BetterBottle racking adapter questions

After racking my 4th batch I'm starting to look for ways to improve the process. I was never interested in the racking adapters for the BB but after a previous thread I was starting to consider it. Here are a few questions I have on it:

1. Can you use a swamp cooler with the racking adapter? I'd worry about the water getting inside from the cooler via the adapter. I think I need to use a swamp cooler so maybe I shouldn't get the adapter.
2. If racking to bottle (and not primary to secondary) how do you mix your primer in? Now I use a bottling bucket and it's easy to make sure the primer is mixed in when I drain to the bucket. It would seem difficult to mix in a primer in the BB without agitating the contents.

I'm a big believer in the BB racking adapters, they really are a pleasure to use. I just wish they weren't so obscenely priced...the bottles themselves are quite reasonable.

I've never submerged one, but I'm confident they wouldn't leak. It's really a well made assembly, nothing like the cheap spigots we use on bottling buckets.

I would still use your bottling bucket, having a racking adapter on your fermenter doesn't mean you can or should bottle directly from it.

I agree, I use a 6 gal as my primary and 5 gal as my secondary, both with racking adapters (and use there "low O2" technique when racking), but I still use a bottling bucket to ensure I get my priming sugar mixed in well. I picked-up a nice food-grade bucket with a spigot already installed (designed for dispensing bulk beverages) from a local restauraunt supply place, and it works great.

There are countless threads here where somebody says " I woke up to a wet carpet, and an empty carboy/bucket." As I have not heard this about the BB fittings specifically. I know this fact all to well: Mechanical devices fail.

No Port + Siphon = easy and worry free

Just my $0.02

I have two BB's with racking adapters and high flow valves, and they have never leaked, so they would probably be OK to submerse in water. However, you could probably put the BB in a garbage bag or other light plastic bag before submersing it in water. That would add an extra layer of security. I've never done that, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

-Steve

Unless you're completely submerging the BB, the pressure of the beer inside is going to keep anything from migrating in...it's just not an issue.

The racking adapter is SO much easier than fooling around with a racking cane or auto-siphon, plus it allows you get really clear beer by positioning the pickup tube right above the trub. This is a huge advantage for those of us who seldom use a secondary, hard as I try I always end up sucking up a buch of trub with my auto-siphon. Only having to sanitize a short piece of tubing (and the vessel you're racking too of course) is also nice.

Is it worth the silly price? I'm not so sure. But I love the two I've got!

SavageSteve said:

I have two BB's with racking adapters and high flow valves, and they have never leaked, so they would probably be OK to submerse in water. However, you could probably put the BB in a garbage bag or other light plastic bag before submersing it in water. That would add an extra layer of security. I've never done that, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

-Steve

Click to expand...

I suppose that would work, but then I think I would be losing some of the cooling effect as the bag would insulate from the water. Probably not enough to matter though. I thought of another question.

When you take readings, do you just use the adapter?

In my case I'd have to move the carboy instead of leaving it be, but I wouldn't be risking anything by opening the top and using a wine thief. Moving the BB might be a pain but it would be nice to no longer need the thief. And you get less chance for contanimation too.

jrfuda said:

I agree, I use a 6 gal as my primary and 5 gal as my secondary, both with racking adapters (and use there "low O2" technique when racking), but I still use a bottling bucket to ensure I get my priming sugar mixed in well. I picked-up a nice food-grade bucket with a spigot already installed (designed for dispensing bulk beverages) from a local restauraunt supply place, and it works great.

Click to expand...

I have a decent bottling bucket that sounds like yours, and I guess it works well, but I do like the idea of being able to get rid of another piece of equipment. If I understand the BB setup correctly, I could get rid of the bucket and the auto siphon. That also translates to less items to sanitize. But I do like the bucket for mixing the primer though.

I pull samples right from the spigot. Sanitize it first, pull the sample, then sanitize again.

If you want to pull samples during fermentation, then I think the BB with racking adapter and spigot is a better fit if you have the capacity to control fermentation in a manner different than the swamp cooler.

-Steve

pretzelb said:

If I understand the BB setup correctly, I could get rid of the bucket

Click to expand...

I still don't see how it would eliminate the bottling bucket...unless you intend to prime each bottle individually.

BlindLemonLars said:

I still don't see how it would eliminate the bottling bucket...unless you intend to prime each bottle individually.

Click to expand...

You could add your priming solution to the BB, stir lightly using their "tennis ball" method (there should not be much O2 in the BB if you do this all carefully & seal the top, so oxidation should not be an issue), then let it sit a couple of hours to settle and bottle from there. However, if you're only using a single stage - you're going to be stirring up tons of stuff when you do this, not so much of an issue if you use a secondary.

Alternateively, if you have 2 BBs, you could reuse the primary as a bottling bucket as long as you haven't started another brew in it.

The final way is to use the Mr. Beer method and prime your bottle individually and bottle directly from the BB.

At least to my standards, there is no viable way of priming beer in a BB, when it is used as a primary or secondary. Tennis ball or no, you can't thoroughly blend the priming solution without undoing the settling that has taken place in the secondary. Bottling buckets are cheap, this is a terrible place to cut corners.