mold in my spigot... what to do?

For the third of fourth time I've found some mold in the gravity sample that I've pulled from the spigot of a batch that had been fermenting for about two weeks. I'm sure it's not from the test tube.
After pitching I usually spray into the spigot with starsan and then put a layer of aluminum foil over the spigot to protect it but still, a few times there was some mold inside.... I guess it comes from the last sample that I take before fermentation to measure gravity...

Has anyone had a similar problem? what to do? I thought that by spraying starsan inside the spigot (while it's turned off) it should be fine...

I don't think the batches are ruined as the mold doesn't seem to get inside and gets washed out when taking the sample....

Buy a carboy?

There isn't really a fix for this, besides avoiding spigots. I think they are more trouble than they are worth.

take it apart and clean it every time

The trouble with spigots is that they have lots of nooks and crannies where mold and other things can hide and multiply. For that reason I'm not a fan of spigots on fermenters. Too much time for things to grow in there.

Consider fermenting in buckets without spigots, or carboys.

I to say get rid of the spigot for fermenters. If it is one of the plastic ones I personally would not trust it for longer that the time it takes to bottle a batch.

I feel you are playing with fire. Sooner or later you will get an infection from the mold that grows in the spigot while fermenting.

You might make something that will attach around the spigot that you can fill with sanitizer. Keep it attached submerging the spigot while it is fermenting.

ricshayne said:

take it apart and clean it every time

Click to expand...

I do.

kh54s10 said:

I to say get rid of the spigot for fermenters. If it is one of the plastic ones I personally would not trust it for longer that the time it takes to bottle a batch.

I feel you are playing with fire. Sooner or later you will get an infection from the mold that grows in the spigot while fermenting.

You might make something that will attach around the spigot that you can fill with sanitizer. Keep it attached submerging the spigot while it is fermenting.

Click to expand...

I hate siphoning for the potential mess and equipment needed. I love how easy it is to take a sample from a spigot and just connect a hose and drain the wort so I'll stay true to my spigot!

But I like the submerging idea... Might try that

PBW for physical removal of material. Bleach is excellent at getting in and sanitizing, Rinse well with water. Then use StarSan to sanitize the rinse water.

tomaso said:

I do.







I hate siphoning for the potential mess and equipment needed.

Click to expand...

Learning to siphon is a rite of passage in homebrewing. All you need is a racking cane, cane clip, and length of tubing and a turkey baster. Fill the cane and tubing with star San, cover Tubing end with your star san'd thumb, insert cane to fermenter, allow star San to flow into waste pitcher, when beer is flowing cover end of tubing and place in your keg or bottling bucket.

Use the turkey baster for collecting samples.

The racking cane clip is critical, start siphoning well above the yeast cake, slowly slide the cane downwards, when you see the slightest trace of yeast clouding the cane, raise 1/4 inch or so. At the end you can tip the fermenter to cleanly get all but a few ounces of clear beer.

With a little practice, it becomes cheap easy and very effective.

Much easier than cleaning a spigot every brew and more sanitary.

Why not get a cover for it similar to the ones used on a tap faucet? http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Faucet-Cap_p_216.html Spray the crap out of spigot and fill cap with Star San and put it on. Might be loose but I'm sure you could figure it out.

wilserbrewer said:

Learning to siphon is a rite of passage in homebrewing.

Click to expand...

I siphoned for years but eventually got an auto siphon. Even easier.

And as far as infections, by transferring thru a contaminated spigot, you could carry an infection into your bottling bucket and get an infection in the bottles, even if it wasn't in the fermenter.

tomaso said:

I do.

I hate siphoning for the potential mess and equipment needed. I love how easy it is to take a sample from a spigot and just connect a hose and drain the wort so I'll stay true to my spigot!

But I like the submerging idea... Might try that

Click to expand...

Well, to take a sample without a spigot, all you need is a clean and sanitized turkey baster. $1 from the Dollar Store.

