So I brewed my first batch of beer today and, thanks to these forums and all of the wonderful advice, I had a lot of confidence that I was starting out a little 'ahead of the curve'....and I am sure that sounds cocky.
Two things that I really thought were imperative to my first brew were an immersion chiller and a venturi insert on my siphon hose.
I build the immersion chiller and, besides needing to lengthen my intake and outtake ends to clear my 7 gallon brewpot, the thing worked amazingly...I had my wort chilled in about 7ish minutes.
On the other hand, my venturi insert was a tremendous bust. I cannibalized my 'L' plastic tube that came with my beginner's brew kit because I bought an autosiphon as well. The OD was perfect so I just scored around the plastic, snapped it off, sanded the edges, and created the hole. That is where I think I made my mistake. I heated up the tip of an awl and perforated the plastic tube that way, and I fear my hole is too big.
When I went to siphon/aerate my wort into my fermenting bucket, I wasn't getting a steady stream at first and it quickly stopped siphoning. I figured that the problem was with the venturi insert as the siphon from the wort to the insert was fine, but there were huge airpockets on the other side of the insert. I covered the hole with my thumb, pumped the autosiphon again, and everything flowed perfectly. So I spent a while adjusting the pressure of my thumb over the hole and created an incredibly vigorous stream of bubbles entering my tubing.....and there was still no foaming in my fermenting bucket...
Where did I go wrong?
Two things that I really thought were imperative to my first brew were an immersion chiller and a venturi insert on my siphon hose.
I build the immersion chiller and, besides needing to lengthen my intake and outtake ends to clear my 7 gallon brewpot, the thing worked amazingly...I had my wort chilled in about 7ish minutes.
On the other hand, my venturi insert was a tremendous bust. I cannibalized my 'L' plastic tube that came with my beginner's brew kit because I bought an autosiphon as well. The OD was perfect so I just scored around the plastic, snapped it off, sanded the edges, and created the hole. That is where I think I made my mistake. I heated up the tip of an awl and perforated the plastic tube that way, and I fear my hole is too big.
When I went to siphon/aerate my wort into my fermenting bucket, I wasn't getting a steady stream at first and it quickly stopped siphoning. I figured that the problem was with the venturi insert as the siphon from the wort to the insert was fine, but there were huge airpockets on the other side of the insert. I covered the hole with my thumb, pumped the autosiphon again, and everything flowed perfectly. So I spent a while adjusting the pressure of my thumb over the hole and created an incredibly vigorous stream of bubbles entering my tubing.....and there was still no foaming in my fermenting bucket...
Where did I go wrong?