Disastrous newbie siphoning session

Just had a disastrous newbie siphoning session, transferring from primary bin to secondary 5 litre carboys. Beer all over the floor, I ended up just sucking the damn siphon tube to get things moving. I managed to transfer plenty of oxygen and possibly some bacteria. I wish I had practiced more beforehand.

My siphon is a length of clear plastic tube with a clear plastic wand on the end. The wand part has perforations an inch or so from the end.
The "wand" part goes in the target container and the tube goes in the "source" container, right?

I must think about my siphoning approach for future brews. Should I buy a bottling bin with tap for when I transfer from secondary to bottles...

Mike

Hey, i'm new to this myself, so i how i can help...

The wand goes to the supply, and the tube goes to teh source container. The first time I did it, had a difficult time getting a flow, but eventually got it. The major thing is to have your target container quite a bit below your source, as this promotes gravity flow.

Today I purchases (my HBS gave it to me for free, go figure), and auto-shipon. With this unit you can pull and push a small tube and the flow will start automatically. normally it's around $15.

Also, so prevent sediment, especially when bottling, I put a clamp around my wand so it would not sit on the base of the container.

How this helps.

What Igorstien said! My first batch I dang near had to crawl in the bucket to get the siphon started...with an auto-siphon it's a snap.

That clear plastic wand (I assume it has a bend on one end?) is a racking cane...it goes into the beer. But, with an auto-siphon you won't need it anyway...the racking cane is built in.

auto-siphon > *

These are WELL worth the money. I think I picked mine up for 8 bucks.

Forthed (or something)! An auto-siphon is a huge help.

I have to agree auto siphon is the way to go.
I think I got my auto siphon for around 12 dollars and it came with a bottling attachment. The bottling piece restricts flow until you place the end of the attachment into your bottles, which was very helpful. I would suggest to get one of those if you can.

Ditto on the Auto-Siphon!

I agree to the agreement that was agreed upon by all the above agreers.
Autosiphon is great.

I also agree with the agreement that was agreed by all the users who agree and agree on the agreement...that Auto-Siphons are agreed to be a great tool!

Throw in my 2 cents for the autosyphon. I just got mine and ave used it twice. Ain't never going back to sucking on that hose.

Thanx all.
An auto-siphon sounds a good investment. Also, a bottling bin.

Mike

ill be the one guy that post a dissenting view - i find it to be plenty easy enough (and not messy or wasteful) to simply start a siphon the old fashioned way - but its definitely not for everybody as this thread so clearly points out.

lets me keep in practice for those days coming when gas'll be $4/gallon

This was the first time I transferred to a secondary and had a crappy time doing it. Transferring from primary to bottling bucket I haven't had a problem yet but from primary to secondary I lost a lot of beer and I'm not really sure why I was having such a problem since I did it the same way when I transferred from a primary to a bottling bucket. I will be getting an auto siphon soon.

I take the middle ground here. I think sucking on the tube is too dangerous w.r.t. contamination, and I think the autosiphon is a luxury (ie; not necessary) item.

I have a carboy cap (little orange rubber top for the carboy with two tubes sticking out of it.)

You can insert the racking cane into the larger tube and then shove the cap onto the primary carboy. This holds the cane in place so your hands are free.

Then I insert the hose into the secondary carboy and blow into the other (smaller) tube on the carboy cap. The pressure exerted my by breath pushes the beer up the racking cane and starts the siphon. My mouth never touches anything that touches the beer.

The carboy cap cost $2.00.

It's this kind of thing that keeps my equipment costs down, and makes (for me) homebrewing cheaper than buying commercial.

-walker

Walker said:

I have a carboy cap (little orange rubber top for the carboy with two tubes sticking out of it.)

You can insert the racking cane into the larger tube and then shove the cap onto the primary carboy. This holds the cane in place so your hands are free.

Then I insert the hose into the secondary carboy and blow into the other (smaller) tube on the carboy cap. The pressure exerted my by breath pushes the beer up the racking cane and starts the siphon. My mouth never touches anything that touches the beer.

The carboy cap cost $2.00.

Click to expand...

The trouble is...most of us start out with a bucket, and a carboy cap doesn't help us with that even one little bit. I'm wishing now that I had done a little more research before I started, and gotten just the stuff that I needed (two glass carboys with caps), but it's too late for that now. If you've got a bucket without a spigot, and you're a clumsy oaf, an auto-siphon makes the whole process more enjoyable...not to mention they're pretty cheap.

El Pistolero said:

The trouble is...most of us start out with a bucket, and a carboy cap doesn't help us with that even one little bit.

Click to expand...

Sure it does!

You can put the carboy cap onto your SECONDARY fermenter. Shove the hose through the big tube on the cap (takes a little work, but not too much) and SUCK on the smaller tube to start the siphon from the primary bucket.

This is how I did things before getting a carboy for my primary.

Hmmm... now that I think about it, this is actually better even if you have two carboys. It's cleaner in the sense that I am not blowing air onto my beer, bur rather removing air from the secondary.

I'm going to start doing it this way from now on.

-walker

I'm not sure I understand how blowing into the carboy cap is any less dangerous w.r.t. contamination than sucking on a syphon tube. I use an autosyphon, so it's not an issue for me. The way I see it, blowing (which includes oral moisture/bacteria) would land these contaminants right on the beer whereas sucking gets these on the outside of the hose (though it will be submerged in the beer.

