Whole House water filters for wine

[spree]

John, I like these filters for whites http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-PD-1-934-Sediment-Filter.asp and these for reds http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-WPD-110-water-filters.asp
I highly suggest geting the housing and everything here as its actually way cheaper then Home Depot even after shipping!
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-158117-Filter-Housing.asp
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-SW-1A-filter-wrench.asp
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-244047-filter-mounting-bracket.asp
If you cant find the nylon 1/4" NPT fittings to 3/8" racking hose that screw in to the housing let me know as I still have a bunch of these.

Wade how often do you change filters? with each racking/bottling? I'm considering picking this up to add to my setup.

 

[milbrosa]

just wanna make sure. if i bought these three things, would i be set? or would i still need to buy fittings?

http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-158117-Filter-Housing.asp
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-244047-filter-mounting-bracket.asp
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-PD-1-934-Sediment-Filter.asp

If that filter housing has buttress threads, I believe it will not work. It will suck air. I base this on extensive testing I did a couple years ago with a different Pentek filter.

I'm not engineer, but as best I was able to determine, buttress threads are designed to hydraulically seal in one direction only. In the cannister body the threads are sloped 45 degrees on their upper surface and are horizontally flat on their bottom surface. In the head, the upper surface of the thread is flat and the bottom surface is sloped 45 degrees. The canister and the head press against each other when under internal fluid pressure, and thus make a more leak-resistant seal. But under vacuum, the flats of the threads in the head and the body pull slightly apart and provide a path for air to enter.

Here is a photo that shows the two types of threads. Be sure to buy a filter that has the square "Acme" thread design. It has the same profile on the upper and lower surface of the thread, so it works under vacuum or under pressure.

http://www.h2odistributors.com/filter-housing-threads.asp

Anyway, that's my advice. Someone who claimed to be an engineer disputed my observations but didn't provide any evidence other than his own anecdotal results using GE filters with Acme threads. I believe he is mistaken.

The filter I tried that I could not get to work without pulling in air was this one - Pentek 158623 1/2" 3G Slim Line 10" Clear Housing

It's a 1/2 inch, which is bigger than the one you are considering. Maybe with lower vacuum and/or smaller diameter fittings, the 1/4 inch filter will work. But I recommend you avoid filter housings with buttress threads all the same.

 

[Wade E]

The only thing different between these 2 is the threaded fittings. The gasket is what seals these units so I cant see what could possibly be the problem with what you were doing unless youi had 1 with a bad O ring or maybe you were putting it under a much hoigher vacuum? We only go up to 22" of vacuum with these pumps and I know mine holds that no problem. Actually we arent even puting that much vacuum on one as we are racking the wine not degassing it so probably no higher then say about 12" of vacuum can really be achieved during this.

 

[milbrosa]

The only thing different between these 2 is the threaded fittings. The gasket is what seals these units so I cant see what could possibly be the problem with what you were doing unless youi had 1 with a bad O ring or maybe you were putting it under a much hoigher vacuum? We only go up to 22" of vacuum with these pumps and I know mine holds that no problem. Actually we arent even puting that much vacuum on one as we are racking the wine not degassing it so probably no higher then say about 12" of vacuum can really be achieved during this.

I didn't have a bad o-ring. I actually tested two of the filters, both brand new, both with perfectly sound and new o-rings.

The gasket is a floating design. It sits in a U-shaped channel at the top of the sump and there is no possible way it can be compressed by contact between the sump and the head. It is protected from compression by the channel it sits in. It seals by internal water pressure. I suspect that an internal vacuum unseats it from the channel wall.

I don't have a vacuum guage on my Harbor Freight vacuum pump, so I can't say how many inches I was pulling. However, I used an air valve bypass to decrease apparent vacuum (based on visual and auditory evidence), and it made no difference. In every case, the filter sucked air, with or without a filter installed in the housing.

Again, I'm not an engineer. But I tried for several days and in many ways and I could never eliminate the air leak with that Pentek housing. I removed the red button on top and sealed the hole. I tried double o-rings. I added homemade gaskets of varying thickness made of rubber or vinyl between the sump and the head. I did everything I could think of but permanently glue the head and sump together, which wouldn't be practical anyway.

