Done with filter, now what?

[kev211]

So Santa brought me a few goodies this year... Of those being a immersion chiller and a more beer 10" water filter system. I'm super excited about using both of them but thought about something when I was looking them over/admiring them...

With work and life in general, as it stands right now I only get around to brewing every month/month and a half. What I'm wondering is this... Since there's a pretty good time frame between brew days, what do I do with the filter once I'm done with it? I'm assuming I don't just want to leave the filter sitting in the housing all wet, but will I encounter any issues with the cartridge if I put it in the window to dry after? Probably a noob question, but I wanna do what's best for my equipment/beer. Thanks and Merry Christmas!!

 

[Yellowirenut]

I was wondering the same thing.
Mine is a carbon filter from Menard's though. Its been 8 months since I've brewed and its now sitting in a storage unit. I am going to get a new filter but with brewing once a month I am unsure about proper drying or storing the container/filter full of star-san solution.

 

[Chrisl77]

You can drain the water out of it if you want and leave it in the housing. Carbon is like a sponge it will soak up water and get saturated and takes a very long time to dry out. If its vinyl tubing connecting it you could kink the tubing on the inlet and outlet, and keep it filled with water as well. My ro system only gets used during brew days. I just run a couple minutes of water through it to flush it out before I fill my hlt.

 

[IslandLizard]

This is a really good question, wondering about that myself: Standing water and whatever microbes are in there.

As said before, I don't think those filters dry quickly enough if left out in the open, where they can attract more bugs.

 

[kev211]

Well I'm glad I wasn't the only one with this question. I figured it probably was a no brained question that I couldn't wrap my head around haha

 

[Chrisl77]

If its 3/8 tubing on it you can get 2 of these shut off valves and put them on the inlet and outlet to seal the water inside the housing.

 

[BasementLurker]

If it's this water filter, then it says in the description to disassemble it and store it dry.

http://morebeer.com/products/water-filter-kit-10-inch.html

 

[rossi46]

I pull mine after brewing, let drain over night, and put them in a big zip lock bag and throw it in the freezer.

 

[govner1]

Put the cartridge in the freezer between uses. Prevents bacterial growth.

 

[dutchoven]

I just let my carbon block filter drain/dry (several days) then store within the dry outer casing -- keeps the dust off it. I pull the gaskets off and store them with my weldless fittings. I don't worry too much about microbial growth as the block filters dry fairly quickly and the water is going to be boiled anyhow.