Auto Siphons 3/8" vs 1/2"

[MightyMosin]

I don't know if there is a better place to post or not for this one.

My short story on this is that the 1/2" transfers so much faster than the 3/8" version... No duh.
What isn't necessarily as readily apparent is if there is a deciding point on which you should use. My general observation is this.

If you are racking with a variety of sediment/lees at the bottom that you want to leave where they are, use the 3/8" siphon. The 1/2" transfers so much faster that it can create a bit of a vortex that starts to vacuum up what you want left at the bottom.

The 1/2" is great for transfers that you are not worrying about picking up crap at the bottom. You can also use it for the majority of a transfer and switch to 3/8" if you don't mind the changeover and extra cleaning.

 

[OleBrewing]

1/2" all the time for me. I don't worry with a little extra vitamin being picked up. once the pocket is created in the bottom while siphoning I let her go.

 

[MightyMosin]

Yeah, I can understand that though I love clarity in my meads and siphoning up extras is something that i really try to avoid.

 

[IslandLizard]

1/2" all the time for me. I don't worry with a little extra vitamin being picked up. once the pocket is created in the bottom while siphoning I let her go.

Yeah, I can understand that though I love clarity in my meads and siphoning up extras is something that i really try to avoid.

Easy to accomplish, don't stick the siphon all the way on the bottom, and certainly not down in the trub layer.

Clamp/suspend the siphon along the side of the fermenter. Start siphoning from around the midway area between the surface and trub layer. Then slowly lower the siphon as the surface recedes. When there's still about a gallon or so left, start slowly tilting the fermenter* toward the siphon to keep the siphoning well deep. Right before it starts to suck up trub stop the transfer: All clean beer in the bottling bucket or keg!

Use one of those diverter tippies on the bottom of the siphon so the beer enters from the top.
Rehearse the method with the fermenter(s) and some water.

* Stick a rolled up towel or a wedge under the high end.

 

[hottpeper13]

First upgrade I made was to a 1/2" siphon. My carbing in bottles was hit or miss with the 3/8". The beer keeps swirling to the very end,and all are carbed the same.

 

[Dan O]

Where do you all get the 1/2" from? My LHB shop doesn't have any & Amazon is hit or mostly miss, with most of the reviews being crap.
Thanks in advance, for anyone who takes the time to reply.
Happy meading

 

[MightyMosin]

More Beer
https://www.morebeer.com/products/easysiphon-12.html
https://www.morebeer.com/products/e...MIno6-_7mThAMVTACtBh0exALhEAQYASABEgJc8fD_BwE

 

[Dan O]

More Beer
https://www.morebeer.com/products/easysiphon-12.html
https://www.morebeer.com/products/e...MIno6-_7mThAMVTACtBh0exALhEAQYASABEgJc8fD_BwE

Thank you!

 

[InspectorJon]

3/8 inch siphon fits through the small mouth in a gallon jug. That may be helpful for small batch brewers.

 

[Broken Crow]

I don't use autosiphons anymore so this is idle curiousity for me, but back when I did I came across this SS beauty but never bought one;
https://www.brewsensible.com/products/brewsssiphonAnyone here ever use one?

 

[MightyMosin]

I have the Kegland Easy Jiggler which is similar except for the jiggling to get the siphon going. I do like the stainless over the plastic siphon.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

I don't use autosiphons anymore so this is idle curiousity for me, but back when I did I came across this SS beauty but never bought one;
https://www.brewsensible.com/products/brewsssiphonAnyone here ever use one?

Wow $100 for an auto siphon?

I bit steep for me, but I have been looking at the juggler for a bit. @MightyMosin , how does that one work for you?

 

[MightyMosin]

I agree that $100 is kind of steep. I went with the Jiggler after getting frustrated with another plastic siphon breaking on me.

The jiggler works well once you get past the whole shaking it up and down to start the siphon. The construction is nice, its easy to take apart and clear and I like that they used a glass marble in there in place of what looks like plastic in the BrewSSSiphon.

Aside from what I mentioned in the starting post, I see these as added drawbacks:
I would saw the jiggling is a drawback in that if you lose the siphon near the bottom. Having to shake it up and down near your sediment can stir things up.
The other drawback compared to the basic plastic auto siphons is that there isn't an option for the sediment cap that helps you get really far down in your siphoning.
The larger base of the Jiggler might have an issue getting into narrow opening carboys, but I don't use those.

The last drawback I see with this is that I sometimes use a gravity filter on a final racking and that tends to break up the siphon. The typical auto siphon works well for providing a low pressure push through the filter. The Jiggler cannot do that.

 

[MightyMosin]

I don't use autosiphons anymore so this is idle curiousity for me, but back when I did I came across this SS beauty but never bought one;
https://www.brewsensible.com/products/brewsssiphonAnyone here ever use one?

What are you using in place? racking cane?

 

[Broken Crow]

What are you using in place? racking cane?

