Bottling Bucket Dip Tube -- Paging Revvy

I'm gearing up for my first-ever bottling session, and studying Revvy's thread for first-timers. I'm practicing with plain tap water to get the hang of how everything should work, and it all has gone very well until I got to the dip tube. In short, it slows the flow to a painfully slow trickle. Wonder if something's wrong, or if it's the price one must pay to get that extra 6-er out of the deal?

I'm old enough to be patient -- wouldn't be able to type this without my readers -- but this just looks wrong slow.

Below are a couple pics of the dip tube. It is made from a a piece of racking cane, and please note the bend is so nicely executed it ought to be in a gallery somewhere; no kinky business here (did it with a heat gun). I'm using a cork stopper since the LHBS didn't have anywhere near appropriately sized white stoppers. Hardware store had nice black ones but they smell like a tire shop. I aim to get proper white ones soon as I can.

Summary: The dip tube is restricting the flow from the bottling bucket's spigot terribly. When I yank the dip tube the flow is fine. The dip tube is neither clogged nor kinked.

Uh...I dunno....just keep playing with it in different positions. Is it straight down?

I don't have that problem with mine...is the other end (the one inside the stopper going all the way through the stopper?)

Another thing, I'm not sure but you are using a cork instead of a rubber stopper...maybe that affects the suction somehow...and I also don't think using a cork over the long term may be very sanitiary? If some of those holes go through and let air in the cavity behind your spigot that might affect the suction...

Mine goes straight down and one side of the tube actually touches the bottom...where it makes contact (which IIRC is the underside of the tube)...I then sanded it there...that way when it touches the bottom of my bucket there is maybe an eighth in cap for the beer to flow into on the opposite side.

I know I played a round with mine til I got a decent flow...Which meant in the plastic one I heated bent, ran water through, heated bent a bit more, ran more water. A couple times until I got it to work.

I defer to Revvy on all beer related matters, but...

I wonder if the taper on your cork is too gradual and therefore the cork and/or the end of your dip tube are partially blocking the hole on the inside of the spigot. If positioning it differently doesn't work, you might try cutting off a bit of the narrow end of the cork and pulling the dip tube back flush with the cork. Then you would have less of the cork in your spigot, and it might free up the flow.

I wish I could give you a better answer...

I know with my original copper one, after I ran it through my garbage disposal, I could never get the flow right...I'm no guru of fluid dynamics, but maybe exactly a perfect bend at a certain angle is necessary..

But it just occurred to me, the flow only needs to be strong enough to fill in my case the bottle wand on the spigot, and flow at a nice rater to fill the bottle...try hooking up your entire system and try filling a bottle...the flow might actually be fine in that case.

Whoops, looks like I panicked, sigh. I've found the answer...

I thought maybe siphon action might have something to do with how she works, so I attached the bottling wand and tried again. Works like a charm! Got all but the last half of a simulated beer out of it.

I feel so dopey, sorry 'bout that. Might add a note about this to your thread Revvy, and THANKS as always!!

DuckAssassin said:

I defer to Revvy on all beer related matters, but...

I wonder if the taper on your cork is too gradual and therefore the cork and/or the end of your dip tube are partially blocking the hole on the inside of the spigot. If positioning it differently doesn't work, you might try cutting off a bit of the narrow end of the cork and pulling the dip tube back flush with the cork. Then you would have less of the cork in your spigot, and it might free up the flow.

Click to expand...

Good idea...

Uh I have to leave work now, and will be on the road for at least an hour...hopefully duck, and maybe some other people can come on and help figure it out...

I feel bad 'cause I know you wanna bottle with it, and I can't give you a perfect answer.


Thanks for jumping in Duck!!!

same thing happen to me when i was testing my mash tun, after i hooked up line, then it all flowed fine.

Revvy said:

I feel bad 'cause I know you wanna bottle with it, and I can't give you a perfect answer.

Click to expand...

Not at all sir, not at all; I'll be bottling on Monday. I like to get my ducks in a row ahead of time.

From Revvy: "Uh...I dunno....just keep playing with it in different positions. Is it straight down?"



I thought this was a HOMEBREWING site! Next time all you have to say is "earmuffs"!!