Racking (newbe question)

[HowardW]

Folks, everything I look at or read syphons off the cider and leaves the lees to be disposed of but as I was sitting contemplating the finished product a question popped in my mind. Why not syphon off the lees from the bottom?

 

[burninator]

Cider is racked off the lees to avoid them imparting any foul or astringent flavors on the cider. You're talking about siphoning them off for bottling with the cider or transferring them to secondary with the good stuff?

 

[CJ1]

How do you plan to get the lees off the bottom without also getting a bunch of the cider and wasting it? And how do you plan to get that entire cake off the bottom?

I think racking off the liquid on top is dramatically easier.

 

[bernardsmith]

If you have the kind of conical fermenter that allows you to remove the lees from the bottom then there should be problem removing the lees from the cider. If , however you use a glass or plastic carboy with a solid base then it is far simpler to rack the liquid off the lees.

 

[HowardW]

My thought was not to use the lees but rather looking for a simpler way to remove them. Currently I only have the 6.5 gal carboy and I would be syphoning the top into other bottles, my bottles are amber so not great to see in, I also have the original plastic the Cider came in, it is frosted so same visual problem. The carboy on the other had is clear and I could see what I was drawing off. It was just one of those curious thoughts but the only stupid question is the one that was not asked.

 

[HowardW]

I was thinking that the long syphon tube reaches the bottom and would draw the lees off first, but either way it seems there would be a small amount of waste.

 

[HowardW]

Yikes they are a bit on the pricey side, way out of my budget and needs.

 

[govner1]

I was thinking that the long syphon tube reaches the bottom and would draw the lees off first, but either way it seems there would be a small amount of waste.

I'd suggest you invest I am Autosiphon. Easy to use and avoids disturbing your yeast cake and any other sediment if properly used. It's also not a budget breaker.