Do all autosiphons "suck"?

[carbon111]

Seriously.

I finally treated myself to an autosiphon on my last visit to my LHBS.

Starting out, it was great - love the simplicity. Near the end of transferring a batch to secondary, it started to put a massive amount of air into the beer, essentially oxegenating it.

Used it one other time with the same result. Upon close inspection, it dosen't seem broken but when it's down to about two or three inches of wort, suddenly I'm transferring a fizzing mess.

I'm about to throw it into the street.

 

[shecky]

Lots of hatred for autosiphons around here lately.

Just so you know, my is the witches' tits.

 

[carbon111]

Does yours do the same thing?

 

[TelemarkBrew]

make sure the middle piston piece goes parallel to the outer piece, rather than rests on the edge at the top. i found this helped, and i also pour a little star san solution into the cylendar above in the dry area, that way if any suction is created around the gasket, it pulls in liquid rather than air.

 

[shecky]

Does yours do the same thing?

It does not.

make sure the middle piston piece goes parallel to the outer piece, rather than rests on the edge at the top. i found this helped, and i also pour a little star san solution into the cylendar above in the dry area, that way if any suction is created around the gasket, it pulls in liquid rather than air.

That's what I do. You need a nice, tight seal on that gasket.

 

[carbon111]

Maybe I can find some food-grade lube for that gasket. I use Idophor and would prefer not to have any sanitizer in the cane.

 

[KingBrianI]

I've experienced the same thing. I originally thought it was like telemark said since I had to extend the lower piece in order to reach the bottom of the carboy, and thought it was bending slightly at the join. So I bought an autosiphon long enough to reach the bottom without extension and last night while transferring a beer from secondary to the keg it was sucking bubbles through like crazy. I was going to destroy things but thought better of it. So now my Evil Twin is probably going to oxidize. All those poor wasted hops.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Assuming the problem is coming from the inner ring, keg lube would help, every LHBS should have keg lube. I've found I get air pulled in around the siphon hose if I don't use thick wall tubing or use a clamp.

 

[carbon111]

Assuming the problem is coming from the inner ring, keg lube would help, every LHBS should have keg lube. I've found I get air pulled in around the siphon hose if I don't use thick wall tubing or use a clamp.

The bubbles are definately originating from the business end of the autosiphon so I'm thinking it has to be that one gasket. Thanks for the keg lube suggestion. Is it inert/tasteless?

 

[Rhoobarb]

Lube the whole thing with water/sanitizer and when you push your first stroke, pinch the hose just past where the racking cane meets the hose and hold it for a few seconds to purge any bubbles. Keep your eye on it when the beer is near getting empty and lit as soon as the last of the beer is gone to avoid bubbles. I've followed those steps and never had a problem.

Make sure your flexible tubing is the right size. You want it as snug as you can. And don't store the cane inside the outer tube. The edge of the little rubber piece at the bottome of the cane will compress that way. Store them separately.

 

[KingBrianI]

I saw that the gasket on my autosiphon has a little burr where it was molded. I'm not sure how you would go about removing that without making the problem worse. I'm sure it's like that on a lot of them and is a stupid design if you ask me. It probably comes down to luck of the draw whether you get one where the burr is bad enough to leak or not.

 

[Bopper]

You need a nice, tight seal on that gasket.

Thats what she said!

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[talenos]

I broke my autosiphon the other day. It got clogged with hops. I was bottling my first dry-hopped batch and when I tried to clean it out, I pushed out this little black plastic tack thing. No plastic snapped or anything but damned if I know a way to get that thing back in there.

 

[mccarthy]

if you are talking about the stopper at the tip, it is oblong and when you put it back on you need to attach the narrow end to the two clips on the tip of the syphon. the same thing happened to me and it took me a little be to figure it out.

 

[HenryHill]

Mine has a very small slit in the piston and replacements are not to be had, but used to be. I hate to put lube on it, since cleaning after that would not be as easy as it is now. I've considered something to fill the slit, but haven't tried anything.

I will be getting a 'T' and making the manual siphon thing.

I don't feel right about buying another one, since this one faded out on me after about 3 uses.

 

[carbon111]

Lube the whole thing with water/sanitizer and when you push your first stroke...etc.

Pretty sure it's a problem with the gasket at the bottom.

I saw that the gasket on my autosiphon has a little burr where it was molded. I'm not sure how you would go about removing that without making the problem worse. I'm sure it's like that on a lot of them and is a stupid design if you ask me. It probably comes down to luck of the draw whether you get one where the burr is bad enough to leak or not.

Arrgh!

 

[malkore]

1. always store you auto-siphon as two pieces
2. make sure the outer part is wet on the inside before you slip the racking cane piece in

doing these two things keeps your gasket in good working order.
make sure you get a good siphon...one full pump should do it (not several short pumps)

if you get a little air pocket where the cane meets the hose, pinch the hose to burp the air out.

my autosiphon is 10 years old and still rock solid.

