Vacuum filtration, whats the secret?

[BigRonWannabee]

I was visiting another board recently and ran across a post about vacuum filtration units. I understand that more and more people are using this method to sterilize thier homebrew. My question is this... A few members on the other board were boasting that there are methods you can use when doing vacuum flitering such that you can transfer the filtered gear to vials without it touching outside air. They would NOT reveal the "secret methods" even through PM or email. WTF is the big secret??? I know this might be a shot in the dark, but has anyone figured out a way to transfer gear to vials from the receiving flask safely? Is it not that much of a concern if you have a breeze-free environment? I dont work in a lab, I dont need some dust particles in my gear. So whats the word fellas?

 

[pullinbig]

i dont worry about it. the breeze free enviroment is all you need and a relatively clean area. if you think about t even if you did transfer the solution into sterile vials with out contacting air there is no way to inject without the pin being exposed to air. I pump air in the vials before drawing to make drawing easier. if air bubbles enter the vial while drawing air is in there.

 

[syko]

Maybe they have two filters going...one for filteration, and the other is a pump from the sterile vial into a pin of some sort....and once the filteration is done, they activate the other pump which pumps sterile gear into vials through a hose and a pin...

 

[pullinbig]

maybe they draw it out with a syringe and put it in sterile vials. you still gotta aspirate though. =0) if there is negative pressure on the vial when you aspirate, guess what? air goes in there.

I worked for bayer biologicals for several years and i watched the process many times in the filling lines. this was a clean enviroment but the vials where open then capped. major concern was mold in air. they did not have a breeze free enviroment. constant air flow was part of sterility.

dont know why i added that other than to sound like i know what i am talkig about. lolololololololol it had little to do with what we were discussing. =0)

 

[grafixLSUalum]

a.2um filter will get rid of most contaminents that i know of, including pb's free-ranging std's... ive been brewing for a while and never felt the need to use vacuum filtration (thought about it though), if it aint broke, dont fix it eh?

 

[grafixLSUalum]

plus, its a helluva forearm workout

 

[BigRonWannabee]

plus, its a helluva forearm workout

yes it is. Ill skip dumbbell wrist curls if I brew something up that week.

 

[grafixLSUalum]

very true...

 

[ld50]

i'll be tryin out the vacuum filtration for a change. you are never going to keep the solution from coming into contact with air. it has never been an issue, so I'm not going to start worrying about it. even when you aspirate for baking, you got contact. Unless, of course, you use my "no aspirating heat sterilization " method.

 

[pullinbig]

a.2um filter will get rid of most contaminents that i know of, including pb's free-ranging std's... ive been brewing for a while and never felt the need to use vacuum filtration (thought about it though), if it aint broke, dont fix it eh?

std's = stud service. and after that drunk you pulled you are fully aware of the service. which i generously provided free of charge.

but what about those pesky endotoxins?

the only reason i vacum filter is because i had a pump and T made me get it out and try it again. i had no success with it a couple of years ago but found an interesting twist to make it work with syringe filters.

i will be ordering some of the stericups soon and then i can do 250ml at the time. .22 filter as well so a cleaner brew.

it takes about 30 minutes now for 120ml to filter. i set it up and leave the room. come back after a while and its done.

ah.... the frugal gourmet'

 

[BigRonWannabee]

How do you get it to work with syringe filters peebs. I want detailed instructions with diagrams and pie charts.

 

[pullinbig]

i have the beaker setting on the hot plate on low after making solution. tube from this to an adapter which i have stuck in the end of a syrige with the stopper pulled out. then a filter screwed on the syringe. filter is attached to the the recieving port on the lid of the receiving vial. another tube from the the exit port on the lid to the pump. i pump it up to about 29lbs and let her rip.

next time i set it up ill take a couple of pics and post them. may be a few weeks though.

 

[BigRonWannabee]

sounds good, im goin to hold u to that cuz i want to see some pics. I cant really visualize the setup but maybe im just slow.

 

[pullinbig]

no you not slow i am verbally challenged is all.

if you think my typing is bad you should here me talk. it makes me draw away at how freakin country i am. lolololololol when i call home if the answering machine picks up I am like "who is that"? its me.

 

[Spook]

There are sterile and disposable plastic vacuum beaker and funnel assemblies that can be purchased if you want the end product to be sterile in the beaker attachment, but to keep it sterile, you will need a glove box for transfer. Vacuum methods are very easy and make your wrist feel so much better as opposed to pushing on a plunger for an hour. However, you have to have a hand pump vacuum to use or an electric vacuum pump which can be expensive ($300 or more for a decent vacuum). Its not worth it unless you plan on suspending alot of steroids, but simply by vacuuming doesn't always make it sterile. I worked in a pathology lab long enough to know that if you want sterility without autoclaving or baking, then you are fighting an uphill battle that can get costly to get those results.

 

[pullinbig]

most bake here. hand pump or syringe it dont matter. vacumm has nothing to do with sterility. most of the guys here make solutions and not suspensions as well. we were talking about transferring solutions from a sterile beaker to vials. its not a big deal. some are using stericups or like i do strelize my collection beaker each time. I will ventually switch over to the 250ml stericups. they are about 15 bucks a pop.

 

[Mudge]

Thats why it would be so great, eaaaaaaaasy. Just like my brake bleeder, it makes the job so much faster and easier.