Racking sans oxidation

This post relates to racking, for instance from carboy to keg. I have an autosiphon and usually use this. However, I tend to get what I think is a lot of air entering the stream of beer where the top of the cane slides into the tubing. As a result, I believe i'm getting some oxidation by the end of 2-week conditioning. I've read many forums about racking and similar issues but have not been convinced of a solid way to rack, either with autosiphon or otherwise.

I've tried using only a tube and creating the suction by filling with sanitizer, placing one end into the beer and then releasing the other end below the carboy to begin the siphon. While this works, I find it tough to keep the tube airtight and the liquid in the tube while I maneuver the end into the carboy. Plus, my tube tends to coil a little inside the carboy which makes it hard to position the end of the tube where I want it in the beer. I've read about using only the racking cane with a tube and then starting the siphon with liquid in the tube, but I believe I'll have the same problem with air entering the cane-tube junction that I get when I use the cane with the autosiphon.

I know there is a setup using a cane through a carboy hood and blowing air into the top of the carboy through an online air filter connected to the hood, but I don't have that setup and it seems like here should be an easier way.

Obviously there are configurations involving a pump,but I don't have one yet.

So, I'm wondering if you have suggestions about a good way to accomplish a rack from carboy to keg that doesn't require additional hands. Ideally, I'd like to have a tube long enough to extend down into the keg completely, that sits there, while I do whatever I need to do when starting the siphon. If I can solve the air problem at the cane-tubing junction, i think i'd be set. perhaps my tubing is a 1/16" too large in diameter? Can anyone provide me the tried and true Inner diameter of their tubing for use with a racking cane? Any other suggestions, tips, etc. are very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

A rubber band will solve that for you.

 

I should have mentioned that I tried a hoseclamp but that didn't work. I still had a lot of suction in there

 

It more than likely isn't O2, but Co2 that you're seeing at the bend, since you have a full "tube" before and after the bend. More than likely you're getting co2 bubbling out into that space, and I wouldn't worry.

But if you want... You could use a plastic hose clamp



Even if it were O2, it's such a tiny amount. It really takes a lot to oxydize your beer, more than the little things that happen when we are careful.

 

I used to have the same problem. Push the tube a little bit further onto your cane. This fixed it completely.

 

Thank you for the replies. I will try the suggestions. In the meantime, continued input of additional or alternative methods are appreciated.

 

try getting a slightly smaller ID tube, a size that seems too tight to get onto the cane, and heat the tube end in boiling water and jam it on as far as it will go. once it cools and contracts, you wont get it off without cutting it.

 

If it still doesn't seal with a hose clamp then it sounds like the tubing is too big. Getting air bubbles at the cane/hose connection is pretty common if you don't use a hose clamp and proper sized tubing.

I rack using just a typical stainless steel racking cane with a typical 4'-5' length of 3/8" ID x 1/2" OD plastic tubing/etc. I slip a very short piece of 1/2" ID tubing over the free end of the 3/8" ID tubing and use it as a 'mouthpiece' to start the siphon.

 

I have the large size auto-siphon (1/2 inch) and I use 3/8 ID silicone hose instead of the vinyl most people use. The silicone is easy to slip onto the cane but forms a good seal because it is soft and flexible. It also can be sanitized by boiling. If you have the small size auto-siphon I don't know what to recommend, as silicone tubing seems to be readily available only in 1/2 and 3/8 ID.

 

The most basic way, and which requires exactly two hands, is to use a piece of tubing and nothing else. Fill it with sanitizer to start the siphon. Works for several Ninkasi winners.

I use a racking cane and carboy cap and push through co2 purged lines into co2 purged vessels. This, like the auto-siphon, is slightly complicated and can fail. I am glad to know that if anything goes wrong I am comfortable siphoning with nothing but a piece of hose. It's one of those basic brewing skills you should have even if you choose to do something fancier.