najel

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Hello!
SO I have a question about siphoning. I usually start my siphon by filling the tubing with sanitizing solution (but not the racking cane) and then dropping the first bit into a cup, then on to the vessel I am transferring to.
Problem is that I have noticed there are always tiny air bubbles in the flow, and it also flows really slow, sometimes even stops. This happens when I use the previous method as well as a carboy cover which I blow into to force the beer out of the carboy.
Is this normal? I looked at some videos on youtube and it seems there should be a better flow (like here ). DO you guys have any idea what could cause this?
Thanks for any help!

bdh

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How much drop is there between your source and destination? If you can make the drop bigger you should get a higher flow rate. Also, are there bubbles in the racking cane too, or do the bubbles start where the tubing attaches to the racking cane? If you're getting bubbles where the tubing connects, then try some smaller diameter tubing.

najel

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I keep the source bucket on a table and the other one on the floor, so the drop should be around 30" or so. I think the bubbles seem to appear where the tubing connects to the racking cane, but I will make sure to observe that more closely next time I siphon. The tubing is a pretty tight fit already, but I will check if I can find something smaller that still fits.
Thanks!

hogwash

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Try a hose clamp for a better seal where the tube connects to the cane. You might also try squeezing the tube at the joint to try to get it rounded out so the whole thing fills with beer so there's no air...I hope that makes sense...

hopkid

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I couldn't find a hose clamp the other day when I transferred so I just used a zip tie and my bubbles were gone.

AnchorBock

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I switched from 3/8" tubing to 5/16" tubing on my 3/8" auto siphon and the bubbles went away.

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kh54s10

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If the bubbles are not starting from the connection of the cane to the tubing it is probably co2 coming out of solution and nothing to worry about.

As to the flow, how big is your tubing? Any restrictions in the equipment.

I use an autosiphon. It seems so much easier than what I saw in that video.

najel

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My tubing is not labeled, but I tried to measure it as good as I could and I believe the ID to be 5/16". I will try using a hose clamp next time, and maybe that will help.
I also saw a different method of starting the siphon in a youtube video where instead of just filling the tubing, they filled the tubing and racking cane with tap water, than siphoned sanitizing solution with that, and then siphoned the beer with that. That seems risky as to if your thumb slips off the end, you would get quite a bit of sanitizer in your beer.
So maybe it is time to get an autosiphon, seems like everybody who has one is pretty happy with it. I will report back, thanks for all the advise so far!

TBaGZ

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Took me using a racking cane for one batch to buy an autosiphon.

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jperry

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I notice with the autosiphon that i need to pump it hard 1-3 times, in order, to get a really strong flow that knocks all those bubbles away. I had the same problem... thankfully, i figured that out with starsan, before i aerated the crap out of my brew.