Do Bottling Wands Go Bad?

I have a couple plastic bottling wands and both will constantly drip during the bottling process. I guess the spring valve does not want to shut. Is this a normal thing or should I plan on replacing these wands every so often?

Are there higher quality wands that work better? It's not a huge deal, but, dripping a beer verses being able to drink that beer is not the most ideal you know what I mean?

Mine's been dripping like crazy lately also. I'll probably just replace it soon.

A dripping wand is a very serious matter. You need to get that checked out.

whoaru99 said:

A dripping wand is a very serious matter. You need to get that checked out.

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Tetracyline and a good dose of Trobicin should fix it up.

Oops.. wrong thread.

Mine was doing that earlier today, the end had loosened up. I pushed it back on the tube and was good to go.

Might also want to check the little O-ring around the stem to make sure it isn't damaged deformed or missing altogether. Could also be reasons why it leaks.

I got the spring/nozzle area partially clogged once with some adjunct or hop material once while I was botling...took it apart, washed it out, all good.

You might want to dismantle the tip and clean it. I had some hop gunk in mine.

masskrug said:

You might want to dismantle the tip and clean it. I had some hop gunk in mine.

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If you aren't already you really want to dismantle and thoroughly clean/sanitize the tip of your bottling wand before and/or after you use it.

Also, the spring inside those things isn't too great so you might get better action by removing and then replacing it the other way round. Slide the little rubber "O" ring off the plunger and give those parts a clean.

I've had times when bottling that some hop debris, or some other type, has clogged the wand, or caused the tip to not fully return and so it kept dripping/leaking, during bottling. I just close the spigot on the bottling bucket, drain the contents of the wand, dismantle the tip and flush/clean/sanitize again, reassemble and carry on. Also a good idea to have another one handy, just in case. Lets face it, they are cheap as chips and an invaluable tool.:rockin:

I lost the spring in mine, it works fine with just gravity. There's probably gunk in there preventing it from closing properly.

dan said:

tetracyline and a good dose of trobicin should fix it up.

Oops.. Wrong thread. :d

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lmao!!

GilSwillBasementBrews said:

Might also want to check the little O-ring around the stem to make sure it isn't damaged deformed or missing altogether. Could also be reasons why it leaks.

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Thanks! I didn't realize it could be taken apart. Cleaned it up and hopefully it will be good as new!

Sometimes the spring gets out of whack and you need to stretch it back out just a bit.

no spring in mine....just pops down with the pressure of the beer flow

pwkblue said:

no spring in mine....just pops down with the pressure of the beer flow

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same with mine. I noticed that the o ring had slipped out of position. Probably from sticky beer!

Sadly, yes, bottling wands do go bad. I found mine sneaking a joint in the garage.

Epimetheus said:

Sadly, yes, bottling wands do go bad. I found mine sneaking a joint in the garage.

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This made me laugh out loud!

I went out for a smoke a few batches back and when I came back in my wand had almost completely filled the dishwasher's door with beer.

Luckily I have 2 "backups" or I'd have to cry over spilt beer during every bottling session.

Hackwood said:

I went out for a smoke a few batches back and when I came back in my wand had almost completely filled the dishwasher's door with beer.

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That's why if I'm stepping away from the bottling operation, I turn off the spigot. I haven't had more than a few drips per minute from mine, but it's cheap insurance.