OK folks, I’ve found it. Will try it out again today. So far, I like it. Why havn’t I heard of it before? Its the “Hopkins Siphon” Just dip the end of the tubing with the metal end attached, into the beer and shake it up and down a few times and there it goes. It takes off and siphons fast, quick and Easy! with nothing to break! I found it at the link below. You only need 1 but, you have to buy 3 of them, 19.95 + s/h.(unless you are a member) Let me know what you think. BTW: the metal end is copper and it states that it is not for salt water or contaminating liquids. I can’t see where contact with copper for a minute or 2 will harm my beer?
I took a judging class run by Ted Hausotter, where one of the samples had a piece of copper soaked in it for something like 30 seconds, possibly as little as 10, I don’t recall. It was noticeably off, really bad. Pre-fermentation I don’t see a problem, but post-fermentation? I wouldn’t do it based on my experience. I don’t know if it’s the low pH or the alcohol level or both, but it really messes up the beer.
Hummm… ok, was wondering about that. May have to try some copper testing / tasting. Thanks for the re!
Someone needs to make a stainless steel one of these!
Tell that to all the people with copper imersion chillers…Copper in trace ammounts, I have heard, benefits yeast health…
But the it begs the question, Beer vs. Wort…?
By the way, i saw this at a Garden and Home show in Denver and immediately thought about getting it. But I have the AutoSiphon and just defered the purchase.
Fill the hose/cane with water/sanitizer and siphon. Cane is optional - ask Gordon or look for a recent thread.
Use a sanitized piece of plastic cane material in the cane/hose assembly. Exhale, suck on the plastic, stop the flow, remove plastic, and put the hose in receiving vessel. The beer and hose never get close to your mouth. I learned this trick from Jeff Renner.
Use a different suction device like a sanitized turkey baster or vacuum pump to start the flow.
4.You can also push the beer with CO2 and the SS cane and Carboy cap. A couple of GC memebers do this. I am doing this now as there is no lifting involved, and you can keep the beer under CO2, including the receiving vessel if purged.
You can use a carboy cap on the receiving vessel and start the siphon with a vacuum on the receiving vessel. I learned this from Mike O’Brien, who has posted on this forum.
There are always the threads on the internets about the autosiphon breaking or springing a leak. Maybe that is why I have never bought one?
Yeah, I’ve broken a couple of auto-siphons and like my stainless racking cane and carboy cap.
Yeah, as mentioned above, wort only. I use a copper counter-flow chiller with no problems. And yes, you need trace amounts of copper for yeast health, it’s an important co-factor in several important enzymatic reactions. But keep copper away from your beer. Just try it yourself, take a small section of copper pipe and dunk it in a beer for a minute. You’ll notice the difference. Do it for less time too . . .
Well, that’s a good point. I just broke my auto siphon today… again. But I’ll probably just get another one. Because, really. It’s just easier for me. And I don’t own a carboy cap. And then, how does the cap work with buckets??
I broke my autosiphon by putting it together dry. After that, it wouldn’t pull liquid up the tube to start the siphon. It was the smaller one, 5/16" I believe.
I replaced it with the 1/2" Autosiphon and what a difference. Man does it transfer fast!
Make sure to throw out the old one if you get the bigger one. It turns out the smaller cane can still start the
siphon in the bigger one but if you are racking a beer it oxidizes the everliving crap out of it. Not speaking
from personal experience but from being the guy that got the call, “Hey tell me if this tastes funny.”
Oh yeah…I broke the other one into a bunch of pieces out of frustration. Nothing like realizing your autosiphon doesn’t work when you’re ready to transfer your beer. Luckily I had some spare vinyl tubing around so I could siphon “old school”.
An image of an unmanned fire hose flailing on the ground just shot through my head. :o But really, I have both sizes & when I need them they’re priceless!!!
