Siphoning without a autosiphon

I plan on transfering my ale to the secondard 5 gallon carboy. I have read that you should never suck to get the siphoning going and don't want to splash. How can I siphon without an autosiphon and why no sucking?

no sucking because the human mouth is awash with bacteria.
here is what some do to siphon without the auto part - just fill the tubing with liquid (no rinse or boiled water) hold it so that it will not drain into your beer and when you immerse the other end and turn the tubing over it will create a vaccum effect and begin the siphoning process. it may take a bit longer - but it will work. be sure to siphon the liquid off into a seperate container before filling your bottles/keg.

You can start the siphon with clean water or sanitizing solution. Just completely fill the hose with liquid, put your CLEAN thumb over one end, and submerge the other end into your beer. As long as the hose remained filled with liquid, and you have the "outlet" end lower than the end in your beer, the siphon should start as soon as you take your thumb off of the end. You can drain the water/sanitizer into a separate small container and then quickly move the siphon hose to your carboy if you like.

No sucking because your mouth contains lactobacillus bacteria which can VERY easily infect your beer, making it taste sour and nasty.

If you don't want to mess with water in the tubing to get the siphon started, just use a sanitzied turkey baster tip to suck on the end of the hose. When the beer starts flowing, and before it reaches the turkey baster, remove the turkey baster and let the beer flow. That's what I do and it works well for me.

Kai

idk... ive been doing the water trick for a while now. I just got an autosiphon and it kicks major arse. Worth the 10 bucks...

sirsloop said:

idk... ive been doing the water trick for a while now. I just got an autosiphon and it kicks major arse. Worth the 10 bucks...

Click to expand...

+1

For a measily $10, it's hard to justify not having one.... but then again, my father tells me I am an enabler.

I tell him that every person's life has a purpose and it just so happens that mine is to serve as a bad example. Cheers!

Carboy caps work great as well, if you're going into or out of a carboy.

I bottled straight from primary last time, so I was going from bucket to bucket. Found out that the "fill the hose and racking cane with sanitizer" really is a lot easier than I though - the most difficult part is getting the hose completely filled. Just have some other container handy to catch the sanitizer/water as it comes out.

I use the sanitized turkey baster method - works great for me. Had an extra one lying around a few years ago, and that is what I have been doing ever since.

After years of various siphon methods, finally got the auto-siphon. Should have gotten it years ago.

we are ghetto. If you want to use your mouth, take a shot of strong alcohol (vodka) and swish it around in your mouth first.

I'll be getting a auto-siphon shortly but this has been working well for us til now.

I fold over and pinch the tube to stop and controll flow to prevent splashing in the carboy.
I got a long piece of tubing so I can transfer from a high counter to the floor and avoid touching a portion of the tubing that will be submerged in the beer.

I've heard that the bacteria in our mouths (or human bacteria and the like) cannot live in wine and will be killed by either the alcohol or Campden tablets.

That being said, I will definitely be trying the "liquid in the tube" technique next time, if I haven't picket up an auto-siphon by then!

Auto-siphons and vinotars are well worth the money. The jet bottle washers are cool too. Great for saving time and making brewing activities a lot easier.
edit: if you're impatient like me, also look at one of the 1/2" auto-siphons. They'll move your beer a little faster.