FlyGuy's T-siphon: a $3 replacement for an autosiphon

[Got Trub?]

This is cool. I thought of something similar before I bought an auto syphon.

I was thinking about using a $5 fish tank air pump.

• Use the carboy cap method, the cane in the airlock hole and push air into the blow off hole
  
  OR
  
• Do Flyguys idea with the pump doing the sucking.

I don't like sucking on anything other than a bottle of beer or fine cigar.

Ok - a hooter too.

I've been using the aquarium pump method with good success. In fact I can rack from one container to another with both at the same level as there is enough pressure to overcome the head differential.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I might just have to try this air pump idea for simplicity of it all.

 

[CollinsBrew]

To get this to work better, do you need to pinch closed the hose going into the new vessel? I wasn't getting enough suction with it open.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Yes, right. I take the whole thing apart and wash every surface.

I had a nasty wild yeast contamination from a bad no-boil wort kit once, and it infected all my plastic equipment. I ruined a few batches of beer before I threw out all my plastic equipment. Ever since then I am a maniac about cleaning plastic. So perhaps I go overboard, but honestly, with a bottle washer and a wallpaper tray, neither the siphon hose or the autosiphon are that hard to clean. It just takes a bit of extra time (especially for the AS). But I am always in a hurry, too, so I tend to use the t-siphon more than my autosiphon now.

Ah, impatience...is a killer.

I don't even take the spigot on my bottling bucket apart. I have 2 that haven't been apart in 10+ years. The sanitizer fills in all the voids brew can get into. I don't worry about contamination there since the sanitizer is in there longer than the brew.

 

[abracadabra]

This works great....however, how do you keep your tubing from curling up?? I got about half of my wort siphoned to secondary when the bottom of the tubing floated to the top and lost suction. It turned out to be a real PITA!

Is there a way to keep this from happening? Or better yet, is there a way to straighten out the tubing so that it goes all the way to the bottom of the carboy?

In addition to the hot water allowing the tube to become softer a hair dryer will soften it up as well.

If you put a weight on one end of the tubing and hang the other end up high letting the tubing hang straight and storing it that way the tube will automatically tend to want to be straight just like it wants to curl up if you store it curled.

 

[brewerdave]

I just built one of these yesterday, and it works like a charm! I found that instead of putting the clamp on the hose that you are sucking on, it works better if you clamp the hose that goes in your bottling bucket to start the siphon. When the beer gets to the tee, just pinch the hose in your mouth closed and release the clamp on the hose in the bottling bucket. Great idea, though. Thanks Fly Guy!

 

[FlyGuy]

I just built one of these yesterday, and it works like a charm! I found that instead of putting the clamp on the hose that you are sucking on, it works better if you clamp the hose that goes in your bottling bucket to start the siphon. When the beer gets to the tee, just pinch the hose in your mouth closed and release the clamp on the hose in the bottling bucket. Great idea, though. Thanks Fly Guy!

Yes, that's what I am doing now, too. Glad it worked out for you, and thanks for posting the tip.

 

[brewerdave]

No problem. You're the one who posted this idea in the first place, so thanks again!:rockin:

 

[eddie]

This works great....however, how do you keep your tubing from curling up?? I got about half of my wort siphoned to secondary when the bottom of the tubing floated to the top and lost suction. It turned out to be a real PITA!

Is there a way to keep this from happening? Or better yet, is there a way to straighten out the tubing so that it goes all the way to the bottom of the carboy?

If you want to straighten out your vinyl hose, you can put it in a pot of hot water for a couple of seconds (about 10 or so) then hang it up so the entire length is off the ground. The tube will soften from the heat and gravity will straighten it. Once cooled, it should remain straight.

 

[Kai]

I'm making one. Go you.

 

[FSR402]

I hate to bring up an old thread like this but what about the air that is in the tube you are sucking on? You know, the air that the beer is flowing past.

I like the idea of this thing and I'm sure it works well but I see people here that worry about the little air pocket where the racking cain meets the hose. This is a LARGE air pocket.

 

[explosivebeer]

I hate to bring up an old thread like this but what about the air that is in the tube you are sucking on? You know, the air that the beer is flowing past.

