Method and device for filling barrels

An apparatus for carrying out a method wherein a barrel is filled with a product comprising a liquid in which at least one gas is dissolved and the barrel is pre-stressed with a pre-stress gas before being filled with the liquid, said apparatus comprising:

• a filling station;
• a feed line, by which product liquid is supplied for filling a barrel provided at the filling station;
• a return gas line, by which pre-stress gas escaping from the barrel is taken away;
• a flow meter provided at the filling station for determining the flow rate in the feed line for the filling station;
• an adjustable diaphragm for adjusting the product volume flow;
• and
• a controller responsive to the flow meter for regulating the opening and closing of the diaphragm.

A method for filling barrels with a product at corresponding filling stations each connected to a feed line and having a filling valve, said product comprising a liquid, in which at least one gas is dissolved, said method comprising:

• pre-stressing each barrel with a pre-stress gas at a partial pressure, roughly corresponding to the saturation pressure of one gas dissolved in the liquid;
• after pre-stressing the barrels, feeding the product in a volume stream to the barrels by means of the corresponding filling valve;
• measuring the flow-through rate of the product in each product feed line;
• regulating the flow-through rate in the feed line by adjusting the product volume stream on the basis of previously determined filling data that is stored in a data-processing unit;
• and
• removing the pre-stress gas contained in the barrels.