Get an auto siphon they said. It'll be easy they said.

[jayk34]

Hi, I've recently put a tap on my fermentation bucket to make the transfer easier. Having just brewed and put it in the fridge to ferment, I've suddenly thought about possible infection from the tap as it has 2 weeks for something to grow in there? Do you spray your tap with no-rinse santizer before transferring to your bottling bucket, or am I overthinking this?! Cheers, john

I would spray the tap with sanitizer before transfer. I normally use star San in this case

 

[Nottsbeer]

Cheers. I've given it a good wash with boiled water but will do that as well.

 

[BlackRegent]

@Nottsbeer
I have to say that I have never bothered to sanitise the tap before transfer (I admit because I have never thought to!) and had no problems at all.

Having said that, I have always been fastidious with cleaning and sanitising the tap pre-fermentation.

 

[Nottsbeer]

@Nottsbeer
I have to say that I have never bothered to sanitise the tap before transfer (I admit because I have never thought to!) and had no problems at all.

Having said that, I have always been fastidious with cleaning and sanitising the tap pre-fermentation.

Thanks. I ended up using the tap to draw a sample to get my hydromoter reading then noticed that there was some wort still in it, thus thinking this may grow something nasty over the next two weeks. Having given it a clean with boiling water it should be fine now. Think next time I'll not use the tap and go back to using my turkey baster to get the gravity readings.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Like others, I went with a bottom tap.....but not as you know it

Put my stainless steel tap in the flat bottom (easier to seal) of the fermentation bucket.

Modded a barrel float so the beer is drawn off above the bottom and leaves about 5-10 mm of beer after transfer.

No leaks. Easy to clean. Works every time

 

[damienair]

Hi, I've recently put a tap on my fermentation bucket to make the transfer easier. Having just brewed and put it in the fridge to ferment, I've suddenly thought about possible infection from the tap as it has 2 weeks for something to grow in there? Do you spray your tap with no-rinse santizer before transferring to your bottling bucket, or am I overthinking this?! Cheers, john

Hi, yes just before transferring the brew I spray the tap inside and out and leave it for a few minutes. I have not had any problems so far.

 

[Buffers brewery]

As I have camlock fittings on my tap, I spray the tap connection on brew day after filling the bucket and fit one of these (after spraying it as well) to keep everything sanitised during fermentation. Also prevents any accidental loss due to premature operation of the tap!

 

[dwhite60]

After ten minutes of frustration and seriously oxidizing four bottles of beer I trashed mine. Got out my twenty-plus year old, home-made, copper racking cane and was bottling in about fifteen seconds.

Got all kinds of recommendations on how to make it work. Figured if it took THAT much work it wasn't really an "AUTO"-siphon.

 

[vantheman]

A bit late adding to this thread, but I recently purchased one of those auto-syphons. It's an Italian model by enolandia. It was only £9.99 so I guess the price should have warned me that the quality might not be great. Although I like the principle of it, when I push the plunger it lets wine leak past the seal and come out of the top of the tube. It seems to me that there is a basic fault in the design. If you've ever dismantled a bicycle pump you know that the seal is made of rubber. As rubber is more pliable, it stops air getting past the seal. The seal on this product is made of hard plastic and is not a particularly tight fit, so allows liquid to get past it. Does anyone know of a better designed auto-syphon?

 

[chthon]

@vantheman Those from Fermtech seem to be the best. I got a MINI, which is still good after 7 years. Later I needed a larger one, but my LHBS had also switched to an Italian brand (could be Emolandia). It works, but to make it work well I need to pour some liquid above the seal to prevent air bubbles from being sucked in.

 

[vantheman]

@vantheman Those from Fermtech seem to be the best. I got a MINI, which is still good after 7 years. Later I needed a larger one, but my LHBS had also switched to an Italian brand (could be Emolandia). It works, but to make it work well I need to pour some liquid above the seal to prevent air bubbles from being sucked in.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to get one of those Fermtech syphons

 

[Clint]

A bit late adding to this thread, but I recently purchased one of those auto-syphons. It's an Italian model by enolandia. It was only £9.99 so I guess the price should have warned me that the quality might not be great. Although I like the principle of it, when I push the plunger it lets wine leak past the seal and come out of the top of the tube. It seems to me that there is a basic fault in the design. If you've ever dismantled a bicycle pump you know that the seal is made of rubber. As rubber is more pliable, it stops air getting past the seal. The seal on this product is made of hard plastic and is not a particularly tight fit, so allows liquid to get past it. Does anyone know of a better designed auto-syphon?

Gently dismantle, very gently..flare out seal with your Reassemble. If the reassembly is a bit tight..like you're aiming for wet it and apply at a slight angle,rotating until the flared seal locates. You'll see what I mean. This should fix it.

 

[vantheman]

Gently dismantle, very gently..flare out seal with your Reassemble. If the reassembly is a bit tight..like you're aiming for wet it and apply at a slight angle,rotating until the flared seal locates. You'll see what I mean. This should fix it.

Thanks for the advice. I tried this but the plastic is quite brittle and does not respond to thumb pressure. I tried pushing a rubber washer into the groove but that didn't work. I think I need a bush of some kind to push into the groove and force the seal to flare out slightly

 

[Clint]

Try heating in hot water.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

As rubber is more pliable, it stops air getting past the seal. The seal on this product is made of hard plastic and is not a particularly tight fit, so allows liquid to get past it. Does anyone know of a better designed auto-syphon

Mine is quite soft and the syphon works a treat.

 

[vantheman]

Tried heating the seal without success. I'm waiting for a syphon from Fermtech. Thanks for all the input.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I tend not to use siphons at all, but on the odd occasion I've had to, I've 'started' it by teeing off a length of tube at the bottom (of the outside bit) with a couple of taps. Close outlet tap (or pinch hose), suck on 'starter' tube until fluid is over the hill (much like me), close tap on 'starter' tube before it gets near your mouth, re-open outlet tap.
Does that make sense? if not I'll do a diagram

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

I don't need it so much these days but I have found this simple gadget a bit less hassle than the bike pump style syphon, and has a filter as a bonus.
Brew Syphon Tube https://amzn.eu/d/dQFF924

 

[dad_of_jon]

Mine is quite soft and the syphon works a treat.

ooh matron!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't need it so much these days but I have found this simple gadget a bit less hassle than the bike pump style syphon, and has a filter as a bonus.
Brew Syphon Tube https://amzn.eu/d/dQFF924

I remember these were popular a while ago a few members bought them and If I remember right most binned them.