SlitheryDee
General Manager
I had problems with the auto siphon that came with my Midwest supply brewing kit. The damn thing actually pumped tons of air into the beer as I was trying to start it. It did that TWICE to the same beer. Once when I racked it to a secondary to free up my main fermenter, and once when attempting to transfer to my bottling bucket. I don't think I could have oxidized the beer worse if I dropped an aquarium aerator in it for an hour. Then I had trouble with my bottling wand while bottling that beer. It dribbled everywhere in between filling bottles, so I ended up just bottling straight from the spigot, probably further aerating the beer.
Funny thing is, that beer is fully carbonated now and it tastes FANTASTIC. I'm working my way through it fast enough that I don't think the oxidation is going to be a problem. Go figure...
I replaced that autosiphon with a better model and it works like a dream. One smooth pump is all it needs to start the siphon, no bubbles, no clogging, no problems.
One thing I learned just from reading about auto siphon problems in general is that the plastic tubing you attach to the cane has to fit really snugly. So snugly in fact that it's recommended that you warm up the end of the hose to make it pliable enough to slip on, or else it's a major pain in the ass just to attach it. You might need to switch to a smaller diameter hose to keep it from drawing air bubbles at the point where it joins the racking cane.
Another thing I'm planning on doing before my next batch is to attach a small bit of half to one inch tubing to the bottom of my autosiphon to hold it a bit further above the level of the trub as I did notice it sucking some debris on my last bottling. That could be something for you to look at as well.
Funny thing is, that beer is fully carbonated now and it tastes FANTASTIC. I'm working my way through it fast enough that I don't think the oxidation is going to be a problem. Go figure...
I replaced that autosiphon with a better model and it works like a dream. One smooth pump is all it needs to start the siphon, no bubbles, no clogging, no problems.
One thing I learned just from reading about auto siphon problems in general is that the plastic tubing you attach to the cane has to fit really snugly. So snugly in fact that it's recommended that you warm up the end of the hose to make it pliable enough to slip on, or else it's a major pain in the ass just to attach it. You might need to switch to a smaller diameter hose to keep it from drawing air bubbles at the point where it joins the racking cane.
Another thing I'm planning on doing before my next batch is to attach a small bit of half to one inch tubing to the bottom of my autosiphon to hold it a bit further above the level of the trub as I did notice it sucking some debris on my last bottling. That could be something for you to look at as well.