Stainless Steel Auto Siphon

[BrewBeemer]

I just did a quick search of the US patent system and Fermtech holds zero patents and has no pending applications.

The closest thing I could find was US Patent No. 4,112,963. It pretty much shows the above design and is expired. Free for all!!!

I hope someone with the means is willing to do this. All that would be needed was some stainless tube stock (~$15), a 1/4" section of stainless rod slightly smaller in diameter than the outer tube (~$2 per section), a silicon O-ring (~$0.25), a lathe, a TIG welder, and about 30 minutes of set up a turning, 20 minutes of setup and welding, and a new product is born!

The one way valve at the end is a bit tricky to do on the cheap... what about a SS ball and shaping the end to meet the ball diameter???

Justin;
On the above pictures that looks like too much work and parts, were not building a pump for NASA just a check valve. on the use of a ss ball that would weigh too much, even at a high siphon flow rate would not keep a ss ball off it's seat unless there was a 8-15 foot difference in container heights. Just a guess on these figures but not practical in normal use. Second to close or pinch down the end to hold the ball from falling out, this will cause a tapered end with sticking problems of the ball besides the tubes ID cross sectional area surface minus the balls diameter must be rather large to have the area and flow past the ball.
As a new project i'm facing this morning just getting up at 3 PM do to my back injury and meds i'm thinking a little slow here but follow me on this one on my idea. I would use a larger diameter ss ID tube with a plastic ball that is smaller in diameter than the ss tubes ID to allow a good volume fluid flow past the ball and the ID of the ss tube. This ball must have a specific gravity higher than the wort to sink down and seal against the seat but float up from a slow siphon rate past it.

Here's my thinking; I know 1" ss tubing has a .049" wall thickness so i'll use this as an example. SS tubing ID is .902", the check ball 5/8" diameter. I like delrin for a check ball. Any plastic, nylon, hard rubber or any other type of material ball that has a specific gravity greater than the wort that will sink within a reasonable rate inside the ss tube should also work. The grade of ss, diameter and wall thickness is printed on stainless tubing repeating it's full length.
The by-pass area between the 1.00" ID and the 0.625" ball is 0.277". The area of a 1/2" hole is 0.196" so the restriction past the check ball is less than the 0.500" washer ID welded to the bottom of the racking arm for the ball to seal against.
On the other end of the racking tube be it straight or with a bend to your liking just not crushed preventing the ball to pass thru it so your able to install and remove the ball for cleaning. Inside the racking arm I would install a length of 1/16" ss Tig filler rod, at the bottom near the ball bend a small ring 3/8" diameter flat to the ball to stop the ball from moving more than an inch up the siphon tube from the welded washer. Farther up this rod make little zig zags so the rod fits tight inside the 1" SS tube. At the top end add a loop to pull and remove the Tig wire and ball for cleaning. I would use a derlin ball of 5/8" diameter.
It has a density of 0.015 (lb/cubic inch). This comes to 82.128 pounds per/cu foot vs water at 62.4 pounds per/cu foot. Or a SG of 1.412. I like this weight.

Chech this; http://www.plasticballs.com/delrin.htm
Engineering Laboratories Inc.
Cheers. Carl.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Sorry this was a double post reply.
What's the secret to remove them without
typing like this reply?
Carl...

 

[Revvy]

Sorry this was a double post reply.
What's the secret to remove them without
typing like this reply?
Carl...

I don't think there is one...

Glad to have you on board our insanity!!!

 

[yermej]

Sorry this was a double post reply.
What's the secret to remove them without
typing like this reply?
Carl...

If you upgrade to either of the paid memberships, you can delete posts.

 

[Revvy]

If you upgrade to either of the paid memberships, you can delete posts.

Really? I never noticed....Wow, you learn something new every day.

 

[tipicreeper]

This is kind of an off the wall question.
Has anyone tried to put a siphon tube through the boil pot lid seal the lid to the pot?
The steam pressure should start the siphon.
(not sealed while boiling - after the burner is turned off)
Once the siphon starts the lid could be unclamped (or whatever) being that is just to start the flow.

 

[remilard]

This is kind of an off the wall question.
Has anyone tried to put a siphon tube through the boil pot lid seal the lid to the pot?
The steam pressure should start the siphon.
(not sealed while boiling - after the burner is turned off)
Once the siphon starts the lid could be unclamped (or whatever) being that is just to start the flow.

This does't offer any advantage over installing a ball valve and siphon tube in the side of the kettle, which thousands of people have done. This way the weight of the liquid starts the siphon.

You guys are pretty good at developing overly complicated solutions to problems that don't exist. You should be consultants if you aren't already.

 

[BeerCanuck]

Im a big autosiphon fan.
One tip I would suggest is buying the thinner diameter autosiphon..there is suppose to be less chance of breaking the valve. I tried out my new autosiphon clamp along with a stainless scrubby on the end of the autosiphon on my last brewday (worked like a champ..thanks for the tip Revy on the scrubby);

cheers
Steve

 

[mrgreen4242]

So the racking cane in my autosiphon set just snapped (it was realllllly cold out and the plastic must have been very brittle and it just cracked right off while I was setting up) and I want to replace it with a stainless steel cane - can I use it with my siphon tube, if so are there any modifications I need to do, and is there another way to start a siphon with one besides filling the hose full of sanitizer, etc.?

Edit: Nevermind, FlyGy has shown me the light. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/flyguys-t-siphon-3-replacement-autosiphon-25774/ I'll build one of these with a stainless cane on the "top" end and call it a day. Thanks anyways!