Anyone Else's Autosiphon Start to Lose its Seal After Awhile?

I've noticed that my autosiphon doesn't really hold a great seal sometimes. I've had it for probably a year, maybe longer, and now, when the level of the beer starts to get closer to the end of the cane, like, 6" or so, I start to get bubbling and a loss of perfect siphon. I'm tacking a new one onto my AHS order just now, I was just wondering if anyone else had had this problem. I'm also wondering if the fact that my AS spends most of its time in my star san bath might start to deteriorate the plastic over long periods of time.

I bought one of those and it didn't work worth a damn. I tried some keg lube on the seal but it still pulled a huge amount of air into the wort. I'm back to suck starting my siphon because that's got to have less of an impact on my beer than bubbling the entire batch through air.

Mine has started losing it's seal a bit. I usually have to move the inner cane around to get a good seal when the beer level gets low. I don't store mine in sanitizer. I was thinking that the seal may be drying out since I just store it on a shelf in the garage.

MIne is doing the same thing. Thinking about ordering a new one frome AHS this weekend before it craps out on me.

I might try the keg lube thing just to see if it helps. Not a bad idea, even if it didn't work for you.

The old one still works, it's just not the best when the siphon pressure gets lower. The way I figure it, it can't hurt to have another, given that, in due time, I'll be needing to rack ye olde infected brews into kegs...and I'd like to have a dedicated siphoning system for my sour brews. A good PBW soak would probably do the trick on the bugs, but I'd rather to be overcautious than undercautious when it comes to pedio/lacto/brett running around my brewhouse. .

after breaking numerous plastic auto siphons and cursing their maker i wised up and bought a stainless steel racking cane carboy caps and the sterile air filter. you just blow throught the air filter and it starts. works great. down with plastic auto siphons!

Are you guys storing your auto-syphon assembled? I had that problem with my first one and my LHBS recommended storing it with the racking cane portion removed. I've got about 2 years on my current one now.

bradsul said:

Are you guys storing your auto-syphon assembled?

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Nope, always disassembled.

yeah, same here, always disassembled...but, again, it spends 99% of its time in my starsan bin.

Fingers said:

I bought one of those and it didn't work worth a damn.

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You got a lemon, I've got two and they both work spectacularly. One is over a year old, and still going strong. The second was in a box of brewing gear I got on CL, so I have no idea of it's age but it works great as well.

My only complaint is that I keep losing the tips! (I bought a few spares.) I can't even imagine going to the trouble and mess of starting a siphon the old fashioned way.

If you put star san or even some wort/beer in the top end of the auto siphon, it should stop the air from getting, and just allow a small amount if any sanitizer in.

Evan! said:

yeah, same here, always disassembled...but, again, it spends 99% of its time in my starsan bin.

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I'd have to guess the starsan then, I air dry mine and don't store them wet.

I store mine UNassembled and it's over 3 years old. Never had a problem...

I store mine dry but clean in hot water with PBW and then Starsan just before use. I have no problems at all and it is 1.5 years old. If you try to use it dry it does not seal well but if you put a small amount hot water in the outer tube and empty that and then pump starsan through it I think this gets it plyable so the seal works better. If there is old hop matter or hard dried wort stuck between the check valve at the bottom it will not work well either.

Evan! said:

I've noticed that my autosiphon doesn't really hold a great seal sometimes. I've had it for probably a year, maybe longer, and now, when the level of the beer starts to get closer to the end of the cane, like, 6" or so, I start to get bubbling and a loss of perfect siphon. I'm tacking a new one onto my AHS order just now, I was just wondering if anyone else had had this problem. I'm also wondering if the fact that my AS spends most of its time in my star san bath might start to deteriorate the plastic over long periods of time.

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Evan! - I did and more than once. I kept on clipping the hose and reattaching it. The hose gets fatigued , or looses its elasticity over time. Eventually I stopped clipping and went with small hose clamp.

No problems whatsoever now. I leave the hose on and I always flush with beer line cleaner before & after syphoning. I also run a bunch of sanitizer in it too.



EDIT: I reread your post. I don't think I loose syphon pressure at the plunger. I always wet mine before sticking in the that tight hole! Never tried spitting on it though!!!

bradsul said:

Are you guys storing your auto-syphon assembled? I had that problem with my first one and my LHBS recommended storing it with the racking cane portion removed. I've got about 2 years on my current one now.

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I do the same too. No problems. I figured long ago if I didn't do this it wouldn't take a set at the plunger seal.

sully said:

after breaking numerous plastic auto siphons and cursing their maker i wised up and bought a stainless steel racking cane carboy caps and the sterile air filter. you just blow throught the air filter and it starts. works great. down with plastic auto siphons!

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+1 Sully. Autosyphons suck (errr, don't suck?) Drill two holes the size of the racking cane through the lid of the brewing kettle. whirlpool the kettle, put the lid on, tape with electricians tape. press a piece of tubing through one hole with your filter attached, and the racking cane through the other with tape around it . Give a puff and off she goes to the fermenter. I've used up three auto syphons before getting smart. (slow learner)

papaw said:

Drill two holes the size of the racking cane through the lid of the brewing kettle. whirlpool the kettle, put the lid on, tape with electricians tape. press a piece of tubing through one hole with your filter attached, and the racking cane through the other with tape around it . Give a puff and off she goes to the fermenter. I've used up three auto syphons before getting smart. (slow learner)

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Or, simply place your auto-siphon into the kettle/carboy/bucket, pump the plunger once, and walk away. Hmmnn... To each his own, I guess.

