coffee filters and Bam!, I've got a 10 cent filter for a penny.

It all works out in the end. :-)
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by OtisT »

just a follow up to my adventures in vacuum filteration. I had my first need for using my new Boucher filter on a vacuum flask. Rather than buying lab filters at 10 cents a pop, I cut two 110 mm circles out of one #4 coffe cone filter for a penny each. They work fine.

I had 800 ml of backset I wanted to filter, which with my old coffee cone gravity filter would have taken many hours and many filters to accomplish. With the new rig, I was done with filtering and cleanup in 15 minutes. It took two filters to filter this once, and I refiltered the entire amount with a third filter for good measure. I'm using a Food Saver for the vacuum source.

I am going to love this rig each time I use it. :-)
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Vacuum flask with Boucher filter
Vacuum flask with Boucher filter
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by bluc »

Anyone tried this for filtering the "pudding" in bottom of corn ferment?
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

bluc wrote:Anyone tried this for filtering the "pudding" in bottom of corn ferment?
Interesting thought, to answer your question I have not. My filter works great for liqueurs I would think something as thick as your suggesting would be better accomplished through a fruit press.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by WIski »

Thanks for the idea and instruction Bushman. No more waiting on the drips for me...…. :thumbup:
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

You are the only other person I know that built one, hope it works as well for you as it has for me. Like a still after you use it a while you will find better ways to run it. Make sure that glass is strong enough not to implode, I think mine is a bit larger.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

Giving this thread a boost since it is fruit season and some are filtering.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by atarijedi »

I use a vacuum filtration system to collect yeast, and also filter my apple jack. I just glued a small barbed fitting into a hole I drilled in the lid. The capped hole was the perfect size for my 110mm buchner. Works well enough for what I use it for.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

Cool when I first came up with this idea I thought more people would jump on board, I can’t tell you how many filters I have saved with my setup.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Triplequad »

Samohon wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2011 6:37 am Am I right in thinking that I could get rid of the 4% H2o in the high-proof alcohol using a container/Funnel/Flask setup with vacume applied to the collecting flask? Maybe outside the scope of home-distillation, so please forgive my inquisitive ramblings...

Sounds interesting, keep us posted BM...
I think you would be hard pressed to get a separation with vacuum as the boiling point of etoh and water is something like 3/4 an inch of Hg apart.

Good idea though, it's not much to freeze but ...
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by bronctoad »

just made 4 gallons of apple pie drink now I'm gonna hafta make
something to filter it through :)
here I go! another rabbit hole :thumbup:
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

Good luck, I usually work my way up to coffee filters starting first with a screen, then paper towels, before going to the finer coffee filters. My vacuum system helps a lot and use it with the filters but still clogs a little but does speed things up and reduces the number of filters I need to clear the alcohol.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by bronctoad »

Thanks Bushman.
Sorry :oops: nevermind the question.
reread the thread and realize you filter mutiple times
thanks again.

bronctoad

edited to remove the already answered question :?
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Bushman »

I decided to give my old post a bump since we are heading into fruit season at least here in the US. Filtering berries can be a PITA and take a lot of time. Cooling it in the refrigerator first helps it to settle, for my my vacuum system saves a lot of time and filters.
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by BlueSasquatch »

This is great! It took me something like an hour and 15+ filters to go through a half-gallon worth the other night. I didn't wash my oak cubes and they brought over waaay to much oak dust, made for an over-oaked cloudy drink. Will need to do something similar in a future build. I like the copper one above, on a smaller scale.

Where the heck do you guys get those corks?
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by Steve Broady »

I’ve been thinking a lot about making something like this, but scaled up to accommodate a 5 gallon bucket’s contents. Mainly to separate beer from grain. Has anyone here done anything like that?
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Re: Vacuum filtration system

Post by bcook608 »

Steve Broady wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 10:07 am I’ve been thinking a lot about making something like this, but scaled up to accommodate a 5 gallon bucket’s contents. Mainly to separate beer from grain. Has anyone here done anything like that?
I think at that size you're likely going to run into issues with your filtration media clogging. Personally, if I were building one, I wouldn't go much larger than a commercial sized coffee filter in a large stainless funnel. There's no rule saying your collection container has to be equally small. Filter into a 5 gallon bucket so when your filter clogs and you need to replace it, you just stop pouring and you're not stuck with a couple of gallons of potentially stuck liquid.
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