Siphoning with an autosiphon is preferable to me, as sometimes spigots get trub in them (and mold and fruitflies, etc). I dryhop many beers and a siphon means not transferring hops debris as well.

I know that some use spigots on their fermenters and like them, but I think it's risky and not all that convenient. If I was going to use one (and I wouldn't, but.....), I'd sanitize extremely well, and spray star-san up the spigot from time to time also. The spigot is pretty close to the floor if your fermenter is on the floor, and that grosses me out so I'd even cover it with a sanitized baggie or something.

ncbrewer said:

I siphoned for years but eventually got an auto siphon. Even easier.

.

Click to expand...

Maybe I should try one....do you have to disassemble to clean....I guess I have read people struggling with, or breaking them that I have never bothered and just always stuck with the old school racking cane....hell there only like 10 bucks I think I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and get one

ricshayne said:

take it apart and clean it every time

Click to expand...

tomaso said:

I do.

Click to expand...

Do you take the main body apart too, the 2 barrels that turn within each other, one has the large nut, the other has the actual spigot?

After taking your sample, some beer is left over in the spigot. You can flush it out, but it takes more than just one spray of Starsan.

I'd stay away from plastic spigots on fermentors altogether, more afraid of leaking. I take samples with a skinny hose through the airlock grommet. Very easy.

You can turn your spigit upwards and turn handle to where it is not open and the "drain" is closed. Keep it full of star san and I don't see how anything can grow. So far thats how I do it. no problems so far.....knock wood and hope not jinxed.

The potential for mold contamination is precisely the reason you should avoid using anything with a spigot for fermenting.

wilserbrewer said:

Maybe I should try one....do you have to disassemble to clean....I guess I have read people struggling with, or breaking them that I have never bothered and just always stuck with the old school racking cane....hell there only like 10 bucks I think I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and get one

Click to expand...

I love mine! I was a winemaker for many years, so I was pretty proficient with siphoning for years but someone gave me one. Oh, it's so handy! "Disassembling" them means taking one tube out of the other- it's not any trouble at all. I use mine probably once or twice a week, and it's been around for about 7(?) years.

I sometimes spray the spigot with some Star San, bend a pipe cleaner in half, and go to town scrubbing the insides. Afterwards I spray the spigot again and go about bottling / kegging etc.

Even though the pipe cleaner only gets inserted 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, it's how I fight any nasties growing. Although, I've never had mold or fruit flies mind you.

World's Easiest Siphon System.

Get a racking cane and matching tubing.

Get a 2-4 inch hunk of tubing. This short hunk's ID matches the OD of the tubing on your racking cane. Keep the shortie in your favorite sanitizer.

When you want to start a siphon, the racking cane is positioned as normal.

Put the shortie on the end of the racking cane tubing. Put your filthy mouth on the open end of the shortie tubing and suck away. When you see the siphon has started and wort or beer is running down hill, pull off the shortie hunk and direct the wort or beer to the desired target.

Put the shortie back in your sanitizer solution.

If it were any easier, it would be illegal or taxed.

rufusbrewer said:

world's easiest siphon system.

...

If it were any easier, it would be an auto siphon.

Click to expand...

fify

I also fill my tubing with sanitizer, hold my finger over one end and attach the other end to the racking cane. Remove finger from end of tubing and fluid will start flowing. Let the sanitizer drain into a cup and then once only beer is coming out of the tubing put it in the keg.

Yep....I was gonna "upgrade" to the auto siphon, but I'd still have to sanitize it / fill it w/ sanitizer just like my standard cane....I guess I wouldn't have to catch the run off prior to the beer...old habits die hard....a standard cane relies only on gravity

I'm a big fan of the these. If you use carboys they render your autosyphon obsete. Both work well. I only have a regular bore auto-syphon so it is alot slower than what I now use.