 

[rico567]

I couldn't imagine brewing without my autosiphon. I do several of the things recommended in this thread, and think they're good practice. I leave the cane stored separately from the barrel (outer tube) of the autosiphon, and everything is wet with Star San when I assemble it, which I think acts as a lube and also helps start the seal of the rubber seal at the end of the cane. I have the Fermtech, and if I broke it somehow, I'd just buy another one.

 

[Tech211]

I have two of them. I always store seperatly and assemble wet. They work flawlessly, even with some abuse.

 

[carbon111]

It looks like mine has the aforementioned burr/flashing in the gasket. Cheap-ass POS.

 

[Shooter]

one full pump should do it (not several short pumps)

As much as I've practiced trying to make mine work with one full pump, it absolutely does not. Short pumps are the only way to get it to flow, gets the beer nice and aerated that way too. My friend says with his he just draws it fully and pumps once, but it must require a technique that is beyond my capabilities as a mere mortal. I'm not completely sold on my auto-siphon.

 

[THart]

Maybe a good thing I didn't see this thread sooner. Just bought my first autosiphon after 13 yrs of brewing. Only used it once so far, last weekend but it worked great! Third times the charm eh? Didn't think to store the two parts seperate though. Makes sense, I'll do that from now on.

 

[Donner]

i love mine, though i don't use it when i'm transferring out of a carboy. I find that a racking cane and a carboy cap is perfect for that situation.

 

[McKBrew]

I hate them. Poorly made P.O.S, that develops micro cracks very easily. I've had two, will never buy another.

 

[SourHopHead]

I love mine. 2 short pumps and transfer away!!! My first one didn't work so good, but I knocked it off the shelf and shattered it.

 

[Fingers]

Mine aerates the wort so I discontinued use. I tried keg lube and adding some wort above the seal. No matter what it sucked. I guess I'll have a look for the burr and might as well try taking it off. I won't use the cane as it is.

 

[talenos]

if you are talking about the stopper at the tip, it is oblong and when you put it back on you need to attach the narrow end to the two clips on the tip of the syphon. the same thing happened to me and it took me a little be to figure it out.

Unfortuantely know, I take the cap off and on all the time, There was hops in center and I tried pushing a chop stick through the bottom. All the hops came out along with this black plastic clip.

 

[Livendadream]

I have used mine (fermtech),for 13 batches now. 3 times per batch, brew pot to carboy, carboy to bottling bucket, bucket to bottles. That is 39 sucessfull times,without failure.This piece of equipment has made my brewing day much easier. This is one of the best investments I have made. Always store apart, assemble wet, one stroke to get going, no bubbles except in the pint I poured while my beer being racked.Bellllllllllllch!

 

[beerocd]

And don't store the cane inside the outer tube. The edge of the little rubber piece at the bottome of the cane will compress that way. Store them separately.

Really? I haven't taken mine apart yet(over a year) - figured that for sure would cause me issues down the road. Just suck a few gallons of sanitizer before and after the transfers. No problems so far...

-OCD

 

[marubozo]

Make sure the hole is wet before sticking your cane in

Could be luck of the draw, but so far I haven't had any issues with mine.

 

[tidehouse]

My auto siphon is tits mcgee. Dont know what Id do without it. The "thief" on the other hand is a PITA (you can't set it down)

 

[Catch-22]

I LOVE my autosiphon but not at first. I found that I too had lots of air and it didn't maintain the suction. What I found with mine was that the connection of the transfer tube to the racking cane wasn't tight enough, thereby letting in enough air to disrupt the process. I placed a clamp on the connection point of the tubing and racking can and voila....no air. As far as starting the siphon, two pumps get it going to a trickle and then I squeeze the tube just below that clamping point. This forces that suction to push all remaining air out and I maintain a full suction all the way to the trub.
The clamp is a small one used for keeping computer cords tidy.
Hope this helps you as much as it did me.

 

[SRTBREW]

Maybe it's co2 offgassing? Mine does the same exact thing and I've never worried about it and never had any off flavors. Except for and infection once. Not the autosiphon's fault.

 

[Bobby_M]

Obviously check if air is coming in at the cane to tubing joint first. The 3/8" cane really likes 5/16" tubing better than 3/8. Check?

If it's coming in through the bottom cane/piston gasket, take it out and run it under hot water, then try again. Never store it inside the bigger tube.

 

[Drummin101]

I have a cheap $7 one from my LHBS and it rocks. I have never had an issue. I guess you just need to be smarter than the plastic.

 

[JPicasso]

+1 on Autosiphon being the bee's knees. (You're right, "witches tits" was better)

Had one for 3+ years, only issue is that 3/8 tubing is a bit loose, so I put some scotch tape on the racking tube for a year until I replaced my tubing with 5/16.

Also, I've never dry-pumped. Although, how could I, we all use star-san, or iodophor right? Right?