subliminalurge
Well-Known Member
My searching skills are failing me at the moment, but a few weeks ago I read a thread on this site about aerating wort by placing a venturi in the siphon tube from the BK to fermeter.
Long story short, I tried it, and judging by the two batches I've used it on so far, I like it!
The one I made was cheap and simple. Cut off 3 inches of a plastic racking cane, used my torch to heat up a small nail to melt two holes in the middle, then cut my siphon tubing to insert that in-line.
The amount of air being sucked in was unbelievable. There's just no way that shaking a carboy can compete with this. And the results speak for themselves. I used it twice, in the same day. Made two 5-gallon extract batches before leaving town for 4 days for a funeral. (An amber and an APA). Used dried Nottingham in both since I was on a time crunch and the LHBS has jack **** for liquid yeast.
After returning from the funeral trip (4 days) both batches had completed fermentation. Hydrometer verified, one is right at the projected FG, and the other is a little below. Gave them the 3 days for a double check, and they're both sitting stable.
Now to my real question. Because of the way I built my little venturi tube it has a lot of scratches, crevices, etc... So to use it I'm basically going to have to boil it in a saucepan every time I use it. Not a huge deal, but still, on a busy brew day it's good to streamline as much as possible.
Anyone out there come up with a way to make a little tube like this that can be easily sanitized with a quick star-san soak? Or does anyone sell one ready to go?
I've been shaking carboys for 6 years now, but these two batches have made a believer out of me. Definitely going with the venturi thing from now on (unless/if I bump to the oxygen tank, but I'm now not so sure that's even necessary).
Long story short, I tried it, and judging by the two batches I've used it on so far, I like it!
The one I made was cheap and simple. Cut off 3 inches of a plastic racking cane, used my torch to heat up a small nail to melt two holes in the middle, then cut my siphon tubing to insert that in-line.
The amount of air being sucked in was unbelievable. There's just no way that shaking a carboy can compete with this. And the results speak for themselves. I used it twice, in the same day. Made two 5-gallon extract batches before leaving town for 4 days for a funeral. (An amber and an APA). Used dried Nottingham in both since I was on a time crunch and the LHBS has jack **** for liquid yeast.
After returning from the funeral trip (4 days) both batches had completed fermentation. Hydrometer verified, one is right at the projected FG, and the other is a little below. Gave them the 3 days for a double check, and they're both sitting stable.
Now to my real question. Because of the way I built my little venturi tube it has a lot of scratches, crevices, etc... So to use it I'm basically going to have to boil it in a saucepan every time I use it. Not a huge deal, but still, on a busy brew day it's good to streamline as much as possible.
Anyone out there come up with a way to make a little tube like this that can be easily sanitized with a quick star-san soak? Or does anyone sell one ready to go?
I've been shaking carboys for 6 years now, but these two batches have made a believer out of me. Definitely going with the venturi thing from now on (unless/if I bump to the oxygen tank, but I'm now not so sure that's even necessary).