Better Bottle Spigots?

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NicotineRush

NicotineRush

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Do these things really suck or what? I used a BB w/spigot for my secondary for the first time. When I was ready to rack to the keg, I opened the spigot and the brew barely flowed out of the spigot. Would have taken hrs to empty 5g into the keg. Finally gave up and siphoned. What's the deal? Am I missing something or do they just suck?
 
Some like them, some don't . . . I am in the "they suck" category. I use the auto siphon instead. However slow it was, it would not have been hours, but the siphon broke very far from the end and then it was impossible to finish.
 
NicotineRush said:
Do these things really suck or what? I used a BB w/spigot for my secondary for the first time. When I was ready to rack to the keg, I opened the spigot and the brew barely flowed out of the spigot. Would have taken hrs to empty 5g into the keg. Finally gave up and siphoned. What's the deal? Am I missing something or do they just suck?
Click to expand...

Did you attach a hose to the spigot? You need one to get some siphoning action going. Otherwise it will just dribble out.

I wish all my BBs had spigots, they work great for me. By tilting the bottle at the very end, I'm able to get every drop of clear beer and leave all the trub behind.
 
Stoopid question, but did you take the airlock off before you opened the spigot? Otherwise, the suction is trying to pull air thru the airlock and no joy... Just guess how I learned that?

=)

I have been using my for almost a year and I love it... As BlindLemonLars said, you get pretty much all of the clear beer easily...
 
Yes, I had a hose attached, and yes, I had the airlock out. Think I'll stick with siphoning. Too bad I have 2 5's and 1 6 with spigots.
 
Was the spigot clogged?... did you tilt the racking arm to miss the trub before starting? Are you sure the valve was open all the way (when you pull the ring to open the valve, it can stop halfway and you think it's all the way open, but it's not). I have spigots on all my BBs (2 primaries and 2 secondaries) and never had a problem. Yeah, they're way overpriced, but they work great for me.
 
menschmaschine said:
Yeah, they're way overpriced, but they work great for me.
Click to expand...

+1 on both counts...they are obscenely priced! They work great though, and are a nice luxury. I hate siphoning, but these things are a joy to use...I only have to sanitize a short length of hose and the vessel I'm racking to. Plus you can turn the dip-tube to sit just above the trub.

Nicotine, something is wrong! Like Mensch says, it's either clogged or not open all the way. The beer should flow just as fast as an auto-siphon.
 
i paid three bucks for a spigot drilled a hole in the bucket and put the spigot in the hole.The flow was fine too until it got clogged with hops. I plan to remedy this situation by putting an angled screen in the bottling bucket. I bottling the beer rather than kegging it so i had a bottle filler attached which slowed it to some degree.

I am really not sure we are talking about the same thing but i don't know what else it could be. It was a three dollar piece of plastic with an o ring on either side to seal it. assembly was easy.

It was easy to clean, i just blasted it with the hose and then ran some sanitizer through. I don't understand why people are so down on spigots.
 
Kpetersen said:
I am really not sure we are talking about the same thing but i don't know what else it could be. It was a three dollar piece of plastic with an o ring on either side to seal it. assembly was easy.

It was easy to clean, i just blasted it with the hose and then ran some sanitizer through. I don't understand why people are so down on spigots.
Click to expand...

We're talking about a specialized, rotating valve/dip tube assembly that is made specifically for Better Bottles. They are very pricey, as others have pointed out. Still, a BB so equipped is a wonderfully convenient and useful fermenter.

I used to use buckets with those cheap spigots, and was fairly happy with them. One downside is that you have little control over how much sediment gets drained out along with your beer. Another is that overtightening them even slightly can strip out the threads, causing your beer to come gushing out the now empty hole! But they are functional...and like you, I never had any trouble cleaning them.
 
NicotineRush, if you're still having issues with spigot speed, try using it with just water.

I'd thought about getting the over priced BB spigot, and ending up sticking with my autosiphon. I can certainly see the advantages of the spigot, I was just concerned that my clumsy self would find a way to break it off.
 
BlindLemonLars said:
We're talking about a specialized, rotating valve/dip tube assembly that is made specifically for Better Bottles. They are very pricey, as others have pointed out. Still, a BB so equipped is a wonderfully convenient and useful fermenter.

I used to use buckets with those cheap spigots, and was fairly happy with them. One downside is that you have little control over how much sediment gets drained out along with your beer. Another is that overtightening them even slightly can strip out the threads, causing your beer to come gushing out the now empty hole! But they are functional...and like you, I never had any trouble cleaning them.
Click to expand...

yeah hopefully we haven't over tightened. we've only bottled one batch thus far and no visible stripping so i'll keep my hopes up.
 
gxm said:
NicotineRush, if you're still having issues with spigot speed, try using it with just water.

I'd thought about getting the over priced BB spigot, and ending up sticking with my autosiphon. I can certainly see the advantages of the spigot, I was just concerned that my clumsy self would find a way to break it off.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's my next move.
 
Kpetersen said:
i paid three bucks for a spigot drilled a hole in the bucket and put the spigot in the hole.The flow was fine too until it got clogged with hops. I plan to remedy this situation by putting an angled screen in the bottling bucket. I bottling the beer rather than kegging it so i had a bottle filler attached which slowed it to some degree.

I am really not sure we are talking about the same thing but i don't know what else it could be. It was a three dollar piece of plastic with an o ring on either side to seal it. assembly was easy.

It was easy to clean, i just blasted it with the hose and then ran some sanitizer through. I don't understand why people are so down on spigots.
Click to expand...

How do you sanitize the spigot when you're ready to bottle or keg? I'd be afraid of nastys in the spigot.
 
run a few cups of sanitizer through the spigot. if desired, rinse the spig with boiled water afterward. any bacteria should be killed unless i'm missing something?
 

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