Gurgling action on auto-siphon (with diagram)

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

Problem: when my auto-siphon is going, every two seconds it makes a gurgling noise and I see air bubbles in the line. The air bubbles start in the racking cane, not the tubing. Perhaps relatedly, the siphoning action stops periodically and I have to pump again to get it going.

Solutions I've tried that haven't worked:

a. Better siphoning technique. Examples include holding the siphon upright, holding it not too far below the water line (but still completely submerged), making sure the tube is upright, making sure I have enough of a drop (but not too much).

b. Clamping the tubing. I've put a hose clamp on where the tube connects to the racking cane. Makes no difference.

c. Pouring sanitized water in the top of the siphon. It just empties into whatever I'm siphoning in a few seconds.

I've made a diagram of what appears to be happening. (The greenish stuff is beer; don't worry, it's not infected.) Basically, when I successfully pump and get siphoning action started, an inch or so of liquid also pumps past the seal on the racking cane. But the suction action from siphoning appears to pull that liquid down past the seal, and when it's empty, it pulls air along as well.

This is really bothering me. I think I oxidized the crap out of the last beer I bottled. (It tastes unpleasant after 2 weeks bottle conditioning and 2 weeks in the fridge, and has gotten worse.) I'm really not sure what to do with the one I've planned to bottle today. Maybe use the racking cane in the auto-siphon as a normal racking cane? Sounds like a pain in the butt, but I'm out of ideas. Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Yep. The "blue" piece in your fancy diagram is the black rubber seal... which has gone bad... which means you need a new siphon.

I don't think you can buy replacement parts...?

 

[IslandLizard]

Yup, bad seal, it's sucking in air from the outer tube.

I never use those things. I got a stainless steel racking cane when I started brewing and it should last a lifetime if not longer.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

Ugh. Frustrating. This came with the starter kit I got, and I think it's always been doing this. I thought the gurgling was OK before (CO2, maybe?, I thought), but then I bothered to check on this forum and saw that most people see this as a problem and a path toward oxidation.

Well, good to know it's not worth trying to fool with to fix. It seems like I can get a siphon going if I use the racking cane part of the auto-siphon assembly as a standard racking cane, filling the tube with sanitized water, and then using the falling of that liquid to get the normal siphon action started. No gurgling when I try that.

 

[burdbrew]

For what it's worth, I've had an autosiphon perform similarly, and I worried that my beer was going to be cardboard. The final product was fine. I didn't age the beer or anything, but no issues.

That said, I feel that autosiphons are gadgets. Racking cane with hose is the way to go. You describe the technique. You will never worry about this sort of thing again. Consider getting a larger racking cane.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Auto siphons are considered throwaways in the homebrew world.Thay don't last forever.If you have gurgling and bad flow its time to replace..I.ve never seen a replacement gasket.Even if I did I'd replace anyway,cheap enough

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

For what it's worth, I've had an autosiphon perform similarly, and I worried that my beer was going to be cardboard. The final product was fine. I didn't age the beer or anything, but no issues.

That said, I feel that autosiphons are gadgets. Racking cane with hose is the way to go. You describe the technique. You will never worry about this sort of thing again. Consider getting a larger racking cane.

Yeah, racking using this method really didn't seem that hard. I ended up getting beer on the floor when I was trying to unknot the hose. But otherwise, it worked great. Maybe I'll get one of those fancy stainless steel bendy straws one day.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If you get a new get the 1/2" one. Night and day from the 3/8".It takes less than a minute to rack 5 gallons,the 3/8 takes forever....no brainer

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Auto siphons are considered throwaways in the homebrew world.Thay don't last forever.If you have gurgling and bad flow its time to replace..I.ve never seen a replacement gasket.Even if I did I'd replace anyway,cheap enough

After I clean and dry my auto siphon, I rub a little Keg Lube on the seal and put the siphon back together. Then I just siphon some Starsan through it before I use it again. The seal will last quite a bit longer this way. My auto siphon is about 2 years old now, and has been used at least 100 times in that period. Still works perfectly.



Keg Lube is the duct tape of the Homebrewing World. It's uses are endless!

 

[ncbrewer]

I read that you should store the auto siphon with the inner cane separate from the outer tube to prevent the gasket from taking a set. I've always done that and never had a seal problem with the gasket.

As far as this batch not tasting good - I had an oxidized batch a couple of months ago. Mixing a bottle half-and-half with BMC helped it. Still not really good, but I hate to dump a batch.