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Solstice Meadery

Solstice Meadery
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Small problem.

I have several 1 gallon batches that are in those narrow necked bottles with the finger loop.....you know the ones, looks like a glass moonshine jug. Some apparently are fine, but a couple of them for some damn asinine reason the neck is too narrow to get an auto siphon down in there.

Does anyone use a racking cane and a hand pump to start there transfers? Again, you know the ones you've seen them, just a tube with a little accordion bulb looking thing to start the flow. Thoughts? Reviews of them? Anyone use them regularly? How easy to use? to clean? Any issues with O2?
 
If you can insert a tube inside the bottle and you can attach a flexible hose to the tube then all you need to do to start a siphon is suck out a little of the air. You don't need to suck the mead all the way to the end of the hose. The vacuum you create will suck up the liquid and gravity will do the rest. If you are anxious about introducing bacteria or virus into the mead or wine take a sip of vodka before you suck on the tube and coat the end of the hose with the vodka (or soak the end of the hose in K-meta or Starsan for a few minutes)
 
I wouldn't use a pump siphon. Like bernardsmith says, suck the end of a hose to start a siphon.

In addition to the vodka idea, there are a couple ways to do it without your mouth directly on the hose:

You can "extend" the tube by wrapping your hand around the end, but the tube set back just a little bit. You can then suck on the end of your hand with a little separation between your mouth and the tubing. This one can be tough, but works a little easier with a rubber glove on (less chance of sucking air from between your fingers).

Another way is to take a turkey baster, remove the bulb, stick the skinny end into the tube and suck on the other end. Once things start flowing remove the baster. Just be careful to not stick the baster in the hose tight enough that you can't pull it out quickly.
 
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I think if you use a baster in that way you want to practice a few times with a bottle filled with water until you are confident with what you need to do to have the baster sufficiently in and able to be removed without (too much, or any) loss of liquid...
 
I think if you use a baster in that way you want to practice a few times with a bottle filled with water until you are confident with what you need to do to have the baster sufficiently in and able to be removed without (too much, or any) loss of liquid...
Yeah, good call. I put that last warning in there because the first time I tried it I wasn't prepared and it took a few seconds to get it unstuck. I only lost a few ounces of mead, but it all landed right on my lap!
 
There is a mini auto siphon made for 1 gallon jugs on Amazon for $10 shipped if you haven't tried one of those. I have one for my 1 gallon wine jugs I sometimes ferment In.
 
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