Big Mouth Bubbler - Siphonless - Yes or No

[mrgrimm101]

Okay, one more check to see if I got it...

Using the siphonless version with spigot - when transferring my beer, I would just need to attach a 3/8" tubing to the spigot, put the other in my bottling bucket and then turn the spigot on.

If not using a big mouth bubbler with a spigot, I would use a siphon to transfer the beer.

Okay, so here is the question... what am I missing because I don't see what is so great about not having to use the siphon when you still would need to attach a tube to the spigot?

It's much easier to attach a tube to the spigot and turn it on for transfer. Sure, using an auto-siphon is not hard, it's just an extra step and 1 more piece of equipment to keep clean and sanitized. Plus you need a hose to hook up to the siphon anyway, so many people say "why not just hook up to the spigot?" Personally, I don't like the idea of a spigot on my fermentor. With the potential for leaks, and if you have an excess of trub/hop material, it doesn't seem practical to me.

 

[DeNovo]

I ordered one of the ported BMB recently from Northern Brewer (my first order there) and when it arrived, I was aghast at the ragged hole for the spigot. It seemed unlikely to seal properly and impossible to effectively sanitize.I contacted Northern Brewer with pictures and they said that it was distinctly less cleanly cut than normal. They did say they made the holes with a step drill bit, so it was never like a laser cut. They were good enough to send a second without asking for the return of the first, and the tech was going to check to make sure I got a good clean cut this time. It arrived today, and it's only marginally better. It has a big lip on the inside that I'll definitely have to trim off, and the hole is off-center on the flat panel under the gallon markers. (Both the attached pics are of the first Bubbler.) I've seen no mention of this issue with ragged port holes in the discussion here. Is it just lucky me??