Siphon suck

LarryF · May 5, 2015

Morning all, I took down 10L of red grape WOW yesterday but I've been very conscious of sucking on the siphon tube due to the problems I've seen others have with infection that may or may not have been caused by this. Generally I'm trying to eliminate parts of my process where things can go wrong. Anyway, I came up with this idea, it's simple, effective, cheap (my favourite) and the pen lid is easy to clean and sterilise. This lid came with a hole in it but 30 seconds with pen knife would have remied that, the siphon is a Wilko one, hope this helps.

GHW · May 5, 2015

That's a good idea. Not sure it would work with a bottling wand though as how would you poke the valve thing in? When using a wand I do suck start but then pinch to stop the beer flow and stick the sucked end in starsan for a minute.

Covrich · May 5, 2015

So you suck on the pen lid then pull it off as the beer comes down? not a bad tip that!! although from the looks of it you will need a tap peice aswell.

If you ever fancy it try this

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6wnVFsGdv0[/ame]

I have an auto siphon but I have tested it and it does work but can be a little fiddly, I will use it when I siphon from my demijohn an AG (which my auto siphon won't fit in..

Cwrw666 · May 5, 2015

This video looks like an exercise in total paranoia...

Covrich · May 5, 2015

I must admit My first few brews I sucked and had no issues whatsoever then I got an auto

But do you remember BruinTuns, poor bloke had 4 to 5 consecutive brews which were all bad after much discussion and whittling he thought it was all down to this and that his mouth contained more bacteria than others since some people get away with it and some don't.. Not sure on the facts on that, but he never seen him since he said he had 160 bottles of bad beer.. I fear he jacked it in

MyQul · May 5, 2015

Yes, I remember the big 'to suck or not to suck' thread, also remember BT. I, like you covrich, think he gave it all in after several batches in a row got infected as we haven't seen him since -poor bloke

I do something like that video but fill the tube with starsan instead of water. Takes a bit of practice to get right, and do it quickly, every time.

MyQul · May 5, 2015

Cwrw666 said:
This video looks like an exercise in total paranoia...

You just wait till you get your first infected brew

tonyhibbett · May 5, 2015

I am not aware of having had any problems caused by sucking the tube. True the mouth is full of bacteria (and enzymes), but their function is to kill off harmful bacteria in what we eat and drink. However, I use a hand primed 9 mm syphon for 5 gallon brews. I think the biggest risk is from deposits which accumulate inside the tube.

Chippy_Tea · May 5, 2015

I added a length of syphon tube to the tap of a wilko syphon, I keep the end at the same height as the DJ neck so there is a long U shape bend in the pipe, I dry my lips and start the syphon, the wine fills the U bend but does r come out of the end, I then put the end of the tube in boiling water for a few seconds then place it into a bottle and lower the bottle to the floor, I haven't had a problem so far.

Cwrw666 · May 5, 2015

MyQul said:
You just wait till you get your first infected brew

Well I have had an infected brew - the first 5 gallons of beer I made in this house 20 years ago turned to vinegary snot with streamers of seaweed in it. It was our water supply. Since then I boil any water I use to kill off the nasties. But that's all I do.
Personally I think people should look to their water supplies more than they do. The village we lived in before moving here had one old bloke who boiled all his water - and regularly, at least once a year the entire village (except for him) got the s**ts due to cross-contamination between sewerage and water supple caused by lorries cracking the pipes under the road. If you have lots of chlorine in your water it's because there are leaks in the system and the water company pumps loads of the stuff in to try and kill the bugs. And leaks can suck stuff into the pipes as well as letting treated water out.

Twostage · May 5, 2015

Garethhuwwilliams said:
That's a good idea. Not sure it would work with a bottling wand though as how would you poke the valve thing in? When using a wand I do suck start but then pinch to stop the beer flow and stick the sucked end in starsan for a minute.

I do it a bit like that. Press the wand against my teeth, suck until it starts to come down the pipe, pull it away from my mouth (which stops the flow) then stick the end in starsan and wash it.

I like the pen top method :idea:

MyQul · May 5, 2015

Cwrw666 said:
Well I have had an infected brew - the first 5 gallons of beer I made in this house 20 years ago turned to vinegary snot with streamers of seaweed in it. It was our water supply. Since then I boil any water I use to kill off the nasties. But that's all I do.
Personally I think people should look to their water supplies more than they do. The village we lived in before moving here had one old bloke who boiled all his water - and regularly, at least once a year the entire village (except for him) got the s**ts due to cross-contamination between sewerage and water supple caused by lorries cracking the pipes under the road. If you have lots of chlorine in your water it's because there are leaks in the system and the water company pumps loads of the stuff in to try and kill the bugs. And leaks can suck stuff into the pipes as well as letting treated water out.

Now you've got me paranoid. I'm never drinking water again. It's beer only for me from here on in!!!

LarryF · May 5, 2015

Covrich said:
I must admit My first few brews I sucked and had no issues whatsoever then I got an auto

But do you remember BruinTuns, poor bloke had 4 to 5 consecutive brews which were all bad after much discussion and whittling he thought it was all down to this and that his mouth contained more bacteria than others since some people get away with it and some don't.. Not sure on the facts on that, but he never seen him since he said he had 160 bottles of bad beer.. I fear he jacked it in

Corvich, it's BT's experiences that kept me thinking about this. I only use the siphon for my WOW and TC that I make as I use a bottling wand on the tap of my FV for my beer. Either way though what poor BT went through sends a shudder down my spine. I've only been brewing since January and I've never had a brew go wrong (Apart from following kit instructions on my first one, it brewed ok but thin watery with no head) and I'm desperately trying to keep it that way. I have to admit I a lunatic with the spray sanitizer on brew day, the kids steer a very wide path or they know they'll get sprayed and rinsed.

fivegoldstars · May 15, 2015

Sound like I do the same as ChippyT - Wilko syphon kit with a second piece of tubing after the tap. Suck to start the flow, wait til its flowing, close the tap and then remove the second piece of tubing. Chance of contamination minimal - never had anything fail to date.

Chippy_Tea · May 15, 2015

I don't remove the extras length of tube as i like it to reach the bottom of the bottle when syphoning.

Lifting the tube to the height of the DJ makes a large U bend in the pipe, when you start the syphon the wine does not come out of the end as it levels off in the U bend, this allows a quick dunk of the pipe end (where i have had my mouth) in boiling water, i have never had a problem doing it this way.

Siphon suck

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