Carboy "tilter"

I've had three bad siphons in a row and all of them occur with a gallon left in the carboy; just enough that you really want it but getting the auto-siphon going again is going to disturb weeks of settling.... end up just sayin screw it and siphoning it all in anyway....

Know what would be awesome? A carboy holder/base that had a built in 45 degree slant so all the sludge/sediment compacts in front and we can siphon off the top.

I've tried text books, I've tried employing the wife to tilt.... I'm thinking a simple 2x2 and a 2.6 on a base:

,___l <--- best artwork I can do


I was even thinking of fermenting with the slant.

Suggestions?

They actually sell carboy tilt supports. My LHBS can't sell one because people are smart and use a book or similar high tech tilting device...

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acefaser said:

They actually sell carboy tilt supports. My LHBS can't sell one because people are smart and use a book or similar high tech tilting device...

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I tried a book, I failed. *weeps*

Can we ferment with the carboy tilted? I honestly don't see any downside to it.

Just use a piece of wood. If you really wanted to get creative you could use several pieces of wood cut to make some sort of fancy rig. Then if you were REALLY creative you could paint it.

Wouldn't you have to tilt it days in advance though? I don't like to move what I'm siphoning from, for fear that I'll wake the sleeping beast resting on the bottom. I find once I get the siphon going, I can fine-tune the source location as it's happening pretty easily. No need to hold the output end, just pay attention to the input.

paulster2626 said:

Just use a piece of wood. If you really wanted to get creative you could use several pieces of wood cut to make some sort of fancy rig. Then if you were REALLY creative you could paint it.

Wouldn't you have to tilt it days in advance though? I don't like to move what I'm siphoning from, for fear that I'll wake the sleeping beast resting on the bottom. I find once I get the siphon going, I can fine-tune the source location as it's happening pretty easily. No need to hold the output end, just pay attention to the input.

Click to expand...

That is kinda why I want to do it from day 0, I want to make a base and ferment on a slant to make siphoning uber efficient. But it has to remain together to I can move it as a unit.

Note: I have no creative skills.

Well if you can stick it in a fridge and cold crash it (works well if you're kegging), that sediment turns to clay and you can pretty much move the auto siphon all around without fear of disturbing the cake.

I tried this for the first time on last batch and just dropped the siphon all the way in, didn't even need to hold it. Worked awesome!

When racking I take a dish towel or two and fold them and use them as a "wedge". I works well for me.

bad67z said:

When racking I take a dish towel or two and fold them and use them as a "wedge". I works well for me.

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x2. I usually use the towel kept handy during the brew day to take care of the occasional spill.

I'm going to try fermenting on a 45 degree angle this weekend.

I found a milk crate that will hold the carboy on an angle and still allow transport.

I'm going to use a blow off as I don't know how a lock will react to the angle, and it looks like expansion might have an easier time escaping the mouth of the carboy.

The Carboy Wedge!

http://www.homebrewing.org/Carboy-Wedge_p_1714.html

I just use the dish towl also, and am careful with the end of the auto siphon. Also, if you lean your carboy very, and I mean very slowly the sediment wont move. Those cakes get very compact after a few weeks...

Reidman said:

Well if you can stick it in a fridge and cold crash it (works well if you're kegging), that sediment turns to clay and you can pretty much move the auto siphon all around without fear of disturbing the cake.

I tried this for the first time on last batch and just dropped the siphon all the way in, didn't even need to hold it. Worked awesome!

Click to expand...

+1 on the crash cooling - it really does compact the heck out of whatever drops (trub/yeast/pellet fragments/chill haze).

I enhance that by sticking a sanitized piece of nylon pellet hop bag material over the tip of my autosiphon, set the back edge of the carboy on a 3/4" piece of wood to give it a slight tilt, set the tip of the siphon as tight to the forward edge as it'll go, and let 'er rip. Nothing but clear beer leaving virtually none behind...

Cheers!

I'm not sure fermenting at an angle will get you anywhere... You'll create a V shaped bottom and the trub/yeast will just settle in that and produce a flat surface which is simply thicker in the V. Tilting while you siphon works because the material is spread evenly on the bottom and mostly stays in place when you tilt so you create a deeper pool of liquid to siphon from.

I suppose you could ferment tilted then set it flat on a counter to siphon.