Autosiphon help...

[s2cmpugh]

Good day everyone! I started my first batch of beer (in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/tips-my-first-batch-190480/) last Wed. 8/18 and plan to transfer it into a secondary Thurs. or Friday of this week. I have to transfer into the secondary as my primary is also my bottling bucket. I practiced a bit using water on the autosiphon, but can someone give me some help on how to really properly use it when it comes time to rack it back into my bottling bucket?

My sanitizer says "one step, no rinse" and is the powder kind you mix with 1 gallon of water with 1 tablespoon of white powder sanitizer.

do I just need to spray down the siphon real good, then start pumping to get the beer going?

Thanks for the help!

Cris P.

 

[marubozo]

Well, just as important is sanitizing the inside of the tubing. So just spraying the outside isn't good enough. What you'll want to do is pump some of the sanitizer through your siphon to make sure everything inside gets wet and then purge the sanitizer. Then you can wet the outside of everything and get going on your beer.

 

[nanofreak]

I usually sanitize my bucket, and empty it through my autosiphon and spigot to sanitize them both.

 

[Brasco20]

I mix some sanitizer in my bucket, dip both ends of the siphon, then completely fill the siphon and pump the sanitizer for a few seconds. ANYTHING THAT TOUCHES THE BEER AT ANY POINT NEEDS TO BE SANITIZED! Most important thing about home brewing. I learned that the hard way.

 

[dRaPP]

+1 for sanitizing everything. If you're uncomfortable with the auto-siphon, practice while you're sanitizing it.

A few things to remember: Your primary needs to be up higher than your secondary. Otherwise, you'll be pumping the siphon all day to continue the flow. You only need to pump until the beer comes out the other end, and as long as the end of the tube is lower, it'll keep going on its own.

 

[Hang Glider]

+1 to dRaPP -
easy newbie mistake (thankfully that particular error would be 9 years ago for me )

Output LOWER than input for any siphon to work.

 

[Zamial]

...then start pumping to get the beer going?

Everyone else seems to have answered the other stuff but I do have a few things to add...

when using the auto siphon it should really take 1 full "pump" to get it going. I insert the auto siphon, all the way compressed, into the beer, then slowly draw the cane up to fill it, then quickly (not violently) press it down. This should be enough to get it going. If not, repeat the above 1 more time. It is not a "pump" and should not be used as one, doing so will oxidize your beer. (Think wet card board flavors after they have sat for awhile)

also make sure the other end is at the bottom of the receiving container to minimize splashing.

If you are bottling, make up your priming sugar solution 1st, let it cool, then put it into the bottling bucket before you start the siphon. I also give the beer a very gentle stir with the auto siphon here to help mix the priming sugar right before bottling and another 1/2 way through. (If you choose to do the stir, be gentle and do NOT create a vortex or splash!)

Good luck!

 

[s2cmpugh]

Awesome, thanks guys! I was reading somewhere else where they said to fill the siphon with sanitzed solution, then start siphoning it out into a random container until beer started to flow. Then put the end of the hose into your secondary or bottling bucket. The whole time, I'm thinking "how in the hell do you keep the siphon primed??"

Anyway, I'll pump sanitizer thru it, then spray the outside real well using a spray bottle.

Thanks guys!

 

[malkore]

Keep in mind that one-step is a cleanser, not a sanitizer. If yours still says "sanitizer" on it, its very old. They didn't do the qualfications the FDA requires to be called a sanitizer, so its been a 'cleanser' for several years now.

It does sanitize, but it has to have like 5 minutes of wet contact time to work. Be sure you mix it up well and don't use more than the label instructions or it will leave a bit of a residue behind.
When you use it up, get some star-san - only takes 30 seconds to sanitize, lasts a long time before it becomes inactive, and its very much a no-rinse solution.

if you don't use an auto-siphon, you fill the racking tube and cane with sanitizer, start the siphon, pinch it when the beer has flushed the sanitizer out (into a jar/jug/spare bucket), then you start draining it into your secondary/bottling bucket.
an auto-siphon eliminates that convoluted process.