Racking question

[lapaglia]

I got a racking cane today and 6 feet of 3/8th tubing. it wont maintain a siphon. I believe its because I got 3/8th tubing and not 5/16th (i didn't read right). I can siphon just fine with just the hose but with the cane it wont maintain the siphon. There is no air leak between the connections. I can get the right tubing tomorrow. I also want a auto siphon but the budget wont allow it this week.

So did I screw up? If not how can I make it work?

To further confuse myself the LHBS website says "Hard plastic tubing used to siphon from one fermenter to the next. Curved on one end to install 3/8 tubing and it has a sediment cap on the other end to hold it above the yeast sediment." So they suggest 3/8 and not 5/16 that I read from the manufacture of the racking cane.

Someone tell me what I am doing wrong other than not getting the auto-siphon.

 

[BarleyWater]

There are two different sizes, and it sounds like that description is for the larger size. I have tried it with the size you have, and it just gets a little air bubble in there that will stop the siphon, and potential oxygenate the beer. Just grab the right size tomorrow. They sell it at HD and Lowes for like $0.13 per foot.

 

[lapaglia]

Well I got the one they say is 3/8th and 3/8 ID tubing so I think Ill take a jug and the cane and the tubing to the LHBS and let them make it work. I may have to blow the budget and get the auto-siphon sooner than I planned.

 

[Pogo]

Forget the auto-syphon!

Keep the racking cane and just use it the old fashioned way (gargle with wiskey/vodka first) until you have the funds to get an auto-syphon, but then, don't get an auto-syphon.

Go to an outboard marine supply and get a replacement primer bulb for the fuel line of an outboard engine that fits the tubing you are using.

Then go to your LHBS and get a plastic tubing clamp that also fits the plastic tubing you are using.

Slide the clamp onto the exhaust end of your tubing, then just barely wedge the intake end of the primer bulb into this same end of your tubing.

DO NOT pull juice all of the way into, or through, the primer bulb!!!

It will have to be cleaned if you do!

Just GENTLY squeeze the bulb until juice is a foot or two away from the bulb, then squeeze the tubing clamp hard enough to stop the flow of juice/air.

Then wiggle the primer bulb loose from the end of the tubing, insert the tubing where you want it, then unlatch the clamp, and viola!

Pogo

 

[lapaglia]

While I respect your opinion that seems like a lot of work.

I did finally get it started on a 3 gal BB, by filing the cane and tubing with water, and noticed that the first 9 inches of the tubing from the end of the cane were not filling with water it was just pouring in a 1/4 dia stream inside of the tube.

While not the greatest photos it does show that the tubing is probably the wrong size. As near as I can tell the transition should be pretty smooth and without a long section, 9 inches, of air and water.

 

[Pogo]

Those photo look pretty great to me.

There is a leak of some kind somewhere.

Reverse the hose ends and see if the problem moves with the hose.

Pogo

 

[lapaglia]

Tried that and it worked better but not perfect and didn't last. It slides on and off pretty easy. So its not really a tight fit. Its like I need the 5/16" dia hose. Id say you confirmed the problem is the tube size

 

[lapaglia]

ok so I put 2 wire ties on the junction of the cane and the tubing and its working well. I will go get new hose tomorrow.

 

[lapaglia]

The LHBS didn't have 5/16th hose so I bit the bullet and got a Fermtec auto siphon. That worked. I will still need to get a 5/16th hose but the 3/8th works on this just fine.

 

[EvilTOJ]

A home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot will have 5/16" tubing in the sink hardware section. That's where I had to buy mine.

 

[Ecnerwal]

On the one hand a restriction of some sort (such as a shutoff clamp), or a smaller tube can help with the air (or usually carbon dioxide coming out of solution, if moving fermented cider/beer/wine/mead) in the tube. Keeping the output end submerged helps with actual air getting back up the tube. Squeezing in the area of the bubble can break it up and make it move on out the end of the tube.

On the other hand, it can frustate some people enough over a long period of time that they go out and buy a peristaltic pump. Which actually isn't that bad a deal compared to a couple of better bottles with racking adapters, or a V-vessel/conical, which are other approaches people fed up with it take - and those people are still subject to the limitations of gravity.

As for starting it, filling it totally with boiled and cooled water is the way to go. Vent into a waste container until the product being siphoned hits the end of the tube, then clamp off and move to the proper receptacle.

However, for short duration (most beer, not so much cider and mead) the cheap approach is to use a bucket with a spigot to avoid the siphon annoyance.

I actually like siphoning water. I despise siphoning fermented products with dissolved gas. And I don't need to anymore.