I moved on to fermonsters, a fermzilla, and sankeys with floating diptubes for closed transfersand avoiding O2 exposure in my beer. ...That said; I still have my glass carboys and a couple very large demijohns that I hope to use for cider someday. Though I still have my plastic autosiphon, I've kept the bookmark for that SS one in case I ever decide to go back to regularly using one... was just hoping to hear anyone's experience with it on here.

 

[IslandLizard]

Anyone here ever use one?

We did!

A few years ago, we brewed a beer on the first day of our yearly homebrew clubs' campout. We transferred the boiling hot wort into a keg using [EDITs] that SS a Stainless Steel autosiphon! Not sure what model/brand.

Then floated the keg in the creek with an inner tube, to chill. When cool enough (about 85-90F) we pitched Kveik yeast, then let her ferment on the lawn for 2 days with a spunding valve and a black plastic bag over the keg, keeping her warm (at least during daytime with the sun turned on).

Come Saturday, chilled the keg in the onsite ice trailer, then served the beer with community dinner. A nice, very quaffable Pale Ale, and well received by everyone!

 

[Broken Crow]

We transferred the boiling hot wort into a keg using that SS autosiphon!

That makes it sound worth the $$. Did you get know it well enough to tell if it lives up to its marketing claims? As to addressing the trub issues in this thread; the clip that holds it at a chosen height is one of the features I find most attractive.. I don't mind sacrificing an inch or so for the sake of keeping it clear.

 

[IslandLizard]

That makes it sound worth the $$.

[EDITS] I dunno, it was around $60 or $80 then in 2018, IIRC. Still a bit steep for a niche or sparingly use item.
Not sure what model or brand it was, but it was the first stainless one marketed at that time.

I see there are various manufacturers/sellers out there offering similar models of a similar idea, with a fairly wide range of pricing. Some on Amazon go for $54 (e.g., Kegland), while BrewSensible wants $140 for a "complete kit."

Did you get know it well enough to tell if it lives up to its marketing claims?

[EDITS] Are you referring to marketing claims such as "this is the last auto siphon you'll ever need to buy?"
One of our club members bought one, mainly for that one campout brew, back in 2018, for the sole reason to transfer near boiling wort to the fermentation keg. I don't know how much he's used it since.

I think the (rubber) plunger remains a weak spot, not sure it's (user) replaceable. The rest of the siphon should be indestructible under normal use, being stainless steel, I reckon. As long as you don't unfortunately step on it or bend it.

The worst to do with any such instrument, plastic or stainless steel, is storing it assembled, as that will almost certainly deform that critical rubber plunger.

I "inherited" a few plastic (acrylic) auto siphons with Craigslist equipment "lot" purchases, but have only used them sporadically, and never for finished beer, due to the risk of unintended aeration while priming. The stainless steel siphons still need the pump action to prime, which can (will?) mix air (oxygen) into the beer.
So auto siphons are inherently not ideal for oxygen-free transfers in that regard.

Now I have been using the same stainless racking cane since I started brewing in 2008. I learned how to prime it, and that usually works. That said, I've also lost prime a few times during a transfer, and had to restart it, which can be a bit of a pain.

Occasionally an extra pair of hands is needed (my dear wife gets called in to help out). Usually, because I can't keep the cane "clamped" securely to the side of (short) 3.5 gallon fermenter (buckets) that have screw lids, so I need someone to hold it there in place.
Aside from the cane being much too long for a short bucket, another culprit of the cane not staying in place is the already fairly stiff vinyl tubing, being even less pliable when ice cold beer is going through it.

I could buy a second stainless cane for $10-12 and cut it shorter, just for that purpose. Or use a (cheap) plastic one, cut to size. Proper, secure clamping to a variety of fermenters, such as those odd short screw-lid buckets is not ideal, and would need a solution.

On a side note, my acrylic hydrometer jar (also from 2008) has become increasingly crazed over the past few years, and may completely crack or fall apart some day.
Do your plastic/acrylic (auto) siphons show any of that "spider webbing?"

 

[Dan O]

My acrylic hydrometer jar (also from 2008) has become increasingly crazed over the past few years, and may completely crack or fall apart some day. Do your plastic/acrylic (auto) siphons show any of that "spider webbing?"

My original acrylic graduated cylinder started to spider web on me. I believe, @ least in my case, that the StarSan had started to break down the plastic. Luckily, I buy spares of everything so I just tossed it & washed the new one.

 

[IslandLizard]

My original acrylic graduated cylinder started to spider web on me. I believe, @ least in my case, that the StarSan had started to break down the plastic. Luckily, I buy spares of everything so I just tossed it & washed the new one.

Many acrylic products start showing spider webbing ("crazing") with time. Not sure what's causing it, although stress (of various origins) can play a role.

I remember back in the early 2000s very, very expensive film scanner drums showing that ailment, with no conclusive explanation what caused it. IIRC, it boiled down to possible (inherent) stress in the cylindrical shape. The properties of the common cleaners used was also a major point of interest and research, especially their evaporative qualities.