You don't have to blow very hard to start the siphon, so you are not putting too much of your own breath into the vessel. Since you don't blow very hard, your breath doesn't have the force to push through the blanket of CO2 that is protecting your beer.

Furthermore, the siphon stops when the surface of the beer (the part that MIGHT have touched your breath) reaches the tip of the cane, so it never makes it into the secondary.

I will agree that the autosiphon rocks (my friends use them) and they are a great tool to have. But, I am a cheap-skate minimalist and don't have one.

-walker

Walker's using two seperate sets of tubing in his system, so he's sucking on a tube that only runs to the top of the secondary to create a vacuum, and never touches the beer. Nicely done

edit: bah, I'm too slow

yup yup yup.

If anyone is confused, I'll take pictures the next time I rack and post them on my web server.

I would normally be racking this weekend, but I have a nasty cold and I'm not going anywhere near my beer since I am overflowing with germs.

Maybe I'll have SWMBO do the racking. Anyone want to see pics of an attractive 28 year old italian woman sucking on a tube on the web?

-walker

I never use a siphon, I just put a tube on the fermenter tap & let it flow.

Gloworm said:

I never use a siphon, I just put a tube on the fermenter tap & let it flow.

Click to expand...

Yeah. I'm beginning to think I should have spent the extra and bought a bin with integral tap.

Mike

Gloworm said:

I never use a siphon, I just put a tube on the fermenter tap & let it flow.

Click to expand...

that can work, but sometimes the trub is deep enough in the primary bucket that you will actually suck some out and into the secondary through the spigot.... kind of defeats the purpose.

How do you get the beer out of the carboy and back into the bottling bucket when it comes time to bottle?

-walker

OK, that makes sense now. I thought you had to really give it a good huff to get the thing going and I just pictured a mess. Sounds like an efficient little device.

another option: my syphon tube has a wee tap at the end to shut off the supply. I put a small lenght of tubing (2 inches or so) onto the end of the tap and suck. When i taste beer I turn off the tap and disconnect the small lenght of tubing. Now I can put the syphon where it's supposed to syphon to, and turn on the tap again.
my mouth never touches where the beer comes from.

that's a good one, too.

Before getting my carboy cap I did something similar with my toddler's sippy cups.

They have built in valves that let liquid OUT, but not back IN. On the inside of the lid where the valve is built in, there is a 1/2" piece of tube-like molded plastic which I was delighted to find snugly held onto my hosing.

I would stick the hose into the sippy cup lid and suck on the part that is meant for the kids to suck on. When I got a mouthful of delicious beer, I would pinch off the hose, remove the sippy cup lid, and insert the hose into the carboy and let it flow.

Or, you can always pre-fill the hose with sterile water. Stick one end into the beer, and the other into the secondary and the siphon just starts going with no mouth being involved. (Just make sure your hands are clean.)

-walker

Walker,Hell yes!

Suck, blow , autosiphon... You don't get to taste the beer with either the auto siphon or the carboy cap. I've heard of guys taking a shot of 151 or everclear before starting the siphon. I've never done that, and I've never had my beer become infected. Incidentally, Walker, I'd love to see that. Could I request that she wear something sort of Frederick's of Hollywood while she does it ? Does that make me a sick bastard ? Maybe some overalls. We are in Carolina, after all.

SWMBO is sitting here reading over my shoulder and says that she'll pose for the pics wearing whatever you want, but she insists that I charge you to view them.

sorry fellas....

-walker

Damn ! Nothing's free , is it ? Tell her it's art. Brewing is an art. I'll UPS you some overalls ?

sudsmonkey said:

Incidentally, Walker, I'd love to see that. Could I request that she wear something sort of Frederick's of Hollywood while she does it ?

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Victoria's Overall Secret would be my choice...and yes, I'll pay.

I'll kick in as well. Does an overall donation count? Only one strap works anymore and the back pockets are gone.
Please be sure to convey to Mrs. Walker that I mean no offense. Just never seen a young chick in revealing overalls siphon beer. If she does go for it, I'd have to say that you'd have the coolest wife here, IMHO.

if you send me ALL of your beer, we might have a deal.

i seriously can talk her into it, I'm sure.

she doesn't have any overalls, but how about a wife-beater tanktop and some daisy-dukes? :cross:

-walker

Damn Cuz. That's pretty steep ain't it?

I was all ready to pony up till you said that.

You drive a hard bargain, my man. I'll see to it that El P. sends you all the homebrew he has onhand. Is this for you or her ?

Walker said:

i seriously can talk her into it, I'm sure.

she doesn't have any overalls, but how about a wife-beater tanktop and some daisy-dukes? :cross:

-walker

Click to expand...

That'll work.

since she gets the mail before I do, I'd probably never see the beer. she's had more of my brown ale that I have so far!

sudsmonkey said:

You drive a hard bargain, my man. I'll see to it that El P. sends you all the homebrew he has onhand. Is this for you or her ?

Click to expand...

Heck, I'll even send him the hefe I've got in the primary...heads up walker, I'm tossin it up in the air right now!

How about those two cases of Windy Lager in the garage ? Seriously, I'd be more than happy to UPS her some, uh... altered overalls. Maybe what you said sounds better. There has to be real beer, and it has to be at the point of almost flowing ( oh, Monkey, you dirty old bastard) . What kind of beer are we talking about? It makes a difference.