Syphoning

[rod]

there have been many threads on syphoning and we all agree that using our mouths to start the syphon is asking for infection.
please critique this idea:
i spray a piece of paper towel with star san,put it over the end of the tube
and suck through it to start the syphon.
any reason this is not sanitary??
be nice with criticism

 

[homebrewer_99]

Why take the chance? Buy an auto-syphon. It's so much easier.

A lot of people wonder how we got all of our equipment and the answer is simple...1 piece at a time.

 

[cweston]

Plus the Star San really can't taste all that good, either. I'd at least substitute some Elijah Craig bourbon. :cross:

 

[rod]

i don't lick the towel, just start the syphon real quick

 

[Ivan Lendl]

just use gravity and water. Or get an auto siphon. they are like 10 bucks...

 

[Sasquatch]

My dad is old school... he's a sucker too. I think if he ever made beer, it would come out awful, but his wine is sure terrific. But that said, I did buy him an autosiphon and he loves it.

 

[rod]

i will bow to the consesus and buy an autosyphon
thanks,rod

 

[homebrewer_99]

Just remember that when you use it be sure both parts are wet. Even though water is not a lubricant it will act like one.

And most importantly, after you clean it DO NOT reassemble it. Leave the parts disassembled. The gasket/seal will last a lot longer stored in an uncompressed state.

 

[cweston]

Just remember that when you use it be sure both parts are wet. Even though water is not a lubricant it will act like one.

I second this: it's amazingly tough to ram it in there if it's not sufficiently wet, no matter how determined you are.

 

[Lou]

I second this: it's amazingly tough to ram it in there if it's not sufficiently wet, no matter how determined you are.

we still talking about siphoning?

 

[Rhoobarb]

we still talking about siphoning?

Hey, I was going to say something like that! Ya beat me to it.

BTW, I love my Auto-Siphon, too.

 

[Walker]

Hey, I was going to say something like that! Ya beat me to it.

yeah... he beat you to it by 4 days.

-walker

 

[RichBrewer]

we still talking about siphoning?

ROFLMAO

 

[Kaiser]

i spray a piece of paper towel with star san,put it over the end of the tube
and suck through it to start the syphon.
any reason this is not sanitary??
be nice with criticism

When siphoning from the kettle, I start my siphon by putting the tip of the sanitized turkey baster into the end of the hose. Then I suck with my mouth on the tukey baster to get the siphon started. Pinch the hose, take out the turkey baster and let it flow into the carboy.

From carboy to carboy/keg I use a carboy cap.

Kai

 

[rod]

good idea, and it won't taste like starsan

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

Yeah, not a bad idea at all- previously, I had used the ol' mouth and then submerged the tip for a few seconds in a little pot of boiling water. So far, no problems with my wine or my cider.

But I am intrigued- how exactly does an auto-siphon work, and how much should I expect to shell out for one?

 

[waskelton4]

I had all the trouble in the world with my autosyphon..

partly because i kept ramming the plunger through the end of the it and knocking the valve out into my beer. DOH!

also.. mine isn't long enough to get all teh way down into the carboy with enough room to get enough liquid into the pump tube..

anyone else have this problem?

maybe mine is just too short...

(are we talking about syphoning again ?? )

ws

 

[Ivan Lendl]

Yeah, not a bad idea at all- previously, I had used the ol' mouth and then submerged the tip for a few seconds in a little pot of boiling water. So far, no problems with my wine or my cider.

But I am intrigued- how exactly does an auto-siphon work, and how much should I expect to shell out for one?

when i was a kid i had fish tanks and i will never forget the taste of fish poop in my mouth from a suck-siphon gone bad...

an auto-siphon works by invisible pixies sucking on one end with thier lips which are made out of freeze dried bleach skin...

p.s. theyre like 10 bucks...and worth 100 if you ask me...

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

I have to tell you, my friend, you've managed to combine something I find very appealing (pixies) with something very unappealing (fish poop), leaving me exactly neutral on the topic of the siphon. Then again... 10 bucks ain't bad... the money hairs on the back of my neck are tingling. Not too great a price to pay to avoid fish poop.

 

[rod]

I Still Suck Syphon To Clean My Fish Tanks But Since I Only Have 4 Now Instead Of The 40 Or So I Used To Have, It's Not So Bad.

The Worst Is Multi-tasking While Syphoning -10 Gallons Of Fish Water Does Not Fit In A 5 Gallon Pail!

sorry about caps - at work and forgot again

 

[NEPABREWER]

My 7.5 gal carboy blew out and my carboy cap will not fit on my bucket:cross:
how the hell do I get the beer out into my secondary? Do I force my big fat racking
cane into the airlock gromet or just take the top off the bucket?

 

[Walker]

My 7.5 gal carboy blew out and my carboy cap will not fit on my bucket:cross:
how the hell do I get the beer out into my secondary? Do I force my big fat racking
cane into the airlock gromet or just take the top off the bucket?

Just pop off the lid and slide it to the side a bit so that you have room to put the cane in. There will very very little risk of something getting in and spoiling the beer.

-walker

 

[Caplan]

when i was a kid i had fish tanks and i will never forget the taste of fish poop in my mouth from a suck-siphon gone bad...

I worked in an Aquarium part time about ten years ago. I had to clean up a marine tank with a 'mouth' syphon and had a nasty reaction off a dead Anemones nematocysts!
I just use a racking cane full with water and then syphon away, Looking for tell tale signs of clown fish.....

 

[BrewStef]

When siphoning from the kettle, I start my siphon by putting the tip of the sanitized turkey baster into the end of the hose. Then I suck with my mouth on the tukey baster to get the siphon started. Pinch the hose, take out the turkey baster and let it flow into the carboy.

From carboy to carboy/keg I use a carboy cap.

Kai

I read somewhere else to use an airlock the same way as the turkey baster - except that the airlock has a tapered end which fits nicely in the hose. I am going to try this next time around. Funny...I spend hundreds of dollars on kettles, carboys, burners, etc. etc. and I am still too cheap to get an autosiphon.

BTW - I DO use the carboy caps as well for siphoning...they are awesome.