Tubing

How often do you change out the tubing you use for your auto siphon and bottling? It seems impossibly difficult to clean it well and to get it to full dry after cleaning. I am usually pretty cheap, but cleanliness is so important to out hobby and I do not want to use dirty tubing.

Personally... I think it's pretty hard to clean, but it's pretty hard to get really dirty too. The beer flows through and doesn't stand and all really... it doesn't leave much behind. I usually run some PBW water through mine immeidately after use, then run a few rinsing blasts through it and hang it to dry. I change mine every year or so... prior to this past weekend I hadn't brewed since December. I did a complete tubing swap for the whole brewery.

I've been using the same autosiphon/tube for several years now. I just run PBW through it after brew day and Star San before.

Tubing is cheap, but if it aint broke, why fix it? As long as it is visibly clean and I am following my sanitation procedure, I'm not going to worry about it.

I have to say rinsing immediately after use is of vital importance. Otherwise it gets moldy and disgusting and is impossible to clean.

My procedure is much like those above.
Rack wort/beer. Run water through a for a bit, then mix up a small batch of pbw/oxyclean and run that through 2-3 times, then spray outside with starsan mixture and siphon a bit of that back and forth then take apart and hang to dry. Don't worry too much about getting it to dry completely.

It seems that I am doing the same as you all are doing. It would seem that I am in good company and I will not worry about it anymore. Thank you.

I went 2 years without changing mine--never really thought to. Then I got 2 funky batches and couldn't figure out why. One look at my auto siphon tubing and I realized why. Now the second it gets a weird haze to it I replace it. it's only $1 or so and it insures my beer does not get funkmatized.

All you guys are forgetting something. After PBW and a good rinse, you really should Starsan it, then hang up to dry. I actually rarely dry my racking hoses, they remain under Starsan, ready for the next use. It seems I'm always racking something a couple times a week. They turn cloudy, but get clear again after prolonged drying. I keep them in use for about a year, or even longer.

I do run a 3' line brush through the hoses too every now and then, and a few days ago I noticed a brown gooey residue on the bristles when pulling it out. There was nothing visible inside the hose... ==> into the PBW again. I may replace that one for peace of mind.

IslandLizard said:

All you guys are forgetting something. After PBW and a good rinse, you really should Starsan it, then hang up to dry. I actually rarely dry my racking hoses, they remain under Starsan, ready for the next use. It seems I'm always racking something a couple times a week. They turn cloudy, but get clear again after prolonged drying. I keep them in use for about a year, or even longer.

I do run a 3' line brush through the hoses too every now and then, and a few days ago I noticed a brown gooey residue on the bristles when pulling it out. There was nothing visible inside the hose... ==> into the PBW again. I may replace that one for peace of mind.

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When I use a blow off tube the tubing sits in star san for a good couple of weeks. It comes out cloudy and slimy. I just never wanted to leave my racking cane hose in there like that. That doesn't happen to you? The slimy feeling I mean.


I brewed for about 7 months before I changed my auto siphon hoses. I do a lot of dark beers, use the cane and then rinse immediately but the beer still stains the tubing a bit. I figured at some point I would just change the tubing as it is very cheap.

I use high pressure 180degree water to clean my hoses after each use; and before each use i do the same thing then i soak it in starsan, i have not replaced my hoses yet and i batch every two weeks

Hello said:

When I use a blow off tube the tubing sits in star san for a good couple of weeks. It comes out cloudy and slimy. I just never wanted to leave my racking cane hose in there like that. That doesn't happen to you? The slimy feeling I mean.

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Well you know what some people think of us lizards...

And yes, the hoses get a slick coating over time if not handled, but it wipes off. I also run a brush on the inside when I notice that.
I have even noticed a white milky residue inside the hoses after a few weeks of being submerged in Starsan. Actually I have a clear plastic tote with 2.5-3.5 gallons of Starsan with all kinds of brewing stuff soaking in it perpetually. They tend to get slick too. And after 2 months or so a white, almost powdery residue settles on the bottom.

I now rotate the Starsan more often, using 3 work containers. The scummiest gets dumped. I also stick kegs upside down in a half bucket of Starsan when sanitizing them, and before filling.

Our water is relatively soft, and I use filtered water (10" charcoal block filter) for Starsan and brewing. I expect the EDTA sequesters whatever minerals (and metals) are in there and perhaps the surfactant plays a role in that too. Then Calcium Phosphate precipitates, and it maybe just that.

Hello said:

I brewed for about 7 months before I changed my auto siphon hoses. I do a lot of dark beers, use the cane and then rinse immediately but the beer still stains the tubing a bit. I figured at some point I would just change the tubing as it is very cheap.

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I guess any beer leaves a residue, but the lighter ones are not as visible. Beerstone (Calcium Oxalate) is a known wall clinger, and there are hop oils, resins, and many other components in the mix we call beer. And vinyl hoses are not impervious, or they wouldn't stain so quickly or turn milky in water/Starsan. My thick silicone brewing hoses are stained too, and they definitely soak up hops and wort components, judging from the color of the PBW and Starsan after a good soaking.

No set timetable, usually about 2 years. After use I run water thru them and then sanitizer. Run sanitizer thru them again before use too.

I do the same and every now and then I use a tube brush. Sometimes red wine transfers leave some residue. The oxiclean does a good job, the brush makes it even better.

About every 5 or so uses, I've been mixing up a batch of hot PBW in a gallon jug and pushing the hose in slowly so it coils around the bottom and draws the solution through it. After an overnight soak it comes out spotless, and a quick rinse gets it good as new. The ends seem to hold some crud, so I like to cut off 1/2 inch after a thorough cleaning. The bubbling of the PBW seems to do a good job of knocking out the residue, especially after racking darker wine. Has worked well for a year, so far...

As others:

*Rinse immediately - very well.
*Submerge in star san for 5-10 minutes while I am doing other things in the process (I keep a 5-10 gall tub of starsan in brew room for dunking soaking..... I change that out maybe ever 1-2 months depending.)
*Hang tubing up so that it can drain

PBW soaks for blowoff tubing, rinse, starsan

Another trick you can try if you need - take a small splitshot sinker (fishing) and put it on the end of a 3-5ft (or however long you need) piece of fishing line. Tie a small piece of clothe to the other end. Drop the singer through the tubing, pull the fishing line and string through the inside of the tubing. Think of it like a "Bore Snake" for cleaning a gun.

To be honest though, if you are cleaning "gunk" out of your tubing, probably just best to get new tubing. I will replace sections of mine as soon as I don't like the way it looks. Probably every 6-12 months. I don't use much tubing - mainly just cobra tap lines, a 3-4 ft. section for draining from fermenter to keg...... that is about it. What is a dollar worth of tubing in relation to screwing up a batch of beer?

I have actually started to clean mine with oxyclean immediately after use then a rinse with starsan. Then i put in the dryer with a bath towel for about 5 minutes. Nice and dry inside!! I dont see a problem with a short time in the dryer does anybody???

I take the spigot off my bottling bucket, hook it to the tubing; ( make sure it's in the on position ). Hold it tight to the faucet and run hot water through it.

harleybug88 said:

I take the spigot off my bottling bucket, hook it to the tubing; ( make sure it's in the on position ). Hold it tight to the faucet and run hot water through it.

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Not a bad idea.
Rinse, hang, sanitize prior to use.