Sterile Syphon Starter

Thanks for all the good answers!
I have an autosiphon and been using it for a while but I'm not exactly what you'd call a Macgyver and still I just find it a bit unpractical, especially since the small one broke (the little black part inside the end of the tube that creates the suction came loose! and no way to fix it...argh) I only got a big one that's even less handy....

anyway, +1 to saying that plastic spigots are probably a hassle but then again there were some useful tips that I might try, like putting a little cap on or turning it upside down and filling with starsan....

Btw, today I bottled that batch of Belgian Blonde with the mold in the spigot and it seems fine...

Yooper said:

Well, to take a sample without a spigot, all you need is a clean and sanitized turkey baster. $1 from the Dollar Store.

I know that some use spigots on their fermenters and like them, but I think it's risky and not all that convenient. If I was going to use one (and I wouldn't, but.....), I'd sanitize extremely well, and spray star-san up the spigot from time to time also. The spigot is pretty close to the floor if your fermenter is on the floor, and that grosses me out so I'd even cover it with a sanitized baggie or something.

Click to expand...

The thing is that I do 10-15L batches in a 20L carboy So it takes me a long time to take samples with the wine thief I have....

IslandLizard said:

Do you take the main body apart too, the 2 barrels that turn within each other, one has the large nut, the other has the actual spigot?

Click to expand...

Yes, I take all of it apart, clean it and sanitize it

actech said:

You can turn your spigit upwards and turn handle to where it is not open and the "drain" is closed. Keep it full of star san and I don't see how anything can grow. So far thats how I do it. no problems so far.....knock wood and hope not jinxed.

Click to expand...

will try that! Sounds like a good solution!

Gavin C said:

I'm a big fan of the these. If you use carboys they render your autosyphon obsete. Both work well. I only have a regular bore auto-syphon so it is alot slower than what I now use.

Sterile Syphon StarterView attachment 297042

View attachment 297043

Click to expand...

Yes, A friend of mine has it but here in Barcelona it's still difficult to get I think but will try to get my hands on one...

Peruvian802 said:

fify

Click to expand...

I had an auto siphon fail on me. On other hand, while my mouth has gotten me into trouble, it never has fail in my brewery. :rockin:

RufusBrewer said:

I had an auto siphon fail on me. On other hand, while my mouth has gotten me into trouble, it never has fail in my brewery. :rockin:

Click to expand...

can you clarify how the auto-siphon failed? Did it crack or break or did the rubber o-ring crack?

But back to the OP's issue, I also think you should take a hard look at the humidity in your fermentation area. My basement brew cave is dominated by an airplane engine sized dehumidifier that maintains about 45% humidity (which is pretty dry for the Northeast). This does alll manner of wonderful things for the brewery area including insuring that everything dries out nicely after brew days to limit mold formation

Sounds painful. Next time wrap that rascal.

philipmeese said:

But back to the OP's issue, I also think you should take a hard look at the humidity in your fermentation area. My basement brew cave is dominated by an airplane engine sized dehumidifier that maintains about 45% humidity (which is pretty dry for the Northeast). This does alll manner of wonderful things for the brewery area including insuring that everything dries out nicely after brew days to limit mold formation

Click to expand...

You put your finger on the spot!
Strangely enough I completely forgot to mention it but my ferm chest freezer is actually already infested by mold
tragically-funny story.... a few months ago we had a party and used the freezer to store drinks and other stuff, amongst them a huge plate of Tiramisu. While taking it out of the freezer it slipped from the plate and the whole Tiramisu spilled into the freezer! haha, my cleaning efforts afterwards seem to have been only half hearted so ever since there's always been a bit of mold in the freezer and when I cleaned it it came back...
I wasn't too worried about it until now because the better bottles are tightly sealed anyway.... that is except for the spigot.... and I didn't think it could get passed the aluminum foil that I put over it... mistake I guess...

Cause I'm leaving for 3 weeks tomorrow I emptied and thoroughly cleaned the freezer now with cleaning product and then sprayed star san all over. You think this will be enough...?
Maybe sthg stronger and more thorough is needed....

