Is contamination in the spigot a problem for anyone else? There’s definitely some nasty black stuff in mine, which is this model.
I bypassed the problem when I bottled last night by simply racking into a clean fermenter and then bottled using an autosiphon, but I’d really like to figure out how to get the gunk out of the spigot. Otherwise, I’ve just got a useless bucket with a hole in it, since I clearly don’t want to replace the thing after each use.
Yeah I see that on occaion. I do just what you did. rack to a different bucket or just use the syphon to bottle directly. You can use a little keg post brush to get down in there. also you can pull it apart and soak it in PBW or Oxiclean to get the gunk out. kinda hard though when the bucket is full of beer ;D
Pop out the orange spigot and brush it all very well. Soak the parts in Oxiclean as previously mentioned and then soak in a bleach solution. Rinse well.
I always take mine apart when cleaning, but I don’t always use bleach. Usually just Starsan.
Mine doesn’t seem to come apart, and the gunk is between two layers of white plastic, which allow the spigot to be turned so it’s vertical or not. Likely it’s because I’m not using enough force (I broke many little mechanical contraptions and stripped many screws in my childhood to learn not to force things). Just yank it apart? If I do, I suspect it’ll never be water-tight again.
You can buy just the spigot part. Keep the bucket and through the old spigot away.
Wrap your hand around the white part and push the spigot down on a table top. Twisting the spigot back and forth with your right hand helps. It should snap out.
I have the same type as far as the spigot itself is concerned, but mine is held into the buckets with a large grommet. No threads or nut. I can’t comment on how you can separate the white nylon parts, but I’ll bet they come apart.
Here you go: Bottling spigot from Northern Brewer
They’re cheap and VERY easy to install. If you have a hard time cleaning that thing out, don’t waste your time over what would cost about $4.00 to replace (plus shipping).
This is even better and what I use exclusively:
Only one moving part. http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Vintage-Shop-Bottling-Spigot.html
I’m really not interested in having to replace it every time I bottle, though. I’d rather just siphon out of a fermenter if it comes to that, though the spigot seems to introduce a bit less air than my siphon.
I use mine^^^ till they wear out. The OP’s traditional bottling spigot is prone to fail catastrophically and has some nooks and crannies that are difficult to clean. Don’t ferment with them.
I don’t know anybody that has to replace it every time they bottle. If yours gets contamination that you can’t remove from one use, it is defective.
I have and use those (cheap!), but I disassemble them every time to give them a thorough cleaning. Yeast tends to cake up inside the bulkhead portion unless you take it off the bucket and clean the spigot well. The plastic is cheap and I have personally experienced cracked bulkheads (probably from overtightening and or setting the bucket down at a slight angle and having the ground hitting the spigot before the bottom of the bucket) as well as broken off the spigot handle–it still functions, but it is hard to twist open and closed.
These are the most durable spigots I’ve ever used–they’re great but must be used with a bottling wand or a small segment of rigid tubing (PVC, Acrylic, etc) in order to hook up a flexible transfer hose.
I just pulled my spigot apart after not using it for a long time because it was dirty between the white plastic layers. It’s difficult to get apart but can be done. Pop the orange part out like bo says and then use tools to pull the two pieces apart while staying away from anything internal that may scratch. I slid a small screwdriver through the part where the orange piece goes. It warped when I pulled it apart but once clean it all went back together liquid tight.
After tearing it down I think I will definitely buy a better single piece spigot. It smelled terrible and was very slimy between the layers of plastic.
I hate to differ with you but I’ve used those spigots on my fermenting buckets since I started brewing 20 years ago. I’ve cleaned them well and only replaced them maybe 6 or 8 times over the years, and I’ve never had a single infection from my buckets(I have 4 that i use regularly).
Agree. Any spigot should work. Just disassemble and clean well–soak, flush, wipe, chemically clean and sanitize, etc. Then dry and reassemble. Shortcuts like just filling up the bucket with some hot water and running it through the spigot will not clean it adequately at all.
Same here. I have used them for years before replacing. Clean them while they are still wet by rinsing with how water very well and using a q-tip if necessary to wipe away any residue on the inside. Dunk in star san and throw them in the box with all the other parts and stuff. Never had an infection.
I’ve had bad luck with them, I guess. :
I have to add my own caution about bottling spigots in here too. I had a bad string of infections that I tracked to bottling spigots. Beer was fantastic going into bottles; then slowly in a Kafkaesque way, things got progressively worse every day after packaging. Same off flavor would develop. Wild yeast I think. This happened over six months of brewing efforts.
I had been cleaning and “sanitizing” the spigots, even trying to pasteurize them, all to no avail. The few times I tried to take them apart, they developed leaks upon reassembly. I’m fanatic about sanitization, but readily admit to not being a great mechanic and tool person.
I couldn’t find spigots that I could sanitize and reassemble to my satisfaction, so I switched to bottling from kegs when I have to do it. N’er a problem since, in four years.