I'm sure someone has already did this but thought I'd post a pic, I can post a parts list if anyone wants it..works like a champ, and no more chance of oxidizing. .straight from the fermentor to the keg...
No more auto siphon for me..
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Does this add any carb. to the beer while transferring it over? I would love to do this less mess setup and I have0 the Co2 tank and hoses, just never thought of it.
motobrewer
I'm no atheist scientist, but...
be very very careful when doing this. you can easily over-pressurize a glass carboy. best case the cap just blows off. worst case.....
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poislb
Well-Known Member
Shouldnt, your just putting about 2 lbs of psi in there. Just enough to blanket the beer and push it out. I plan on using the shut off on the valve to regulate pressure, so still kinda babysitting it but should be a lot easier than an autosiphon..and no more bubbles trying to get it going.
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poislb
Well-Known Member
the racking cane is in the center, then attach whatever size hose ya need to drain into your keg..
standard 6 gallon carboy cap
Cold plate fitting, out
Gas and nut assembly, the barb/ nut style..
racking cane
Hose
Co2 tank and regulator.
I will take some close up pics of the parts later, a pic worth a thousand words..
All parts were purchased at northern brewer..
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
A guy in our homebrew club just did a presentation on transferring from the carboy to the keg without ever exposing the beer to oxygen. He uses this method, and pushes the beer into the liquid port of the keg, which has been filled with CO2. On the gas side, he just has a gas connection hooked up so it lets the CO2 out while the beer flows in. He also uses a scale to measure when he reaches 5 gallons, but that's a whole different discussion... The point is, he never has to open the keg, and if he's storing a beer for a really long time, he never worries about oxydation since the beer has never been exposed to oxygen.
PasbitinusBluinusRibbinus
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Any way to do it with a bucket?
Hoppity
Just brew it!
Just put gamma lids on all of my buckets and was thinking about converting one with a gas powered siphon. May have to head to Homey's to figure it out.
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poislb
Well-Known Member
Also when ya first get her going pinch the hose a few times so it completely fills up...trial and error on some water...1 lb works great, once the tube fills up and ya get a siphon ya can shut the Co2 off...wish I would have did this year's ago..
Is oxidation when transferring from fermenter to keg that big a deal? It' s not like I'm splashing my beer around when transferring. Once the beer starts siphoning, the hose is under water so to speak. Just curious whether this is worth going to the trouble.
If you do test it with a bucket, please let us know how it works. I would love to start transferring this way
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poislb
Well-Known Member
How to siphon beer using co2: https://youtu.be/LOG_jVF_zRk
Sorry there's no narrative in my video, I'm not a camera person...lol
Sorry there's no narrative in my video, I'm not a camera person...lol
Funny , I was thinking the same thing. I purge my kegs w / CO2 before racking from my carboy using an Auto-Siphon. The CO2, being heavier than air creates a blanket over the beer. The only real potential source for oxidation would/should be leaks in the siphon tubing or excessive splashing.
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orangehero
Well-Known Member
This is false, there is no blanket. Also you have to purge the keg several times with CO2 to get most of the O2 out.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/blanket-co2-259954/
If you're just trying to start a siphon, a turkey baster works fine too.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXLguXTaNrA[/ame]
In fact, if you properly purge your keg there is a CO2 blanket!
Again, no splashing, check for leaks in your siphon system, etc. I've used the same auto-siphon (w/ tubing changes) for over three years w/ no oxidation issues.
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Again, no splashing, check for leaks in your siphon system, etc. I've used the same auto-siphon (w/ tubing changes) for over three years w/ no oxidation issues.
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30Bones
Well-Known Member
Yes it is. My beer tasted like cardboard bc of oxidation during transfer. My siphon tube was letting air in and I thought it was no big deal. Tiny bubbles created a bad batch. I dry hopped it (recommended by a club member) and it helped save/mask the off taste.
Getting a new auto siphon. Wish I used carboys to do this trick from now on. I hate racking beer to kegs.
Hoppity
Just brew it!
Home depot plumbing Dept was a mess. All I was looking for a was a threaded pipe compatible with my quick disconnects. Compatible nuts and rubber washers. Gas feed theoretically done. Alas, no parts found. Siphon part is easy: racking cane and stopper with hole.
Ttownbrewer
Well-Known Member
Thanks for posting! I've been seriously considering moving to this method for a while now. Through my research I came across this link. Check it out for some more information.
http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/racking-co2
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http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/racking-co2
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TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
It's really only an issue if you're going to be storing for a long time. Personally, I don't use this method. However, I do have a RIS that's been sitting in a keg since last August, so we'll see how that is when I tap it this fall. If there's oxidation, then I'll consider doing something like this. For all of my other beers, though, I don't even put a blanket of CO2 in the keg. I just open it up, sanitize, and siphon from the fermentor. So far, I haven't had any issues. I'm not saying I never will, but I'll address them if they ever come up.
kombat
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure that purging your keg with CO2 before transfer is really adding any benefit. After all, people who bottle their beer don't "purge" their bottling bucket before transferring the beer into it - they just rack it straight in, then bottle, and bottled beer isn't all oxidized, is it?
