Siphoning from HLT

[Harto]

Hi All.

After a hiatus on the brewing front I'm going to pick it up again over Christmas. However, there are some modifications to make to the kit first and I'd like some advice please.

First let me explain my setup. My brew kettle is also my HLT. It has a tap (15mm compression fit valve) about 6" from the bottom with a copper tube inside to reach the bottom. When I sparge, I think it is somewhere between fly and batch: I fill up a 1l measuring jug and add it to the mash tun little by little to keep it topped up. Consequently, the tap on the HLT isn't always open so to get the bottom 6" of hot water out I connect a short piece of 15mm copper tube to the valve with a siphon tube and siphon tap on the end. However, the water temperature makes the tube go floppy. In short, its an accident waiting to happen.

So my question is what are my alternatives?

I thought about swapping the siphon tube with higher temperature silicon tube but how would I get this to fit over the 15mm copper pipe? I had to heat the siphon tube up to get it to stretch over the 15mm pipe originally but that is exactly why I thought about using silicon tube- it doesn't denature with heat.

Or I could just reach into the HLT with the measuring jug and scoop the water out manually once the water level has got down to below the level of the tap?

Any suggestions or something obvious I have missed? Thanks in advance.

 

[Brewberoza]

To the best of my knowledge silcon tubing should be heat resistant, i.e. should not act the way you describe. What you described is exactly how I would have tried. Either we are both wrong, or that is not silicone or not the right silicone tubing.

Seems a strange design on the hlt. I thought my mashtun with the few inches tap height was too much. After I got rid of the kit I thought I could have used a caserole dish or similar to displace the liquid allowing more liquid through the tap. Maybe you could think of something in your household you could use.

 

[Harto]

To the best of my knowledge silcon tubing should be heat resistant, i.e. should not act the way you describe. What you described is exactly how I would have tried. Either we are both wrong, or that is not silicone or not the right silicone tubing.

Seems a strange design on the hlt. I thought my mashtun with the few inches tap height was too much. After I got rid of the kit I thought I could have used a caserole dish or similar to displace the liquid allowing more liquid through the tap. Maybe you could think of something in your household you could use.

Hi. It seems I didn't make myself clear: currently I'm using regular syphon tube. From your response my theory of replacing with silicon tube seems the best idea.
HLT was DIY. As a brew kettle it works fine since the wart is cooled by the time it empties. I didn't foresee this HLT issue though.

 

[rodabod]

Silicon tubing is also more stretchy than plastic. Not sure what size you'd actually want to go for, for a tight fit.

 

[rodabod]

Or use a jubilee clip (stainless, preferably).

 

[keat64]

What about a compression fitting with an elbow and length of copper pipe.
Fit the compression fitting (with copper pipe ) when you need it, and remove it when you don't
So long as the copper pipe is lower than the water level, and provided no air get in through the joint, then it should continue to siphon.