Beaker and wrench filter

So I’ve had my beaker and wrench filter for a bout a year now and have been super disappointed with it. After the first time using it the filter plate clogged after half a 5 gallon bucket and has not been able to be cleaned. I’ve tried warm hexane warm ethanol multiple ways of cleaning. I figured I would order a new filter plate for it and when the new ones came they were cut to big for the plate and did not filter either. It’s frustwrating spending your hard earned money on products that don’t work.

I know a few people who have the same problem so if you have had the same problem please post.

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@Lilibel any insight here?

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I forgot to mention the filter took over a hour to do half a 5 gallon bucket. The claims of it filtering 20L a hour I have not yet seen.

I really like the people at beaker and wrench which is why it is so disappointing.

How are you building your filter cake? Are you creating a slurry then using the pump to add it to the filter and dry it out or do you pour it in?

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So heres my opinion backed by experience and my adornment for the folks at B&W:

The pump they sell is killer.

Their filter is for removing adsorbants such as fine carbon particles and is not adequate for winterizing.

So what next?

Ace mentioned to me hes gonna be working on some filter cartridges in the future to market towards winterization. (@Lilibel if this is not true let me know )

Why do cartridges work better? More surface area to prevent clogging. Id buy a stainless steel beer/ wine filter cartridge in 30 micron, 15 micron and 5 micron and finish with the media/adsorbant loaded beaker and wrench filter for a pristine solution.

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Nailed it right on the head - however I do think 8" diameter for a flat-faced filter is pretty small for our purposes.

If filtration is taking an entire hour, I recommend keeping it chilled the whole time. On a standard 12" perforated plate filter, I can typically go through a 5 gallon bucket in 20-25 minutes maximum, using only 10-15 psi head pressure and a 1 cfm water ring vacuum pump. And that is pretty damn slow.

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Slutty and suck it in with the pump then let it drain a bit before adding winterized media

Have t gotten a response from anyone from beaker and wrench was suppose to get a call from ace a few days ago never did so I called today and I’m suppose to here from him tonight but they said they are extremely busy so it is hard to get ahold of people.

To me that is great I am glad they are busy but that is not a excuse at all.

I tried today filtering with a even 50 micron screen and it took over 3 hours to drain out of the system. I obviously just let it run to see what’s the problem. These are brand new never been used filter plates to.

Adding cotton to the system didn’t even help.

This is not a excuse for selling a product that doesn’t do as advertised. It was sold as a winterization unit not as a unit specifically for carbon products.

I would like to work with ace or be able to chat with him to go over some ideas on fixing it but I guess I’m to small of a business to care to make a phone call.

Very disappointing cause I live beaker and wrench and use a ton of there products

Well i am in no way affiliated with them so i cannot comment. However, if youre looking to repurpose the filter, it would be an excellent “CRC” filter given that it has the 5 micron sintered disc. Also do you have their filter pump? @anon42519203 is playing around with heptane color remediation using a very similar setup on Instagram.

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I no longer use the beaker and wrench filter because the filter plates have clogged and i cant get them fully clean. Ive tried every solvent possible (acetone, heptane, hexane, ethanol, methanol, even 35% hydrogen peroxide from the hydro store). I soak them over night, i scrub them, i even run clean solvent through the plate with the pump, i cant get them to filter the way they did the first time i used them. After every use i get less and less filtration even when i soak the plate overnight in hexane. I always use silica and after a while no matter what micron (5,20,50 or 100) they all clog. I dont understand how this is possible if silica is a 1 micron “filter”.

Try messaging them on instagram. Shes usually available on there at least to get quick info… but as far as sales. The best method is the website. Usually pretty easy to setup a purchase on there

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What type of media are you filtering out with it? Not all powders are creates equal and particle siZe is entirely a factor. Ive used cheap carbons and silicas… they end up super slow… yet stuff i get from carbon chem or summit will work really well to stack up without binding the setup… this may help…

I did a 12” tall bed of 6 types of powders in a 6” filter press setup using their pump… did about 5 gallons in about an hour… i just let it do its thing in the corner while i worked on other stuff. I try to minimize the amount of solvent i use to get it to run through… you can always push in fresh solvent to push through the last bit of everything… which in the case where youre reusing the same column pack… this also cleans an preps the column. :man_shrugging:

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OP is trying to winterize, but perhaps it should be repurposed for color remediation. That color came out amazing

I only use carbon chemistry and summit products. Currently using summit silica and carbon chemistry carbon.

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Hmm, what pressure are you running the beaker and wrench pump at?

Oh! Ya its not made for winterization. Get a lenticular for that…

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Then why did the advertise it to do 20 gallons a out of winterization. I’m def going to be asking for a return or my money back. I have emails from them stating it is meant for winterization and what it is suppose to do a hour.

I have it set to 90 psi

what temp are you doing your filtrations… it may be sop related as well… i dont use anything less then 20 micron until the final push… as well as everything has a maximum load.

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Beaker and wrench is giving me a full refund of the filter and have been good to work with. Actually one employee has been great to work with I don’t wanna day his name on the thread though.

I’m happy with getting a full refund.

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