JoeSpartaNJ

Recipes 

I need to buy a new auto siphon anyway. I switched back to buckets and the blow siphon will not work on it. Hopefully it is something that simple.

MrVol

Recipes 

I got lots of air in my first batch, and it didn't seem to affect it one bit.

dbrewski

Recipes 

Even with the auto siphon, the beer coming out of the dip tube into the tubing creates an air pocket. I usually get the siphon going then squeeze the tubing right at the top by bending it down, this flushes the air out.

chickypad

Recipes 

that sounds like a good way to make your oxidation problems worse

treydobass

Recipes 

This is true. I thought I could find a way to slowly/calmly pour, but that was just ridiculous. BUBBLE QUESTION SOLVED. It actually is a poor seal. Its the rubber plunger inside the siphon. The vacuum created by the downward fall of the beer out of the siphon is greater than that of what the seal can withstand, so air starts to leak in. Pour a little beer into a sanitized glass and pour that on top of the plunger/inside the siphon. No more bubbles.

Bigcorona

Recipes 

I have the problem of a bad seal where the siphon hose attaches to the auto siphon. I am using vinel tubing attaching with a screw ring clamp. I can not get the clamp tight enough to stop the air leak. If I try, I crack the auto siphon. Does anyone have a solution to this? Different hose? Different clamp?

Jboyles123

Recipes 

An air bubble forms in mine at the same spot, but it's not a leak, it's just trapped air. As mentioned earlier, I can just squeeze, the tubing over the bubble and it will flush out the air.

Calichusetts

Recipes 

I think something else is going on here...until I bought my bottling bucket I was siphoning 4 times before bottles (primary to secondary, secondary to bottling "pot" followed by another siphon into the bottles) Yet I never experienced any oxidation.

I even considered that I was making hoppy IPA that I drank young and that could be masking the oxidation, but after my BoPils which bottle conditioned for 4 months, I realized this was not the case. I sometimes get the little bubbles at the bend of the racking cane...I find an extra push of the auto-siphon fixes this. I don't even consider myself the most careful of siphoners out there but something has to be going on to get oxidation like you explain. Can't help you but when I used to siphon, I would also use the squeeze technique to elimate problem.

kylevester

Recipes 

Introducing AIR or CO2? If you're just hooking up an aquarium pump to blow it out...that's a big issue there.

If it's CO2, then purge your keg prior to siphoning (or bottles), and/or take the siphon tube off and buy a tube that's 1/16" to 1/8" smaller ID. Attach to the racking cane by either gently heating with a lighter or dunking the end of the tube into hot water for 5 seconds or so and you'll get a nice tight seal and no air intake. (If you see bubbles after this, it's due to the entrained CO2 in the beer you're transferring, not a leak. You could also be seeing this with a tight clamped set-up.)

Other usual causes of oxygenation:
1. Splashing beer while transferring: make sure siphon tube is all the way to the bottom of the vessel being transferred to
2. Oxygenating at too high a temp after boil: don't vigorously stir until below 90 F when cooling

Those are the two biggest in addition to non-purging of vessels.

Good luck!

sch21c

Recipes 

I need to try this. When I was transferring my last batch into the bottling bucket I noticed quite a bit of bubbles coming up. I was planning on getting a larger auto siphon thinking a larger ID tube would generate less bubbles, but I'll try this first. Thanks!