Carboy pressure transfer rig v2 w floating diptube

[SanPancho]

So we’ve all seen the orange carboy cap rigged up for pressure transfers ala @day_trippr and others. Now I want to go to version 2 with floating diptube instead of fixed racking arm.

im working with the diptube floats from the fermzilla family that have the round ball and accompanying soft silicone tubing. This issue as I see it is that the diptube is 3/8 od and I see no easy, simple and clean way to go from the racking arm to the tubing. the main/center nipple (udder?) on the orange cap is too wide to make a tight seal on the +/- 1/4 tubing that the silicone fits over. So I can’t just shove a small piece of rigid diptube in there and clamp it down, it’s too narrow. the orange plastic warps.

using the racking arm, the only way I could see to make the jump is to get a 3/8 od push fitting on it and then add a barb to that fitting somehow. But id prefer to avoid threads and multiple fittings as much as possible.

ideas?

 

[day_trippr]

Interested, but do realize there is nothing fixed about the ss racking cane in my setup.

I typically start with the tip (and weighted mesh there attached) well above the trub level and lower it towards the end to get the last viable dregs. If one starts too low (like, in the trub) there is the risk of loading up the mesh screen right away...

Cheers!

 

[SanPancho]

The issue isnt that it’s fixed. Just that its awkward and annoying to adjust in the middle of a transfer. there’s other benefits to going with a floater, but for now I’ll say the reason is “just cuz”.
there’s gotta be a simpler solution that I’m missing....

 

[day_trippr]

Right then
Maybe someone has gone the floating dip tube racking route that has been too shy to post about it all these years...

Cheers!

 

[bkboiler]

I'm curious about this...I wasn't able to find any pictures of the referenced setups.
I just did my first spunding and pressure transfer and my floating diptube that came with my kegmenter left a gallon of beer behind...
contemplating replacing with a fixed diptube that I trim to a reasonable length...thoughts / suggestions?

 

[smarch0]

I just checked and the fermzilla floating tube would push into 1/4" ID tubing. I was able to get it in about 1/8" just by hand, but I bet if you put the end of the 1/4" tubing in boiling water to soften it you could get the smaller floating tube in a good inch or 2. I feel like that would hold through a few PSI. Then the other end of the 1/4" piece could fit over the racking cane?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I just did my first spunding and pressure transfer and my floating diptube that came with my kegmenter left a gallon of beer behind...
contemplating replacing with a fixed diptube that I trim to a reasonable length...thoughts / suggestions?

I have one of the 13.2 gallon kegmenters and when I used it, I was able to transfer just about all of the beer out of the fermenter and I stopped it when it started picking up yeast. I suspect your pick might have "landed" near the side and mine more towards the middle. I don't know what an be done to insure that it always lands in the middle.

 

[DuncB]

You did force CO2 into the kegmenter during the transfer?

Was there a lot of dry hops in the kegmenter?

 

[bkboiler]

You did force CO2 into the kegmenter during the transfer?

Was there a lot of dry hops in the kegmenter?

It was my first pressure transfer though...so I spunded to 30psi at 65F, realized I hadn't added dry hops (doh!), so had to bleed off all the pressure, add them (in a stainless mesh canister) then repressurize. After a few days I cold crashed and bled off a a few psi down to 15. I pressurized my keg to 15psi then
I pushed the beer over with 16-17 psi. It took a several minutes.

I have one of the 13.2 gallon kegmenters and when I used it, I was able to transfer just about all of the beer out of the fermenter and I stopped it when it started picking up yeast. I suspect your pick might have "landed" near the side and mine more towards the middle. I don't know what an be done to insure that it always lands in the middle.

Tempting to attach a weight to it...maybe a stainless plug?
Initially I was tempted to grind off the cheesy weld on the ball and just rubber band the hose tip to the ball, but I ended up keeping it OEM, I'm gonna give it another go this next round and see if it improves. It's a 2.5 gallon batch, so I hope it works!
Edit:
I think the shape of the silicone guides the tip of the pickup to it's final resting place, so maybe I need to make a sharpie mark on the lid to clock it so I install the lid in the correct orientation each time?

 

[DuncB]

Well I only have experience of the floating dip tubes in Fermentasaurus and in plastic kegs. This does mean I have been able to see the float and it can move around a lot but always tends to be at the side.

Impossible to say what reduced the amount you got out on the first go. I have had hops block the tube and yeast and had to force liquid down the tube via the post to clear it. Your hops in the container should have stopped this. I sometimes use a higher pressure to speed the transfer up as I find it takes a long time.

Given the small batch in a big vessel maybe you could prop it up and that way you are sort of making a conical and you might get a more out with less yeast. Worth a try but difficult if you are using a fridge.

 

[WesBrew]

Maybe a 1/4 to 3/8 barb union .
if u have your tubing attached to a like diameter steel pick up tube, u could cut a small piece of tubing a size up, fit it over, push that into the cap for a good seal.