I like the idea of this thing and I'm sure it works well but I see people here that worry about the little air pocket where the racking cain meets the hose. This is a LARGE air pocket.

I haven't tried this yet but I'm going to put one together soon. Once clamped though, the middle hose is pressure neutral and the air in there shouldn't be mixing with the flow that's going past. Theoretically.

Regardless, if you're kegging, it shouldn't matter since any potential aeration would get purged with CO2. If you're bottling, it's a slightly bigger concern but I don't think it would have a major impact.

Great idea FlyGuy.

 

[Pez]

To to be safe, just before you siphon, gargle with a fine Scotch or Bourbon and be sure to swallow it. To be doubly safe, do it twice...And if you want Triple Safety, well, you know the drill.

Good point! that oughta kill the germs

 

[dstar26t]

Bumping an old thread but you could save $.99 by using a binder clip (if available at your work/office) instead of a hose clamp.

 

[Aleforge]

Bumping an old thread but you could save $.99 by using a binder clip (if available at your work/office) instead of a hose clamp.

Wait... are you promoting stealing office supplies from the workplace! Who would do such a thing!

 

[dstar26t]

Wait... are you promoting stealing office supplies from the workplace!

Yes. I'll consider it this year's bonus

 

[Panagiotis]

A small improvement to a great idea (thanks Fly Guy)
Tested yesterday for siphoning & bottling....works like a charm!!

 

[hellbender]

If you try it, let me know if it worked for you! I wish I had figured this out years ago!

I finally got around to trying it and it worked like a dream. Good clean siphon . . . . better than any other method I have used. Thank you!

 

[Special Hops]

Nice - I am going to have to give this a try.

 

[Keating]

Put your hose clamp about 2" from the T.
Once the wort/beer flows past the T, suck enough wort/beer into the 3rd hose to reach the clamp and clamp through the wort/beer.

The only exposure to air will be the 1/4-1/2oz in the 3rd hose that will be dumped/flushed out when you rinse/clean the rig.

P

I like the idea of this thing and I'm sure it works well but I see people here that worry about the little air pocket where the racking cain meets the hose. This is a LARGE air pocket.

 

[Chuck_in_WI]

It sounds like several people have tried/modified this trick. In the original post, the T was halfway through the straight piece(s). Is it better to put it closer to the bottom of the straight piece? That way the siphoned fluid has a lot of momentum as it goes into the secondary vessel?

Any thoughts?

Chuck

 

[Limited Visibility]

Made it a couple of weeks ago... just used it tonight. Loved it!

 

[CATFISHER74]

Anyone have a video of this in action?

 

[DPB]

Great idea!

 

[anemic]

thanks flyguy. My autosiphon only lasted 6 batches before the gasket developed a micro tear, which allowed air, bubbled and stopped the siphon (not ideal). I didn't want to buy a new one, thus the $3 T-siphon. My hose end curled up and stopped the siphon. I keep some Romex copper wire in my sanitizer on brew days. I have used it to hang my stir spoon on the brewpot handles. I used about a 30" length of it on the siphon intake to:
* keep the hose straight
* bend the hose at the top like a racking cane
* prevent the siphon from taking a sip of the trub (that is where I thought I would miss the AS, but with a half inch of copper in the way, the tube end hovers in the clear beer above the trub and leaves it all there)

thanks again flyguy. I love clever and cheap DIY creations...and homebrew.

 

[masonsjax]

Is there any reason you couldn't have a short hose, maybe 6 inches or so on the T with the clamp very close to the T?

 

[ThoughtPolice]

Nice. I have been getting poor performance out of my autosiphon, I'll have to build one of these.
I thought about putting a valve on my 3rd hose instead of the hose clamp but that is ridiculous. The only thing I don't like is about it is cleaning even more plastic tubing than I already have to. Oh well.

 

[weirdboy]

One thing that springs to mind that would solve both the "getting the siphon started" issue as well as the "air pocket" problem would be instead of just a regular t-connector, use a three-way valve. I did a quick search online and found these in a 2-pack for $1.99.

Instead of sucking on the middle part, attach the racking cane from the fermenter in the middle and suck on the "top". Turn the ball valve to "left L" (between racking cane and your mouth), and start the siphon. When the beer gets close to the T, turn it to "right L" (between racking cane and wherever you want the beer to go) and let the beer flow.

