Siphoning Help Please

I am a total newbie to beer making (and this forum). A friend of mine says that I should use a Super Jiggler siphon hose for transferring my beer when I am doing the reracking process. I ferment my beer in a 20 gallon plastic garbage can. I found this Super Jiggler on the internet but I have very little money and I also live in a rural area where you have to drive miles to get to a city where I can buy the proper equipment. Any thoughts on the best and cheapest way to rerack my beer? Thanks.

Wow. First I an very interested in knowing more about your fermenter. Are you really filling a 20 gallon vessel with beer??

But besides that, you can easily siphon using some cheap parts. This is one thing I do:

Add a "T" (mine's stainless, but a food grade plastic T will work fine) in the racking hose. It should be placed high enough up on the hose to allow your hose to reach the bottom of whatever you are racking into. Place a pinch device on the short piece of plastic coming off from that T.

What you will do is block the long end with your sanitized finger while sucking on the short part. This will cause the siphon to start. Once it's started, pinch the short hose closed.

THIS KEEPS YOUR NASTY GERMS FORM EVER REACHING THE BEER.

You can also pick up what's called an Autosiphon, which is like a siphon pump. They are not too expensive, but if you don't have ready access to a store then it might be harder to get than a simple T and pinching device (like a pair of vice grips, or an actual plastic pinch clamp)

I prefer both of these methods to the old fashioned sanitizer you hands and dunk the whole siphon hose into the beer and plug the ends while pulling one end out to put into the secondary.

Lastly, you may consider not using a secondary for most beers. A lot of people are finding that there is no danger to their finished beer by leaving it in the primary for several weeks, and some feel it actually improves their beer brewing by eliminating that extra step.

Of course you'd still need a siphon of some sort for bottling/kegging...

No idea what a Super Jiggler is, but it sounds dirty.

20 gallon garbage can? Are those things food grade?

If you're low on materials, you could use some vinyl tubing. Fill it up with sanitizer, plug one end, drop the other into the beer which should be placed higher than your other container, let the sanitizer run out into a pot or the ground until beer comes out (this creates the siphon), plug the hole again, then rack to your new vessel.

Super jiggler will work just don't work it too hard and splash the beer around

CHEAPEST...

Fill your hose with no rinse sanitizer, pinch both ends, drop one end in your beer, the other end in a bucket. After the clear sanitizer drains through pinch the end and go into your next vessel.

No sucking whatsoever.

Grumpybumpy said:

20 gallon garbage can? Are those things food grade?.

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Eh... Doesn't sound like it. Unless food = garbage?

Anyone?

+1 for autosiphon

here is a good descriptive video...

Thanks everybody for your input...

I use my birdbath for lambics

You don't need to waste money on a siphoning device if you don't have money burning a hole in your pocket. Siphons are simple to start. If you MUST purchase extra equipment to siphon, just buy one of those carboy caps that have two holes/inlets on them. Racking cane goes in one, and you just blow (after mouthwash rinse) into the other tube. Air pressure fills the racking cane with liquid and the siphon starts right away. Simple - plus easier and cheaper than the auto-siphon.

Rubbermaid Brutus trashcans are food grade plastic. BYO had an interesting article on converting them.

cheezydemon3 said:

Rubbermaid Brutus trashcans are food grade plastic. BYO had an interesting article on converting them.

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What an interesting 3000th post!

Now I'm wondering.....what did you boil in? What's your total volume in the trashcan?

Grumpybumpy said:

What an interesting 3000th post!

Now I'm wondering.....what did you boil in? What's your total volume in the trashcan?

Click to expand...

Lol, I haven't made the leap yet.

Only way I could figure, was to mash all specialty grains in my tun, and boil 25 lbs or so of DME, and then top up to the 33 gallons.

the real hump to overcome would be the freakish amount of hops required with such a low utilization percentage.

Oh that second part was to the op...but your response is still something to mull over. I think I'd rather make 5 batches over the course of a weekend rather than mess with all that!

Yeah, It would be nice for a nice blonde or other session beer. Just have a line run into the fridge with a picnic tap on it, top up the SWMBO keg whenever it needs it.

I have found that you can add a gallon of uncarbed beer to 3.5 or so gallons carbed and no real difference. Serve immediately.

ALSO....

you could brew 5 batches and still put them all into the 1 fermenter.