Racking to bottle bucket

[arborman]

I used a bottle bucket as a fermentor, so it obviously has a spigot built into it. Is it fine to hook up a tube to the spigot and fill into my bottle bucket vs. using an auto siphon? I was thinking I would put a hop bag over the hose end to help filter. Or, would I be better off using my auto siphon?

 

[mikeh80]

I'd say use the siphon. No telling just how high up that yeast cake might be, which could make a mess and be more of a PITA than I'd want to deal with.

 

[sweed]

Its much easier to use the spigot, you just turn it on. It's probably less to clean/ sanitize. Depending on how much stuff you have on the bottom, you shouldn't get too much in the other bottling bucket.

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

I would think that the level of the yeast is probably right at the bottom of the spigot. Just do the first few a little slow - as long as you have a racking cane maybe do the first few bottles without the cane and then put it on.

Maybe set the first few bottle to the side and make those the "tester" bottles you open early to see how things are coming. Definitely hit the spigot with some star-san before you do it.. Spray it all the way in there and make sure you get it good. Lots of buggies can hide in there.

 

[unionrdr]

I got spigots on both my fermenters when I ordered them. The spigots on those sit a hair higher than where I set the level on my bottling bucket when I made it. I don't think many pre-made bottling buckets have the spigot as low as mine.
Anyway,The trub normally compacts well below the level of the spigot. Especially since I strain all going into the FV to start with. Even if I don't,I only get about 3/8" of trub & yeast at the bottom at that point. And the spigot sits well above that. I get maybe a dusting at the bottom of my bottling bucket of the grainier particles. And that's with tilting the fermenters a bit to get nearly all the beer out,save for maybe half a bottle.
So don't worry about trub in or up to the level of the spigot all the time. That just isn't so if you take some quick steps to avoid it. A little bit more work now means more clear beer later. The choice is obvious.

 

[darrenbrews]

I have three fermenters and they all have spigots, and they always will for now on. It just makes things so much easier, and I've never had trub close to the spigot. I even tilt the bucket about an inch or so to get the last drop, and still no trub.

-DZ