EDIT: fixed valve description

 

[masonsjax]

I brewed yesterday and used a plastic T to start my siphon. It worked like a charm, and the T section kept the whole contraption at the perfect height in my carboy. I use a pinhole in a tube for aeration. Thanks for the tip, I'm very happy with this solution.

 

[jeffk14]

I'm gonna make one of these. I scanned the thread, but didn't see a source for the red hose clamp. Anybody know where to get that piece? Thanks.

 

[weirdboy]

I'm gonna make one of these. I scanned the thread, but didn't see a source for the red hose clamp. Anybody know where to get that piece? Thanks.

I got one that came with a "basic" brewing equipment kit that I ordered from...I think midwest but it was a long time ago. Since the kit didn't come with any instructions and I'd never brewed before, I think it was about a year before I figured out what the hell it was for.

 

[mordantly]

good stuff! autosyphon doesn't like boiling water for more than 2 seconds.

 

[hendo6682]

good stuff! autosyphon doesn't like boiling water for more than 2 seconds.

Boy that's the truth. I melted my autosyphon trying to syphon my hot wort through my counter flow chiller. It melted beyond recognition. In hindsite it wasn't one of the smartest thing I've done. I will definenately be making one of these to use for the cfc.

 

[mb2696]

has anyone seen a plastic tee or plastic inline valve for 1/2" hose? i would like to make a 1/2" version but haven't seen those parts anywhere (at least cheap plastic)

 

[masonsjax]

You could check at your local hardware store. The big guys stock some vinyl barbed tees and inline valves in various sizes I believe.

 

[FlyGuy]

has anyone seen a plastic tee or plastic inline valve for 1/2" hose? i would like to make a 1/2" version but haven't seen those parts anywhere (at least cheap plastic)

I am not sure that a 1/2" tee-siphon would work all that well. You would need a lot of suction to get that going. I don't think I could do it, anyways. Even with smaller tubing, if I cut it too long I have difficulty.

 

[mb2696]

You could check at your local hardware store. The big guys stock some vinyl barbed tees and inline valves in various sizes I believe.

yea i looked at lowes and home depot and didn't see a cheap tee or valve in that size. i could have missed it or maybe they were out though.

I am not sure that a 1/2" tee-siphon would work all that well. You would need a lot of suction to get that going. I don't think I could do it, anyways. Even with smaller tubing, if I cut it too long I have difficulty.

yea it would take a good bit of suction to get it going. i haven't really had any trouble with the smaller tubing though, so i'd like to try. either way, if i find the parts, i'll let you all know how it works out...

 

[aa_atw]

You can also start your siphon by filling up the T-section with sanitized water, pinching off the new vessel hose to create a vacuum, and letting the water run out. (Assuming your T-line is longer than 2x the length of your carboy)

 

[Beer-Baron]

If you had a bottling wand at the end of the hose. If you've got the middle of the T clamped off tightly. Would you be able to bottle a batch of beer using this thing?

Would the vacuum Stop and Start with the valve on the bottom of the wand?

 

[fiat84]

Cannot upload a picture so to help visualize here is a movie clip/picture link of the concept only showing how the "T-siphon" works but using the Buon Vino Super Automatic Bottle Filler: http://www.buonvino.com/P_BotFill.shtml -For filling my wine bottles as per the device instructions to start the siphon you suck on the small bottom "overflow tube" that is low near the ground when the flow regulator valve is "open".

My interpretation of how to construct the T-Siphon:
1 x nylon barb tee(T) (whatever size fits your siphon hose)
1 x cheap hose clamp
3 pieces of siphon hose(A,B,C):

A – top hose will be attached to the racking cane(if using) or directly inserted into transferring vessel. Must be long enough so the T connector hangs LOWER than the vessel you are racking liquid from.
B – bottom hose, inserted into receiving vessel on the ground.
C – middle hose is used to start the siphon by sucking pressure, has the hose clamp, needs to be at least as long as hose A since it should be held higher than the vessel containing the liquid when you start to suck.

To Build:
1. Using the T connect hose A and hose B together inline(a straight line).
2. Attach hose C to the one remaining T connector end(90 degree right angle), then attach the hose clamp to hose C.