Secondly, let me save you some searching down the road and just give you a link that should come in handy eventually.
Secondly, let me save you some searching down the road and just give you a link that should come in handy eventually.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
That's my thought as well, but the argument is that there's more head space in the keg than in an individual bottle, so purging the oxygen out of a keg would reduce the risk. But since it takes time for the oxidation flavors to develop, I would only consider it if I were aging a beer for a long time, and if I had experience with oxidation in the past.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
Not to mention the fact that even if you do create a "blanket" of CO2, there would have to be absolutely no disruption of that blanket, meaning even the slightest movement of air could cause the CO2 to mix with the surrounding air. Better turn off your fans and A/C, close all windows, and make sure no one in the room is moving! 
kombat
Well-Known Member
Right, but I'm talking about purging with CO2 before you rack the beer into it. Obviously it's important to purge with CO2 a few times after you've transferred all of the beer into the keg and sealed the lid.
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poislb
Well-Known Member
You can also use a 5/16" ID tube, attach that to the racking cane and use a beer (blk) Keg disconnect and go straight into the keg (the beer out port) without even opening the keg. Just be sure to open the relief valve on the keg during transfer...This is the way I will be doing it. The bucket was just a demonstration of the water flow. Will see if I can get a video of that too.
kombat
Well-Known Member
Now that, I've seriously considered. I'd still have to open my kegs, since I sanitize them with StarSan, and there are still bubbles inside when I seal them up for storage, so I'd have to open it and dump out a small puddle of StarSan before filling it with beer. But it would be nice to not have to gently "snake" the sanitized end of the autosiphon hose into the keg opening, and ensure the end reaches down to the very bottom of the keg while trying to start the siphon with the other end.
Something else I've done is to use kegs for lagering. I bought a spare dip tube and cut an inch off the bottom of it so that I can lager beer in the keg, then rack it to another keg using CO2 to start a siphon (just like the OP in this thread, except with a keg instead of a glass carboy, so much safer). I just made a short length of tubing with black "beverage" disconnects on both ends. I connect liquid out to liquid out, lift the source keg to a platform above the destination keg, open the pressure relief valve of the destination keg, hook up the CO2 and apply a little pressure to get the siphon started, then turn off the gas and open the pressure relief valve of the other (source) keg and let gravity do the rest.
motobrewer
I'm no atheist scientist, but...
I feel the need to reiterate, just for my own sake. Don't get me wrong, people can do whatever they want.
I used to do this. Altho I didn't have a fancy hookup, I just un-screwed a ball-lock fitting and pushed the open end on the inlet of the carboy cap. Anyway, one day i turned the gas on and "POP"! I flinched and froze thinking i just blew up the carboy. Luckily only the cap popped off.
Hindsight is 20/20 but deliberately and intentionally pressurizing a glass carboy using a regulator not designed for this level of accuracy is quite frankly the dumbest thing I can possibly think of in the realm of homebrewing. And yes - I realize i'm guilty as charged.
I used to do this. Altho I didn't have a fancy hookup, I just un-screwed a ball-lock fitting and pushed the open end on the inlet of the carboy cap. Anyway, one day i turned the gas on and "POP"! I flinched and froze thinking i just blew up the carboy. Luckily only the cap popped off.
Hindsight is 20/20 but deliberately and intentionally pressurizing a glass carboy using a regulator not designed for this level of accuracy is quite frankly the dumbest thing I can possibly think of in the realm of homebrewing. And yes - I realize i'm guilty as charged.
Yep, I wouldn't do it. But I aim to start doing it with my BB's. I might even take a stab at fermenting in a sanke and using the CO2 to transfer as shown above.
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poislb
Well-Known Member
You run the same risk when you ferment and say your blow off tube clogs up, or even the airlock...1 lb of psi is all it takes to get the beer flowing, then shut her down..I'm pretty sure there's more co2 pressure when your fermenting. Just don't do a 5 lb co2 burst in the carboy. This is why I regulate it with the shut off valve as shown in the video...everything we do in brewing we run into the risk of something going wrong, just the nature of hobby...
You have a better chance of dropping a carboy then having it explode with a little co2...
You have a better chance of dropping a carboy then having it explode with a little co2...
chicagowaterguy
Member
Bottled conditioned beer isn't generally oxidized because the yeast will scavenge up any O2 picked up during bottling.