It sucked air.

And both of the filters I bought are now in use under my sink, one with a sediment filter, the other with a charcoal filter, feeding a tap on my sink and my espresso machine. Neither one leaks a drop of water.

 

[grapeman]

Regardless of if the filter housing leaks a little is of little consequence Milbrosa. That housing works well for filtering under vacuum. I have used one like it for years now. Will it hold an absolute vacuum? I have no idea and really don't care. What I care about is that I hook it up properly, turn on the pump and filter away with no problems.

 

[Wade E]

That truly is strange as mine holds a 20" vacuum and will do so for over an hour (thats as long as Ive ever tested mine).Id be very curious to see if everyone elses leaks like this!

 

[harleydmn]

I did not have any problems at my first go at this. It worked very smooth, I was impress.

 

[grapeman]

Mine does not leak either.

 

[Flem]

Wade how often do you change filters? with each racking/bottling? I'm considering picking this up to add to my setup.

I clean the filter after each filtering use. I have one for reds and one for whites. I store them between filtrations in a K-meta solution. I've used both of them several times.

 

[winemaker_3352]

John, I like these filters for whites http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-PD-1-934-Sediment-Filter.asp and these for reds http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-WPD-110-water-filters.asp
I highly suggest geting the housing and everything here as its actually way cheaper then Home Depot even after shipping!
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-158117-Filter-Housing.asp
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-SW-1A-filter-wrench.asp
http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-244047-filter-mounting-bracket.asp
If you cant find the nylon 1/4" NPT fittings to 3/8" racking hose that screw in to the housing let me know as I still have a bunch of these.

Wade,

Are these filters reusable - just wash with warm warm??

How many gallons can you filter with these??

 

[ibglowin]

Totally reusable. This is my setup and filters as well. Just don't use to filter a white after filtering a red of course.

I rinse mine in water for a few minutes, toss into a gallon freezer bag and then into the freezer it goes. To reuse, I rinse warm water over it for a few minutes or just fill the filter housing with warm water and place it inside while you continue your work to get ready. Before you filter run some K-Meta through your entire filtering setup. I just pull from my 1 gallon jug of K-Meta through the filter and into my carboy. Empty the lines out. Let the filter stand on a paper towell for a few minutes to drain as much of the excess K-Meta out and then filter your carboy. This process will add about 10ppm of additional SO2 to whatever level you have currently.

I have reused a filter up to 5 times with no problems. They claim to filter 1000's of gallons of water. As they are only ~$2-$3 each I reuse a few times but don't push it too hard.

Others have made a Filter holder out of PVC with screw end caps and placed the filters inside and then backfill with K-Meta and store at room temperature.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Why do you freeze your filters??

And not store them in k-meta at rm temp?

Does anybody use the0.5 micron filters or just the 1 micron.

 

[ibglowin]

Because no bugs will grow into them if they are in the freezer. Its just a personal preference. Either method will work just fine.

Have only used 1 and 5 micron filters myself.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I was looking at this 0.5 filter:

http://www.filtersfast.com/P-Hydronix-SMCB-2510-Water-Filter.asp

It fits the clear filter housing that wade posted up:

http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-158117-Filter-Housing.asp

Thoughts on this filter??

 

[ibglowin]

You don't want to use any type of filter with any type of charcoal/carbon in it.

 

[winemaker_3352]

You don't want to use any type of filter with any type of charcoal/carbon in it.

Thanks!! That was my next question...

 

[ibglowin]

Hopefully Runningwolf or Grapeman will pop in at some point and give you a part number that they use. I have not had the need as of yet to sterile filter.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yeah - sure they will.

I found this one - no carbon.

http://www.filtersfast.com/P-Whirlpool-WHKF-DB1-0.5-Micron-Under-Sink-Filter.asp

 

[ibglowin]

Found an image for this filter.

 

[Flem]

I'm one of the guys that runs water through the filter system a couple of minutes and then I store them in a sealed PVC container with K-meta solution in it. The day before I am going to filter a wine, I take it out of the container to drain off the excess. I have one container for red and one for white. I've used each one about 5 times so far.