Auto-siphon vs. Mouth

[ncbrewer]

I start the siphon with the tube full of star san method - works really well. This link is a good demo:

I realized I've changed a little from the method in the video. Here is my current method:
Sanitize cane, tube, and hands. Have the anti-sediment cup on the end of the racking cane. Attach tube to racking cane. Hold racking cane and tubing with the open ends up – both together at the same elevation. Pour Star-San into end of tube, moving tube and cane as needed until cane and tube are completely filled, with no air bubbles. Put thumb over end of tube. Gently turn over the racking cane and lower it into the full bucket. Lower the end of the tube to a small pan. Take thumb off the end of the tube – the siphon will start. Siphon the Star-San into the pan. When beer gets to the end, put thumb over the tube again. Move end of tube to bottling bucket. Remove thumb. Siphon will re-start.

 

[ODI3]

Just attach a smaller or larger tube to the syphon tube, suck on the attached piece then when the syphon starts detach the attached piece before the liquid gets that far down the hose.

 

[Homercidal]

Flyguy has a genius way to start a siphon with your mouth sanitarily using a tee. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/flyguys-t-siphon-3-replacement-autosiphon-25774/

I love my autosiphon, and use it on cooled wort or beer.

But since my hot wort melted my first one, I haven't used it right after boil. Then I heard about the T method and I've been using it ever since. Works great and is sanitary! Just about the easiest thing to make and use.

Of course once I get my BK rigged up with a spigot I will not have any use for it.

 

[djfriesen]

I love my autosiphon, and use it on cooled wort or beer.

But since my hot wort melted my first one, I haven't used it right after boil. Then I heard about the T method and I've been using it ever since. Works great and is sanitary! Just about the easiest thing to make and use.

Of course once I get my BK rigged up with a spigot I will not have any use for it.

I looked at that T method and I think my tubing lengths must be too long. I found it almost impossible to start a siphon and keep it going. I still have all my equipment for it, so maybe I'll revisit it sometime, like when I break the autosiphon. As it is, the autosiphon is too convenient to abandon needlessly.

 

[Homercidal]

I looked at that T method and I think my tubing lengths must be too long. I found it almost impossible to start a siphon and keep it going. I still have all my equipment for it, so maybe I'll revisit it sometime, like when I break the autosiphon. As it is, the autosiphon is too convenient to abandon needlessly.

I didn't have any problems when I remember to block off the end of the hose with my finger when sucking on the T, and clamping the T hose off after getting a good amount of wort going through the lines.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

I used to use my mouth, never had a problem with infection after doing that. But now I just fill my siphon tube (some how I still don't have a proper raking cane) with sanstar and keep one end closed. Then put the other in the beer. I let the first runnings flow into a pt glass until they come out the color of the beer, and then into the bottling bucket (or whatever I'm doing).
If your just sucking you are only going to get bacteria on the out side of the tube. I would always clean my lips with rubbing alcohol before doing this, then wipe the outside of the tube with a sanitizer once the siphon started. Well most of the time, sometimes I didn't, and it worked out fine too.
Infections are less common, with even the most sloppy methods, that most brewers would have you believe. But it sure sucks when they do happen, and I now think it's worth taking even ridiculous steps to avoid. But not much will grow in a beer post fermentation. There are not simple sugars at this point, and you have some hops to keep things from growing, oh yeah, and there is ethanol.

 

[ODI3]

I have upgraded from using a smaller tube to just sticking a tube from a pen into my syphon hose then sucking on the pen tube.
Remove the pen tube

 

[m_stodd]

You can use the mouth method and be sanitary, but autosiphon is easy and has other benefits. I actually use my autosiphon just as much for sampling as I do for siphoning. Since the autosiphon has a one way valve, you can fill it by putting the bottom in liquid, then moving it up and down. No more uni-tasker.

 

[F250]

There are few things that I will be so "line in the sand" about when it comes to brewing, but I simply cannot see any good reason to siphon by mouth. Spend 2 dollars on a turkey baster if you don't want to buy an autosiphon. Or just submerge the majority of your racking tube in the beer and put your sanitized thumb over it. Pull the tubing out, you'll have a column of beer in there, use that to start your siphon. Or use the method of filling with sanitizer and use that to start your siphon.

^^^^^This.

Rick

 

[mufflerbearing]

Clean vs Dirty. You know where you mouth has been.......

 

[krackin]

As long as you have just finished siphoning gasoline, carbolic acid, or hydrozene then using your mouth is perfect acceptable.