Btw, brew cave sounds so nice! When I get my house (hopefully soon!) there will be that cave! Do you enter it via sliding down an auto siphon from upstairs?
your airplane engine sized dehumidifier sounds awesome! Does it use a lot of electricity? Post a pic of it if you can...

Thanks!

I use this dehumidifer and it works very well. I keep 2 beers fermenting in my chest freezer usuaully and only need to recharge it in a wall outlet every 2 weeks

never had mold in my chest freezer and I think its due to this guy
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-E-500-Renewable-Wireless-Dehumidifer/dp/B000H0XFD2/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1439909634&sr=1-7&keywords=dehumidifier+portable

m00ps said:

I use this dehumidifer and it works very well. I keep 2 beers fermenting in my chest freezer usuaully and only need to recharge it in a wall outlet every 2 weeks

never had mold in my chest freezer and I think its due to this guy
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0XFD2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Click to expand...

Nice! And another gadget to add to my brewing equipment sure I can get something similar here as well. Thx!

As for having to sanitize the auto-siphon, it is self sanitizing. I keep a bucket of sanitizer and use the auto siphon to transfer it to the carboy, keg and whatever else. The auto-siphon is sanitized in the process. Same with cleaners.

I also have a quick thing to add. After using your spigot I would spray it with a squirt bottle of citric acid and use a small brush to clean and a paper towel to dry.

I used to use an auto siphon and yes it was easy and worked well, but I switched to using spigot frementers only, about 3 years ago and I've never had a problem. As easy as the auto siphon is, the spigot is easier and less time consuming.

To the OP, to keep mine clean I disassemble and clean every time I clean the frementer and its worked with no problems. I do cover the spigot with a plastic bagie and spray star san up the spigot before every pour. Every now and then, soak the entire thing in oxyclean or. PBW.

dustinboyd said:

I used to use an auto siphon and yes it was easy and worked well, but I switched to using spigot frementers only, about 3 years ago and I've never had a problem. As easy as the auto siphon is, the spigot is easier and less time consuming.

To the OP, to keep mine clean I disassemble and clean every time I clean the frementer and its worked with no problems. I do cover the spigot with a plastic bagie and spray star san up the spigot before every pour. Every now and then, soak the entire thing in oxyclean or. PBW.

Click to expand...

Yes, I also find it much easier than siphoning. I think with getting rid of the mold and a dehumidifier and then using a bag over the spigot and spraying Starsan it should hopefully be OK...

dustinboyd said:

I As easy as the auto siphon is, the spigot is easier and less time consuming.

To the OP, to keep mine clean I disassemble and clean every time I clean the frementer and its worked with no problems. I do cover the spigot with a plastic bagie and spray star san up the spigot before every pour. Every now and then, soak the entire thing in oxyclean or. PBW.

Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me and my love of primitive methods, but I fail to see how disassembling a spigot and cleaning, and reinstalling every batch is easier than racking.

Different strokes I guess..

wilserbrewer said:

Maybe it's just me and my love of primitive methods, but I fail to see how disassembling a spigot and cleaning, and reinstalling every batch is easier than racking.

Different strokes I guess..

Click to expand...

Well, the spigot you just screw on and off in a second and just rinse it and soak it in Starsan and that's it. And to transfer wort you just open the tap et voilà...

With the siphon, in my experience, there are 3 big parts and while manoeuvring it isn't exactly hard it does take some effort, watching and holding in place.
Also I find that it's too likely for me to disturb the trub while tilting the carboy to get out all the wort.

And since I only have a 15L pot, when I rack from it to the fermentor the huge autosiphon is almost impossible to hold in place well without help.

Not to mention it falling out of the bucket or hand, hose falling on the floor, etc for clumsy guys like myself.

Actually I already wanted to start a thread called 'why I hate the auto siphon so much'

So to me it seems so much easier just to connect a hose to the spigot....nothing else to worry about...

tomaso said:

And since I only have a 15L pot, when I rack from it to the fermentor the huge autosiphon is almost impossible to hold in place well without help.

Click to expand...

Pour from the kettle into the fermenter. You get significant aeration, too.