Hose management

[kjfarwell]

Ok, maybe another dumb question


Racking and siphon hoses: I get the hoses and they are all coiled....how can I get them so they don't curl so much, which seems to just be annoying.

Blow off hoses: any good long cleaning brush? I haven't found one...I did recently read about soaking it in warm PBW for a day? Sidenote, the airlock things seem to always fail, always have had to use a blow off...but it seems that might be odd?? I have used a yeast starter since I started (extract then moved to partial mash....is that overkill?) Moving to AG soon

Sorry the basics, I'm just trying to see if I'm just missing anything

 

[Conan]

You can try just soaking the hoses in hot water. Mine no longer hold a memory after running mash and sparge water through them a bunch of times.
Same goes for cleaning hoses- flushing with hot water usually cleans anything out.
What size fermentor are you using? A 5 gallon bucket won't hold a 5 gallon batch without trouble. Most folks will run at least 6.5 gallon vessels for a 5 gallon batch- plus your quart or so starter. You shouldn't need to run a blow-off for the entire fermentation. My batches never need a blow-off, even with the starter and 1.07x batch that's going now. This is in a 6.5 gal. bucket. A starter may not be necessary for smaller beers ( </= 1.05x) but never really hurts. Kyle

 

[kjfarwell]

I use a 6.5g glass carboy....made a mess a couple times from vigorous fermentation so just switched to blow off. I'm guessing that it just plugged my airlock?? Am I supposed to switch those out on occasion during the first few days?

 

[sumbrewindude]

Coiling hose (specifically, vinyl hose) drove me absolutely nuts. I tried everything, the stupid things would still coil up even after soaking/heating/you name it - and usually made for an angry transfer day.

I said screw it and ponied up the extra money for the hi-temp silicon tubing and IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT.

I know, the thought of spending $2+ a foot for hose may be hard to stomach, but I'm telling you it's that much better than the vinyl tubing you'd get at a home store.

That. Much. Better.

Get it, and you're issues with hoses are over. They were for me.

 

[Setesh]

To clean your blow off hose, assuming it is a large one that fits directly into the neck of a carboy, just tie a rag to a string. You can weight the end of the string down with a few washers or a nut. Drop the string through the tube then pull the rag through it. Works great. You will want to have soaked the hose already of course to get everything nice and soft so the rag will remove it.

 

[kjfarwell]

definitely going to pony up for the silicone if that works....HATE the coiling, I don't care if they are $2 a foot my wife might, but I'll just beg for forgiveness

Nice idea on the rag and string....thanks!

 

[Teromous]

I also use silicone tubing. Just be careful when using it. It seems like hair and other various debris like to stick to the inside of the silicone tubing because it has a rubbery texture. I also recommend using quick disconnects as it anchors the tubing and makes it far easier to manage.

 

[bja]

Sidenote, the airlock things seem to always fail, always have had to use a blow off...but it seems that might be odd??

You're probably fermenting to warm.

 

[helibrewer]

Silicone works wonders. I use Kent Systems Collection 3 QD's Kent Systems, More Beer sells them but if you need at least 10 of any type Kent's prices are great.

 

[vraftsman]

Also Going to weigh in on the silicone tubing. It can be autoclaved (AKA pressure cooker) sanitized to kill everything. Coiling is much less of an issue, and because it's so stretchy, it can be used for slightly bigger hoses too. I just switched my auto-siphon to the larger size and didn't need to switch the tubing because it's silicone. Definitely worth the investment!

 

[IslandLizard]

Silicone hoses and camlocks all the way until it's in the fermentor. I still deal with curly vinyl ones for racking... and a 3' long draw brush and wads of cloth on strings.

 

[Wolfbayte]

So after we clean the hoses, what's the best way to get them to dry. No matter how I try to hang them or find any kind of support, there always seems to be one spot with water in it.

So my question is this: after cleaning the hoses, what's the best practice to get them completely dry on the inside?

 

[schematix]

This is what I do, and they still take days to fully dry. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1425618731.358745.jpg

Gotta keep those hose in line.