So I'm getting ready to mash in and was looking through some of my equipment and I noticed these small little line like cracks up and down the entire length of the outside shell of my auto siphon ( the part that the racking cane goes inside). The lines are all various lengths and almost look like spidered glass that almost shattered but didn't. I have no idea what could have caused this?? I did soak it in pbw for a half an hour after my last bottling session but I did rinse it... Maybe not good enough?? The cracks can't be from smashing it as it just sits in a spare room when I don't need it. Any other cracked auto siphons out there? Also the cracks do not leak and they are on the inside of the tube... Help me please!! I also assume I should buy a new one as this one surely will harbor bacteria now
Autosiphons are fairly notorious for cracking, and even breaking if you give them a good twisting motion (as when removing a hose from the outlet tube). Not sure you did anything wrong. Consider it planned obsolescence and get yourself a new one.
I had this happen to a beer thief that was made of the same material. I found out that it is caused by using very hot water (170F+) to clean it. This could be the cause if your PBW solution was very hot.
Yea, I broke the inner tube on mine the first time I used it. It works fine, though the edges are kind of sharp. However, since you have cracks in yours, I would recommend getting a new one. The price of a new siphon is less than a whole batch of infected beer.
I've gone through 2 in a few years. It's normal. I'm getting ready to buy a new one. My current one has some pinholes in it, though they're near the bottom which is below the surface anyway. I only noticed them when I was cleaning it and was pushing the extra water out.
