Keep the black cap on auto siphon when racking??

[olotti]

I'm still trying to figure out my equipment and process after only 2 AG batches. I dry hopped my last batch and cold crashed to hopefully drop everything out of suspension, used a mesh bag on the end of the siphon when racking and it got stuck with barely any hops on the bag itself don't now why it slowed. Anyway have another beer I'm going to dry hop in the primary but this time I'm going skip a cold crash and let it settle out for another week. When I rack that beer seeing as how it will have more yeast and hop debris in suspension is it better to keep the black cap on the end of the siphon or should I just use another paint strainer bag cut to fit the end of the siphon like last time. Is that what that cap is for to keep sediment and particulate from entering the siphon? Does it work very good? Thanks

 

[b-boy]

Yes - the cap keeps out hops and trub. It works pretty well as long as you don't plunge it into your yeast layer. I'd keep it on.

 

[jameslg2169]

I always leave the black cap on and use a rubber band to hold the racking cane a couple inches from the bottle until it's time to, gently, tip the carboy over to get the rest of the delicious nectar... Never had a problem with it getting stuck or sucking up the trub.

 

[progmac]

i actually like it off if i'm racking onto priming sugar. i've noticed that it reduces the flow and the priming sugar is less evenly distributed, with some bottles more carbed and some less.

there are other factors at play here, such as the temperature of the beer, etc.