FlyGuy's T-siphon: a $3 replacement for an autosiphon

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I made one of these a few weeks ago using Flyguy's instructions. Used it last Saturday to transfer my scotch ale to secondary. Worked like a charm, even with the mouthful of sanitizer!
Thanks!!!
 
digging up an old thread.. i was wandering how im going to transfer my small 1 gallon wine batches I started.. now I know.. i actually have the harder small diameter pex type line that you use with an RO system. I also have the push on fitting T, and I happen to have an extra valve.. I will put about 2 inches of line on the middle T, then put the valve and the rest of my suck line.. Shouldnt cost me a dime.
 
I recently added small ball valves I had left over from old CO2 regulators to each of my T siphons. I kept breaking those pinch clamps and this works much more reliably.
 
Does anyone else experience bubbles when using this?

I like it a lot, but am wondering if I am oxygenating anything (working on some meads at the moment. I fear the hose you suck on to start the siphon is still "vacuuming" in some air, even if clamped, when water is running from the first hose to the second?

Anyone else notice this?
 
I had way too many bubbles. I probably need to put clamps on all of the fittings. Everything seemed tight but air did get in. The lower hose was clamped off while creating vacuum.
 
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I added a small ball valve (left over from an old co2 manifold), to the end of the tee hose so after starting the siphon, I just close off the valve and no bubbles can pass.
 
Anyone see this product yet? "Dual purpose siphon" https://ballandkeg.com/

Basically the same design, adding in a check valve in the "mouth piece" and using a y splitter instead of a t splitter.

I'm really trying to locate a stainless y splitter 3/8" barbs and coming up short. Would like all of the siphon to be sterilizable, or at least boil-able so that rules out nylon, most plastics, and brass. Any other ideas?
 
Made one of these a few months ago and it worked fine.
Tried it again on the weekend and when I sucked on the mouthpiece it was sucking the sugar solution from the bottling bucket instead of the beer from the brew bucket. Any reason why this would happen?
The mouthpiece was lower than the beer and higher than the bottling bucket.

In the meantime I'll try it with some water and maybe I'll find out what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks! :mug:
 
Now stand up and give one good quick suck on the third hose (middle tee) to get the liquid flowing. As soon as you see the liquid reach the tee, clamp down with the hose clamp near your mouth. The liquid will go right by the tee and into your second vessel! Too easy.

"Now stand up and give one good quick suck on the third hose (middle tee) to get the liquid flowing."

Umm, hmm, that's what I said when I was young, dumb & full of Hmmm. Or, I guess not exactly verbatim as the above quote, but approximately that rhetoric. Heh.

Seriously, great idea. I'm sure that this would probably work for me too. I guess my inline auto siphon would work, too, haven't yet tried though.

Anyways, cheers, bottoms up, or something.

Peas be upon you,
I'm with Stupid

PEACE
 
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Very simple and creative.
My auto-siphon works well, but I probably have the parts to build one of these on hand.
Nice to know next time I break my siphon. (The hardware, not the flow)
 
I use my turkey baster instead of my mouth to get the siphon started. Seems more sanitary that way...

I've been siphoning this way for nearly 10 years... works like a charm.
 
I've used this method for quite a while and love it. Thanks for the post!

I recently just re-did mine because the valve I had started leaking and thought I should upgrade ;)

I went with all push-to-connect fittings (John Guest), food/beverage grade tubing and SS racking canes:
rackingcane-68361.jpg


Using the P-T-C fittings allows me to use it from racking cane to ball lock for direct transfers. Or racking cane to racking cane if I have a lot of hop particles from dry hopping in the primary where going through a ball lock w/ poppet might cause a clog.
rackingcaneorball-lock-68360.jpg


Looking forward to using it this weekend! Already past a water transfer test with no air infiltration!
 
What if you used your bottle filler as the sucking piece? It will automatically check when you release the lip lock.

I'm quoting this 10 year old post, which seemed to have not gotten any love at the time, to let people know that this idea works!

Attach your bottle filler to the middle branch of the T at the filler's valve end. Use a small piece of silicone tubing to join the parts. The T outlet's inner diameter needs to be smaller than the filler valve, or it won't work.

Join them against each other with the filler valve closed (normal resting position). To use it, push the filler against the T, and suck. When the siphon starts, just release the filler and the valve will close off tightly and quickly.
 
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