stingy siphoning?
  • frydogbrewsfrydogbrews
    Posts: 44,679
    How do you all siphon? like when do you stop?

    i usually get as much as i can, and then tilt the bucket to try to get more (while getting less sediment). this always leads to me getting a bunch of sediment in my beer and then i dump out the first pint or two that i pull off the keg because it looks too chewy.

    i realized though, that by trying to get more beer out of my primary fermenter and actually getting sediment then dumping a few out, i am probably losing more beer than if i had just left that stuff in the fermenter to begin with.

    Thoughts?
  • ceanntceannt
    Posts: 50,191
    Do you siphon straight from the fermenter to the keg?
    Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
  • FuzzyFuzzy
    Posts: 47,149
    it depends on the yeast. if i'm siphoning and i see that it's settled into a nice solid cake, i'll get every drop i can. if it's a less flocculent strain and it starts to get swampy when i tilt the bucket, i'll stop much sooner.
    "Oh, you were serious? I was drunk."-C_B
  • FuzzyFuzzy
    Posts: 47,149
    ceannt said:

    Do you siphon straight from the fermenter to the keg?



    i always do.
    "Oh, you were serious? I was drunk."-C_B
  • frydogbrewsfrydogbrews
    Posts: 44,679
    ceannt said:

    Do you siphon straight from the fermenter to the keg?



    yes. always.
  • jeepinjeepinjeepinjeepin
    Posts: 17,852
    FromZwolle said:

    it depends on the yeast. if i'm siphoning and i see that it's settled into a nice solid cake, i'll get every drop i can. if it's a less flocculent strain and it starts to get swampy when i tilt the bucket, i'll stop much sooner.



    I think this is what I do. It's been a while.
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  • ceanntceannt
    Posts: 50,191
    You might try siphoning to a bottling bucket first .... and let it settle for a minute.
    Adds the pain of sanitizing something else .... but should cut down on the sediment
    Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
  • frydogbrewsfrydogbrews
    Posts: 44,679
    i don't think it would. even in a keg that is being cold crashed it takes a solid day to drop any measurable sediment out.
  • ceanntceannt
    Posts: 50,191
    It were just a thought
    Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
  • jeepinjeepinjeepinjeepin
    Posts: 17,852
    And I have an PVC elbow on the spigot of my bottling bucket that sucks the bottom. It's close enough that chunky stuff won't get by but loose yeast would.
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  • ceanntceannt
    Posts: 50,191
    jeepinjeepin said:

    And I have an PVC elbow on the spigot of my bottling bucket that sucks the bottom. It's close enough that chunky stuff won't get by but loose yeast would.



    I siphon from the top of my bucket
    Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
  • jeepinjeepinjeepinjeepin
    Posts: 17,852
    ceannt said:

    jeepinjeepin said:

    And I have an PVC elbow on the spigot of my bottling bucket that sucks the bottom. It's close enough that chunky stuff won't get by but loose yeast would.



    I siphon from the top of my bucket


    Primary bucket or bottling bucket?
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  • ceanntceannt
    Posts: 50,191
    jeepinjeepin said:

    ceannt said:

    jeepinjeepin said:

    And I have an PVC elbow on the spigot of my bottling bucket that sucks the bottom. It's close enough that chunky stuff won't get by but loose yeast would.



    I siphon from the top of my bucket


    Primary bucket or bottling bucket?


    Both
    Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
  • jeepinjeepinjeepinjeepin
    Posts: 17,852
    Ok. I use better bottles and siphon from the top down starting around midway with an autosiphon either straight to a keg or to a bucket with a spigot near the bottom.
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  • ceanntceannt
    Posts: 50,191
    I use a homemade racking cane made from a plastic water supply tube ... and keep the opening about an inch below the surface level all the way down
    Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 107,186
    i dont siphon so much any more but i still rack (co2 pressure) from my primary to the kegs. my racking cane is moveable so i start drawing from the top then work my way down until i see a bit of cloudyness... then i stop. i usually only have maybe 1/2 pint to a pint of funky swill in my keg, and that's usually just the second one that gets filled (10 gal batches)
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • frydogbrewsfrydogbrews
    Posts: 44,679
    what are you fermenting 10 gallon batches in? right now i just split into two 5 gallon buckets.
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 107,186
    frydogbrews said:

    what are you fermenting 10 gallon batches in? right now i just split into two 5 gallon buckets.



    i ferment in sanke style 15gallon kegs. I have two of them dedicated to that purpose.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • C_BC_B
    Posts: 79,214
    frydogbrews said:

    How do you all siphon? like when do you stop?

    i usually get as much as i can, and then tilt the bucket to try to get more (while getting less sediment). this always leads to me getting a bunch of sediment in my beer and then i dump out the first pint or two that i pull off the keg because it looks too chewy.


    I pretty much do this. I always get a little yeasty sediment at the end of the siphon. But I don't dump but maybe the first half pint from the keg.
    If I'm bottling I usually do the same thing telling myself I need the yeast for carbonating.
    "On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants
  • BenvarineBenvarine
    Posts: 1,606
    I used to be more concerned about getting every drop, now I'm not. I leave about an inch or so on the cake. Depends on the yeast too I guess. I have a racking cane with the cap on the bottom and that seems to help. I get little to no sediment in my first beers, nothing worth dumping.
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 107,186
    Benvarine said:

    I used to be more concerned about getting every drop, now I'm not. I leave about an inch or so on the cake. Depends on the yeast too I guess. I have a racking cane with the cap on the bottom and that seems to help. I get little to no sediment in my first beers, nothing worth dumping.



    i would do this if i could see through the sidewall of my fermenters
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • C_BC_B
    Posts: 79,214
    Benvarine said:

    I used to be more concerned about getting every drop, now I'm not. I leave about an inch or so on the cake. Depends on the yeast too I guess. I have a racking cane with the cap on the bottom and that seems to help. I get little to no sediment in my first beers, nothing worth dumping.


    "Worth dumping" is a funny thing. I don't dump it unless it looks like sludge. And even then... B vitamins and lots of epic gas. Epic, room clearing gas.
    "On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 107,186
    C_dubbs said:

    Benvarine said:

    I used to be more concerned about getting every drop, now I'm not. I leave about an inch or so on the cake. Depends on the yeast too I guess. I have a racking cane with the cap on the bottom and that seems to help. I get little to no sediment in my first beers, nothing worth dumping.


    "Worth dumping" is a funny thing. I don't dump it unless it looks like sludge. And even then... B vitamins and lots of epic gas. Epic, room clearing gas.


    i try to avoid that...
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • C_BC_B
    Posts: 79,214
    Lakewood said:

    C_dubbs said:

    Benvarine said:

    I used to be more concerned about getting every drop, now I'm not. I leave about an inch or so on the cake. Depends on the yeast too I guess. I have a racking cane with the cap on the bottom and that seems to help. I get little to no sediment in my first beers, nothing worth dumping.


    "Worth dumping" is a funny thing. I don't dump it unless it looks like sludge. And even then... B vitamins and lots of epic gas. Epic, room clearing gas.


    i try to avoid that...


    Meh. It's good for you.
    "On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants
  • BenvarineBenvarine
    Posts: 1,606
    I like the room clearing gas the next day, I usually blame it on the dog but the kids always call me out on it.
  • FuzzyFuzzy
    Posts: 47,149
    it's hard to deffer blame when you've asked them to pull your finger.

    Thym
    "Oh, you were serious? I was drunk."-C_B
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