Enolmatic single bottle vacuum filler, what micron is sifficient to polish gin?

[needmorstuff]

I usually pull a bottle worth of product through the filter 8 or so times and empty the bottle back into the tank.

[needmorstuff]

i might actually be going crazy and the "dust" are very tiny air bubbles.

[needmorstuff]

Got the filler pulling through the 0.2 micron filter. The O-ring wasn't seated.

I am still seeing the "dust" 

I spoke to someone who reckons all filters should be pumped through and not sucked.

Maybe I will splash out on a SS filter to see what difference if any that makes.

[MichaelAtTCW]

58 minutes ago, needmorstuff said:

Got the filler pulling through the 0.2 micron filter. The O-ring wasn't seated.

I am still seeing the "dust" 

I spoke to someone who reckons all filters should be pumped through and not sucked.

Maybe I will splash out on a SS filter to see what difference if any that makes.

The SS filter will not make a difference. SS is no better than other filter media, and is worse in many ways (not as efficient and more expensive, but still has a finite lifespan, and can't be regenerated any more than normal polypropylene cartridges).

With regard to sucking vs. pushing, I agree that it is typically better to push, but you don't have much choice with the Enolmatic. Still, all things being equal, this won't contribute to dust forming in your finished product. It'll just cause hard-to-diagnose plumbing integrity issues like the one you're having

If it were me, I would try to bypass the Enol filter and use a Code 7 stainless steel housing like this. An equivalent one should be available from a food & bev supplier in your area. Code 7 housings are the standard filter for food, bev, and even pharma because it's impossible to push liquid around the double o-ring seals. Run tank-to-tank filtration with a positive displacement pump. Then run your bottling. Use a high-quality filter designed for food and bev, not water. Even a nominal filter would be fine if it's in the 0.4 or 0.6 micron range. If Graver is available in your area, their QMC filters would be a good choice. I see these guys may carry them in the UK.

If you really want to splash out on a filter, get a PES absolute-rated membrane filter at 0.65 µ. That would be ZTEC WB filters from Graver. If you're still seeing "dust" after that, then whatever is causing the dust is in solution and cannot be filtered with dead-end filtration. My guess is that's unlikely.

[needmorstuff]

thanks again Michael.

Having determined the tenco housing with their 0.2 micron rated filter still leaves me with what I perceive to be dust in my product, I also tried this 10" housing https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1077/6220/files/28_Series.pdf?1342048788503970907 with the filter in the pdf attached (from the UK guys you mentioned) - JMP1S1FB (1 micron , 10 inch absolute rated Pleated polypropylene with Am fit end cap)

This end cap fits over the spiggot of the filter housing head.

Still seeing dust!

I will look into a housing, pump and the filters you have suggested. thanks again.

 

JaguarMP REV3.pdf

[needmorstuff]

and are you saying 2 x code 7 housings?

1 just before enolmatic for final "catch all" and 1 between tanks with liquid being move by pump?

[PeteB]

A couple of options.

Is the filter cartridge sealing at the ends? Check by removing the cartridge and see if there are pressure marks in the ends of the cartridge. I have silicone washers that I sometimes need on the end of a new filter.

You mentioned above that the "dust" might be bubbles. A strong vacuum can certainly create bubbles, is the "dust" still there the next day?

[MichaelAtTCW]

Those plastic housings you linked to are easier to blow by than Code 7 housings. They're great for non-mission-critical applications—water, depth filtration with melt blown or spun filtration—but there is the potential that material can sneak by if there are any weak points in the seal as @PeteB points out. The Code 7 housings eliminate this issue by using two o-rings and locking tabs for a seal. I've never seen any blow-by with Code 7 housings.

3 hours ago, needmorstuff said:

and are you saying 2 x code 7 housings?

1 just before enolmatic for final "catch all" and 1 between tanks with liquid being move by pump?

No, I'm saying just one housing, but break it out into two steps. Do your main filtration by hooking a pump up to the tank of unfiltered product and pushing it through the Code 7 housing into another tank. Then bottle from that tank. If you want to keep an "insurance" filter onstream during bottling, just put the Code 7 housing inline with the Enol filler, and bypass the Enol's housing. Seems like the Enol housing's filter could be the weak point in the equation.

[needmorstuff]

thanks everyone.

 

[needmorstuff]

Ok - under a critical eye and the light of day with my glasses on and a magnifying glass, my dust is actually tiny tiny bubbles that occur when the bottle is handled roughly.

That is filtered through the series 28 plastic housing and a 1 micron filter.