Racking Advice

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the813cutie

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Can any one offer some good advice for Racking? I'm a first time brewer and it will be racking my oatmeal stout very soon. Thanks!!
 
Let gravity be your friend. Place the source vessel higher than the target. The lowest point you'll be siphoning from, should be higher than the highest point (liquid) of where it's going into. Start with an auto siphon, pump it with <half strokes until the brew starts flowing and then just watch it go from A to B... Keep the source end off of the trub and you'll be fine.. Don't worry about losing some of the beer in primary, to avoid getting trub into secondary, or the bottle bucket.

Auto siphons are great items to have. My first kit came with one and I'm very glad to have it... You can also use it as a pump when you need to pull out heavier liquids, or when you cannot use gravity.

I've even started using my auto siphon to move the wort to primary, since it makes it far easier than trying to pour 5 gallons of wort (even when chilled)... Risk of any spilling is virtually nil now.
 
I have to echo the sentiment of getting an auto-siphon, they are wonderful! Also leave the end of the tube below the surface of the liquid to avoid introducing more oxygen.
 
I have to echo the sentiment of getting an auto-siphon, they are wonderful! Also leave the end of the tube below the surface of the liquid to avoid introducing more oxygen.

I typically make sure the end of the tube, with the brew going into the secondary/bottling bucket, is on the bottom... I typically hold the end of the auto siphon to make sure it's not in the trub, so I usually watch it too. We're not talking about a huge amount of time here. The time spent doing it right pays off big time in what you get for the finished product...
 
Make sure there are no air bubbles in the line which can introduce off-flavours.

B
 
Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.....Those siphoning hoses get dirty easy!

What I do is wash the hose and siphon immediately after use, so that when it comes time to use it next all you have to do is sanitize it....keep a bottle of starsan spray near you at all times if it touches anything spray it
 
Thanks for all the great advice! My kit came with an auto siphon, too. I'll be sure to sanitize it thoroughly before I use it.
 
If you don't have an auto-siphon here is my method. Get heights set as normal. Sanitize the racking cane and place it in the bucket at a reasonable depth. Then I take my siphon hose and hold both ends in one hand to form a U-shape. I use my sanitizer spray bottle set to Stream and fill the siphon hose with sanitizer (this can take a while) or if I'm impatient I use a liquid measuring cup with a pour spout to fill one side. The Sanitizer will equalize and your hose will fill. Plug the drain end and attach to the other to the racking cane. Have a container handy next to your receiving "bucket", drain the sanitizer over your thumb, till you get beer. Close off with your (relatively) sanitized thumb and then put it into your receiving "bucket" and finish your process. Works great, and if your height is enough you won't really have to worry about air in your line.
 
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