What would you pay for a SS Auto Siphon?

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brans041

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I am just tossing this out there, as I have come up with a prototype and if it works well, the cost should not be that high if mass produced. Given that plastic versions are $10 for 5/16" and $15 for 1/2" what would you pay for the stainless version? $30, $40, $50? It would be made with high temp parts great for those no chill folks.

Right now we are looking at a total cost of 30 inches of pipe of larger diameter 30 inch racking cane. and seals with a tip. All would have to be machined or manufactured to specifications. Let me know what you all think. But a minimum price would be $30.
 
Hope this isn't out of bounds, but I like being able to see that my autosiphons are spotlessly clean. I don't think I'd be comfortable with a metal version for that reason...

Cheers!
 
Hmm, would the milled parts be light enough to open like the plastic ones?
 
I've got to say that I probably wouldn't pay what it would take to make it profitable to produce them.
If I wanted one, I might go $30 since there is a cheap alternative that works well.

That being said, I like to see into it also. I might still buy a stainless one, but it certainly wouldn't be a priority to me.
 
dat_trippr, having an all stainless version would actually be a boon to cleaning as you could heat sterilize or use harsher chem without worrying about craking the plastic...also, scratches harboring bacteria would be a thing of memory. brans, I would suggest designing this so that the one-way valve on the bottom can be removed or unscrewed to clean since we cant see inside, then long brushes can just be passed through the tubes and small brushes for the small bits prior to sanitizing. All in all, I would be interested since I prefer stainless to plastic bits any day.
 
It's not going to be easy to get it to work 100% and be cost effective. I looked into it about a year ago and to get a design that would work really well would have been too expensive to make. IF I was able to machine all the parts myself, it might be doable. If you're going to farm it out, it's not going to be cheap.

Besides, I've moved on from the entire siphoning affair. Now I just push with CO2 (out of fermenting vessels). I will be making more of my fermenting/transfer caps soon. I hopefully got the machinery needed to do this today. I'll be posting up about that in it's own thread when it's time.
 
I like the concept ok. It would certainly be durable, assuming you could replace any silicone type parts. I don't really have a need to siphon hot liquids but I do like to use hot water to clean my auto siphon and it tends to create little cracks in it. Is it possible to do one out of polycarbonate instead of acrylic? I'd be all over that.

ETA: Or is that what they're made of?
 
IF you can get it working correctly, id be interested to see how you accomplish that.

realistically- i would never buy one. being see-thru is more of a positive than being scratch- or heat-resistant. after i transfer something with a normal plastic racking cane, i rinse it out with some tap water and then pump starsan thru it for a minute and hang it up to dry. when i take it out to use, i pump starsan thru it again and visually inspect that nothing is stuck inside. i cant see how that process would be helped in any way by stainless steel.

if i couldnt see thru it, i would have to completely disassemble and scrub the entire thing (with a set of special sized brushes, probably) just to be positive that there isnt a hop leaf clinging to the wall still. way too much unecessary work and equipment.
 
I've got a prototype in the works, which uses 3/8 internal and 1/2 external. There is a one way umbrella valve and a piston valve to make it work. Still experimenting with the cap.

The umbrella valve is 2.59 silicone valve, and the piston valve is 0.59 (Bulk Prices). The remaining is a stamped cap and 30" of 1/2 and 35" of 3/8 ss tubing to get to the bottom of the pesky carboy. Heat resistant to 250 with the silicone valve.

Not too pricey to replace valves. This would last a long time.
 
I'd do $30 for a good durable SS one that can be taken apart to inspect and clean. I seems like mine gets all cracked and crazed after about a year and half, so I'm now on my third one. As SS one would have paid for itself by now.

BTW, I only ever siphon cold, but I like to siphon several gal. of StarSan from bucket to carboy, or bucket to corny to sanitize the recieveing vessel and the auto siphon at the same time. Don't know what causes all the cracking yet though.
 
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