Syphon

[marksa222]

Hi everyone. I have a wherry sitting in the fv at the moment and for the first time i'm using a pb. I haven't got a syphon yet and just wondered if anyone had used the wilko one? Its only £2 odd but i'm not sure if it would be suitable for a 5 gallon fv.

I don't really want to fork out for an autosyphon as I will bottle more often than not and I have the coopers fv with a tap.

Also, can you attach tubing to the tap and pour out of that?

Thanks for any pointers

 

[PD]

The auto syphon is the one to use for beers due to the increase in quantity your asking it to syphon...The small syphons take forever.
If you are making 20+ liters at a time you will find the auto syphon more than compensates for its cost.

 

[marksa222]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I will bottle most of the time so didn't want to spend £15-£20 (plus I don't have the cash atm) on an auto syphon. Has anyone used the wilkos ones? I just need to know if its suitable for a 23l fv. It looks like it might be too small, maybe just for 1 gallon demijohns or something? Thanks for any suggests...

 

[wigwamheed]

They work fine just require a bit more patience, much like everything else in this hobby

 

[Darcey]

I used to do it with some old school tubing. If you can make sure you are not sucking up the yeast bed and still control the output with two hands then go for it. Make sure you dont splash too much then you are transferring as you will pick up oxygen. Its not the end of the world if you do, but try not too...

Its like a fighter pilot you have to be looking at two things at the same time... The racking 'canes' make it easier but you still need to look at both ends to stop bubbles etc.

Good luck!

D

 

[Megaross]

I use a similar syphon to the wilkos jobby for bottling, racking etc.

It'll do the job but they're a pain in the **** to use on 5 gallon fv's. I've been meaning to get an autosyphon for a while to be honest, save frigging about.

 

[marksa222]

I use a similar syphon to the wilkos jobby for bottling, racking etc.

It'll do the job but they're a pain in the **** to use on 5 gallon fv's. I've been meaning to get an autosyphon for a while to be honest, save frigging about.

Thanks... which part of it was the biggest pain in the ****? Was it the time it took to syphon?

 

[Algernon]

I have used a basic tube for my two 23l brews. It has a racking cane on one end with two little holes about 3cm from the end and a cap to prevent yeast and so on.
It IS slow for 23l, but it works ok. I fill it with water and then immerse it, let the water drain into a bucket until beer is running, then run into pressure barrel.
I had no trouble the first time, but the second time I dry-hopped the brew. This resulted in the racking cane blocking repeatedly and making the syphoning a real PITA. I will use a hop-sock next time.

 

[Will12283]

I use the Wilko's one and it does the job for me :thumb:. An auto syphon is the way to go in future but until I can justify it I will stick with my cheap one.

 

[Fil]

a tap on the FV allows you to pour the beer off the sediment tho the last second tipping does require a steady hand..

if using a small bore syphon consider a clip or something to hold the down tube into the beer in place, it frees up a hand and an eye for focusing on the business end filling your bottles..
and a small tap on the end of the syphon out end allows you to control the flow.

to start the syphon cleanly i stick a short length of tube onto the out bit of my end tap and stick that in my mouth to suck.. once flowing i pull off and discard the extra bit of tube leaving the syphon and tap sterile still.

 

[winelight]

With a clip and a racking cane, ordinary tubing is easy enough.

As someone here suggested in the past, fill the tube with water, put your thumb over the end, run it into a jug until the beer comes through, to save sucking.

 

[marksa222]

Thanks for the info guys.

On a separate note, on a previous beer, after 10 days I put the FV in the cold (about 12 degrees) and it clear up loads in just a few days. I wanted to do the same but being the summer I had no where in doors to put it. Instead, I got 500ml bottles of frozen water, used 4 around the fv and secured them in place with my wifes Wii Zumba waistband. I put a duvet over it to insulate and kept 4 other bottles in the freezer. I swap them round twice a day and it is keeping it around 10 degrees. Not wanting to go colder than this, i am now just using 2 bottles at a time to maintain it. Is this as ridiculous a process as it sounds? Lol...

 

[Fil]

Thanks for the info guys.



On a separate note, on a previous beer, after 10 days I put the FV in the cold (about 12 degrees) and it clear up loads in just a few days. I wanted to do the same but being the summer I had no where in doors to put it. Instead, I got 500ml bottles of frozen water, used 4 around the fv and secured them in place with my wifes Wii Zumba waistband. I put a duvet over it to insulate and kept 4 other bottles in the freezer. I swap them round twice a day and it is keeping it around 10 degrees. Not wanting to go colder than this, i am now just using 2 bottles at a time to maintain it. Is this as ridiculous a process as it sounds? Lol...

Not at all, those of us luck enough to have fermentation fridges crash cool prior to botteling/kegging going as low as 1C on occasions, as it also helps force carbing in a corny...

 

[winelight]

I solved that one by buying a cheap fridge on Gumtree, and making a wooden shelf to support the weight of the FV (I did that yesterday). I now have the 60W heater for it, so I'm just waiting for the STC-1000 to arrive from China. But of course for now it works fine to chill to 10C.