I'm on my original autosiphon that I bought 2 years ago. I've never had a single problem with it and would easily say it was the biggest bang for the buck I've dedicated to the hobby. There a lot of goofy gadgets out there that seem like a good idea. This one actually is a good idea.

I store it dry, disassembled. I have 5/16" tubing on it so it doesn't suck air or need a clamp. Wet the seal on the cane before putting it together.

Once the beer has started flowing, the only thing that can interfere with the siphon is the seal between the cane and the hose, and a hose clamp as Schlenkerla said, should fix that problem.

-a.

ajf said:

Once the beer has started flowing, the only thing that can interfere with the siphon is the seal between the cane and the hose, and a hose clamp as Schlenkerla said, should fix that problem.

-a.

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This is absolutely not true. If you don't have a perfect seal between the rubber gasket on the end of the cane and the insides of the larger tube, then air can leak in there. This is what's happening with mine. Sometimes, if I keep the cane stationary and spin the tube around it a bit, I will find a place that's better for the seal...so I know that it's failing at that location and not between the cane and the hose.

Morebeer sells a pretty nice set up like the one described above.
Morebeer Siphon
They have a little video of how it works. I almost bought it as I have some bubbling issues with my autosiphon near the racking cane-tube connection. I was thinking of using some slightly undersized tubing to tighten things up.

Evan! said:

This is absolutely not true. If you don't have a perfect seal between the rubber gasket on the end of the cane and the insides of the larger tube, then air can leak in there. This is what's happening with mine. Sometimes, if I keep the cane stationary and spin the tube around it a bit, I will find a place that's better for the seal...so I know that it's failing at that location and not between the cane and the hose.

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It depends on where the plunger is in relation to the fluid level.

If the beer level is higher than the plunger then some gravitational head pressure will be higher than the back side thus forcing beer to pass through the seal. When the beer level is below the seal the opposite is true. Its got some negative pressure from gravity, but suction is overcoming that until the air leakage (at the seal) kills some of the suction to where it stops altogether.

Evan! - You might be able to swell the gland seal by soaking it in some cooking oil. I have never tried this (with cooking oils that is) but I do know petroleum oils will do this. Some solvents will too. But there's not alot you would want to try to use, clean, and then put in your beer.

If you can effect the seal by rotating it then I'd say its time for a new one.

Agreed, if the bottom of the plunger is below the surface of the beer, you will not get air in the siphon unless you are operating in negative gravity, or your beer is less dense than air, both of which will cause you considerable problems.
If you raise the bottom of the plunger above the surface of the beer the seal would have an effect, but why would you do that?

-a.

ajf said:

If you raise the bottom of the plunger above the surface of the beer the seal would have an effect, but why would you do that?

-a.

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I'm guessing; If your carboy/fermentor was too tall or the autosyphon was of the shorter type...

Even when the plunger isn't above the surface of the beer, I start getting air intake through the cane seal.

Yeah, I tacked a new one onto my AHS order.

Good Idea. I'm sure you knew that already. I'm not sure of your past practice... but I'd separate the cane from the tube when your done with the thing.

Schlenkerla said:

Good Idea. I'm sure you knew that already. I'm not sure of your past practice... but I'd separate the cane from the tube when your done with the thing.

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Oh, I never leave anything like that assembled. Just creates more places for bugs to grow.

Evan! said:

Oh, I never leave anything like that assembled. Just creates more places for bugs to grow.

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You know, maybe you got a defective auto syphon! Mine still work pretty damned good.

The only time I ever have that issue is when I'm racking someting from secondary to keg that I dry-hopped. I store mine unassembled and dry.

Schlenkerla said:

You know, maybe you got a defective auto syphon! Mine still work pretty damned good.

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Maybe, but I'm gonna just assume it was the whole "storing it in star san all the time" thing that did it.

Schlenkerla said:

Good Idea. I'm sure you knew that already. I'm not sure of your past practice... but I'd separate the cane from the tube when your done with the thing.

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I usually left mine together, thinking the trauma of going in/out of the opening might be bad for it. Seems to be a little rough on it. But based on what I'm reading here I might disassemble it.

fratermus said:

I usually left mine together, thinking the trauma of going in/out of the opening might be bad for it. Seems to be a little rough on it. But based on what I'm reading here I might disassemble it.

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General rule of thumb: anything that is going to touch cooled wort or beer needs to be disassembled to a reasonable point to ensure proper sanitation.

Evan! said:

General rule of thumb: anything that is going to touch cooled wort or beer needs to be disassembled to a reasonable point to ensure proper sanitation.

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Granted.

Taking the plunger in and out of the seemed to me to be rough on it, more likely to abrade the rubber seal and therefore introduce bacterial hiding spots.

I made a WAG that pumping vigorously in sanitizer would be, in the main, safer than disassembly.

Similar to how it's safer to not scrub a better bottle out with a brush.

My first one was money, but I cracked the 'elbow' part of the tube and had to get a new one. The second one was an absolute freaking lemon, no suction and tons of air in the beer being transferred. The rubber part was too small, contributing to the poor suction, and it didn't fit the typical hose well, which let in tons of air.

I bought another and it works great! Methinks that they are manufactured in a factory that doesn't have very fine tolerance controls. Sometimes you get a sucky one.

blacklab said:

Methinks that they are manufactured in a factory that doesn't have very fine tolerance controls. Sometimes you get a sucky one.

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Yup I bet they are made in China somewhere.....