Auto syphon aerating my beer :-(

Has anyone else had this problem where the auto syphon starts sucking air in through the pump plunger while racking?

It injects a steady stream of bubbles into the cane. Perfect aeration - if that's what I was after. I can stop it but it starts again immediately.

Nooooo!!!

Its freakin' traumatizing!

Should I get a new auto syphon? Or is something else causing it to do that? Nothing unusual about the process though, standard carboy racked into corny keg or whatever. Nothing else being used.

..TJ

 

Not around the plunger, but with some cheap vinyl tubing sometimes it wants to draw air where the tube slips over the cane. I have a small spring clamp to fix that with the vinyl, and some silicone tubing inbound to get rid of the vinyl.

 

Yeah, I've seen that before too. Pretty easy fix.

 

When I still used an autosiphon I had random days like that.
It's the biggest reason I switched to pushing with CO2.

Two things I noted: if you are using nylon mesh over the tip of the autosiphon to block out hop debris, as it loads up the resistance goes up and if there's going to be an air-suck that's when it's going to happen. In the same vein, the longer the drop between the autosiphon and the receiving vessel the greater the odds of air sucking around the gasket (or around unclamped tubing at the crook end).

Finally, don't store an autosiphon assembled, keep the two sections separate...

Cheers!

 

Have you stored your auto siphon assembled? Do you keep the auto siphon in cleaner or sanitizer for a few days? Doing either one of these things will distort or dry the gasket on the racking cane.

Also the one-half inch auto siphon is best with seven-sixteenths ID tubing and the three-eighths inch siphon with five-sixteenths ID tubing. No need for any sort of clamp.

 

I had a similar problem. A quick search showed me the solution - pour some beer in the space between the cane and the siphon tube.

 

Thanks all. Yeah, I've been storing it assembled. Live and learn.

I like the beer idea, and I thought of that when it was happening, but no easy way to do it at the moment. Next time I'll be prepared.

..TJ

 

I always have Starsan solution inside the tube. The racking cane slides better when it is wet.

 

I use electrical tape on my tube and wand.

 

Yeah, I always end up with an inch or so of StarSan above the plunger/seal.

And, always store separated.

 

I thought my auto siphon was leaking where the tube and cane connect so I added a stainless clamp and still got bubbles. I realized it was cavitation. Where the tubing is wider than the racking cane there is a drop in pressure as the liquid flows causing the CO2 to come out of solution. If I pinch the tubing to slow down the flow it goes away even after I release the pressure. Obviously this won't help if the gasket is sucking air.