R.cane and Secondary Qs

[AquaPuppy377]

I've never done the secondary fermentor thing so I have a question or two if you dont mind

-How much of the bottom yeast should I look into getting inside the secondary?
-How do I use my racking cane?
-How long should I wait to put from primary to secondary?
(right now its been 7 days for my red ale and the bubbling has stoped and all the top yeast has fallen to the bottom)

Thanks!

 

[Brewsmith]

It sounds like the primary fermentation is done.

There's plenty of yeast in suspension, you don't need to suck up any at the bottom.

Just put the sanitized racking cane in there and start a siphon, no special magic. If you don't have an Autosiphon or Carboy Cap, you need to attach your tubing to your cane, fill it with sanitizer and start the siphon that way, draining off the solution as the siphon starts. Don't suck on the hose.

 

[the_bird]

I usually put the bent tip of the cane in the bucket/carboy, so that the end is off the bottom of the carboy a little bit. Add the black tip the the end, and you get a nice, clean, sediment-free transfer (you want to bring over as little trub as possible). Don't get too greedy with the transfer, either; plan your recipes for 5.5 gallons so you can leave a little behind and not have to worry. Once the siphon starts pulling in trub, it's done.

 

[desiderata]

-How much of the bottom yeast should I look into getting inside the secondary?

Well, no matter how careful you are, you will get some yeast, as there is still yeast in suspension, even though most of it has fallen to the bottom. That said, you will get less if you keep the racking cane from touching the bottom of the primary when siphoning.

-How do I use my racking cane?

after sanitizing it and the siphoning hose, you attach it to the hose, then place the cane in the primary fermenter. As stated before, careful to keep the bottom of the cane out of the trub at the bottom of the fermenter, as this will cause you to siphon the trub into the secondary, which defeats the whole purpose. Then, place the other end of the siphoning hose into the secondary clearing tank and begin siphoning. If you need help on how to siphon, just ask. I'm assuming you know the rest. There might be a clamp on your racking cane to clip it to the fermenter, so you don't have to hold it at a certain height the entire time. Just monitor it as it siphons and lower it as needed. When you get near the trub, just stop siphoning, or pull the cane up above the liquid and it will stop.

-How long should I wait to put from primary to secondary?

One week is standard. You have that, plus the bubbling has stopped, and the trub has fallen--both signs that fermentation is complete. So, you are ready for secondary.

 

[AquaPuppy377]

Thanks for the quick response guys!
I might also add that the gravity is at 1010.

So im going to put it in the fermentor tomorrow!