Siphoning

[Brewme]

This may be a silly question, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

What's the best way to siphon a brew/wort out of a 23 litre demijon into a fermenter/cube for CC?

The only way I know is to suck on the hose, then put the hose into the fermenter. When it comes down to sanitation, will saliva germs play havoc with the fermentation as far as infections go?

What about filling the sanitised hose with cooled bolied water and dropping and end into each?

How do you guys do it?

 

[Florian]

A lot of people fill the hose with no rinse sanitiser and make sure the first bit goes on the floor, then direct the hose to your cube or whatever.

I found the easiest way though is to use one of these plastic nozzles which you get for free from the hardware store - the ones that you screw onto silicone tubes.



Just stick the pointy side into your hose, usually gives a good enough seal, and suck on the other end. When your hose is full, remove it and direct the hose to your cube. This way you can still use the suck method but shouldn't be worried about infections if you only suck and don't spit into the nozzle. Obviously sanitise the nozzle before use.

Florian

EDIT: added picture

 

[amiddler]

I don't syphon my beer but have started a few syphons. Don't suck, would be my first advise, god knows whats in your mouth.
Sanitise hose then put as much of it in the demijon as possible with out dropping the whole thing in, alowing it to fill with beer. Seal the end in your hand with a washed finger and pull out enough hose so there is beer in the hose below the liquid level to start the syphon.

Hard to explain but once you get the knack you should be able to get it first time every time and much cleaner than using your mouth.

Drew

 

[manticle]

You can get a piece of hose that will fit inside the first piece. Suck on that, draw out the liquid then remove the 'mouthpiece'

On reading - it sounds like the same principle as Florian's method.

You can also buy autosiphons

 

[Stuffa]

These work well http://morebeer.com/view_product/18872/102..._Gallon_Carboys

 

[Shed101]

A lot of people fill the hose with no rinse sanitiser and make sure the first bit goes on the floor, then direct the hose to your cube or whatever.

I found the easiest way though is to use one of these plastic nozzles which you get for free from the hardware store - the ones that you screw onto silicone tubes.

View attachment 41784 View attachment 41785

Just stick the pointy side into your hose, usually gives a good enough seal, and suck on the other end. When your hose is full, remove it and direct the hose to your cube. This way you can still use the suck method but shouldn't be worried about infections if you only suck and don't spit into the nozzle. Obviously sanitise the nozzle before use.

Florian

EDIT: added picture

Like that! :icon_cheers: The less **** I have to buy and clutter my house up with the better!

 

[Banshee]

You can get a piece of hose that will fit inside the first piece. Suck on that, draw out the liquid then remove the 'mouthpiece'

On reading - it sounds like the same principle as Florian's method.

You can also buy autosiphons

Spot on. Exactly what I would do.

 

[bignath]

Hadn't thought of the pointy nozzle trick. Might have to try it one day.

At the moment i use a syphon i bought from the big green shed. It's got a squeeze pump in the middle of it. Put one end in each of your vessels and pump slowly and carefully until it flows. Easy as.

 

[[email protected]]

I use a $12 turkey baster that you get from Robins Kitchen etc. You can place the bulb and tube in sanitiser. The tube is tapered and can form a seal on the tube then all you do is press on the bulb and hold down, insert the other end of the tube in the the beer and depress the bulb. It sucks up the beer into the transfer tube and maintains vacuum while you clamp off or lower the line to the vessel. Dead easy.

 

[sama]

A lot of people fill the hose with no rinse sanitiser and make sure the first bit goes on the floor, then direct the hose to your cube or whatever.

I found the easiest way though is to use one of these plastic nozzles which you get for free from the hardware store - the ones that you screw onto silicone tubes.

View attachment 41784 View attachment 41785

Just stick the pointy side into your hose, usually gives a good enough seal, and suck on the other end. When your hose is full, remove it and direct the hose to your cube. This way you can still use the suck method but shouldn't be worried about infections if you only suck and don't spit into the nozzle. Obviously sanitise the nozzle before use.

Florian

EDIT: added picture

now i know why they keep the nozzles behind the counter

 

[kymba]

i use a 12v air mattress inflater set to 'deflate'. takes less than 2 seconds to start a siphon

pretty sure it cost about $12 from bigW


Cheers

kymba

 

[Shed101]

i use a 12v air mattress inflater set to 'deflate'. takes less than 2 seconds to start a siphon

pretty sure it cost about $12 from bigW


Cheers

kymba

Genius!

... do you lager in a mattress, too? :icon_cheers:

 

[Howlingdog]

Put the lil bottler on the end of a tube and put that end in the wort, now pump up and down (you know the action I mean). Tube will fill with wort - easy.

HD

 

[berto]

Drew's method looks the simplest and least infectious to me

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I bought an EasySiphon. It's crap.

I then built a thing that allowed me to push a little CO2 into the demijohn I want to siphon out of... That worked, but I am ever-fearful that my natural dickheadedness will result in sadness.

Now, I have a racking cane arrangement that goes into the demijohn to a length of beer tube into a John Guest ball valve into another piece of beer tube on which I suck until the siphon starts. Then, I close the ball valve, remove the offending beer tube and insert another with whatever I want on the end of it and open the ball valve. Hilarity ensues.

 

[Dazza_devil]

I've used Drew's method with success, siphoning hot wort. Only problem I had was with the inlet end popping up out of the wort but easy to start again.
I've also siphoned cooled wort from my kettle using a bottling wand for inlet attached to a tube full of diluted starsan. Let the starsan go into a jug and then the rest into the fermenter, blocking the hose with a clean, sanitised thumb when neccesary.

 

[Sammus]

I've had one of these http://www.williamsbrewing.com/AUTO-SIPHON_P818.cfm (not from there, looks like the same thing though) for about 4 years and it's a piece of piss to use, never skipped a beat, an awesome piece of equipment IMO

 

[drtomc]

The autosiphon is great for cool wort/beer/etc (e.g. for racking), but warps in hot water (that's tap hot - I have not tried it in boiling wort). If you need to transfer boiling wort into a cube you can siphon with silicone tube (I use the fill it with sanitizer trick), or get a tap. I did the former twice before deciding that life was too short for that sort of agony, and got a tap.

T.

 

[Lemon]

I do the same as Drew's Brew, with hot wort.

With the kettle to the left of the cube, while holding the outlet end of the silicon hose between the thumb and forefinger of my right hand, I lower the entire hose into the liquid. The action of this has wort fill the hose, even the bit above the liquid level. At this point a clamp the tube between said thumb and forefinger. Then, with a practised move, whip it over the edge and down into the open cube. There!! siphoning....

A practiced move, because, you'll get a lot of practice before making it work.

Lemon

 

[kymba]

Genius!

... do you lager in a mattress, too? :icon_cheers:

nah i keep the mattress aside for funner stuff