Racking into primary fermenter

I'd suggest getting a kettle with a valve or a nice funnel and slowly dumping the wort in that way rather than trying to siphon.

 

Siphons can be finicky, but you really don't need one to transfer the cooled wort to primary. As above, just grab a funnel and dump it on in.

 

Use a hop bag. Of course the siphon will get clogged if you give it plenty of crap/gunk to clog it up with. I built a hop spider for under $20 and its one of the best investments I have made.

 

I was very frustrated, especially when the rest of the brew went so smoothly
Into each brewday a little bit of water will be split - - Palmer

A couple of things will help:

The majority of hop debris can be retained in kettle by using a hop spider. This can be as complicated as a stainless steel mesh or as simple as paint strainer bag. (search Google Images for "hop spider")

After cooling, allow remaining hop debris/cold break to settle. I whirlpool (a spoon will work) for a couple of minutes then wait about 15 minutes before transferring. Most of the sediment will end up on the bottom of the kettle. (use a whirloc tablet with 15 min remaining)

Others post good results by putting a paint strainer bag on the tip of your auto siphon (I'm not a fan), but it's merits a look. You may want to tilt the kettle slightly for easier pickup.

Not for the siphon, but a stainless food strainer over the primary keeps some of the big chunks out.

As you upgrade equipment there are other toys like bazooka filters, re-circ pumps, and ballcock valves that make the job easier.

 

I use a combination of paint strainer bag and large colander. It's a bit more manual than a true hop spider but it gets the job done.

 

I tried that and it clogged easier than just the plain siphon. Not a fan. I just dump into the paint strainer and just let the crap settle out after fermentation. Upgrading to 15 gal kettle with a ball valve, as soon as I raise the funds.

 

I gave up using a siphon. It did work well but just took so long. I bought some small screens that fit into my funnel; didn't stay in place.

I've actually started dumping everything into the fermenter. Of course I put my hops into a nylon bag during the boil so mostly I'm just adding break material into the fermenter. Haven't noticed a difference.

I may return to the whirlpool followed by siphon with bag over then end as that has seemed to work the best in my opinion. Also whilrfloc or irish moss is key.

 

You should not be transferring to your fermenter until the wort is at (or a bit below) the temperature it will ferment at. At that temperature, there is no problem introducing oxygen, in fact it is important to introduce oxygen to achieve a healthy fermentation.

 

Go to home depot. Buy nylon paint strainer bags. Sanitize them. Sanitize whatever you use to attach them (keep in mind rubber bands are dirty). Fold and wrap several layers around the bottom of the auto-siphon. Keeps hops out (leaf or pellet). You'll re-evaluate your stance on auto-siphons.

 

I think it's a great idea to aerate the wort before and after pitching your yeast. I don't use a auto siphon to transfer to the primary, I just use a large strainer and poor it strait in (if you're using a carboy for a primary use a hand held strainer and funnel) If you have a bucket for primary, you don't need the funnel. And to be honest, I don't mind if I have a small amount of hop leaves and seeds in my primary. Not a big deal at all. I've seen people dump everything in there.

I would imagine using a siphon to transfer to primary without a spider would be a nightmare! You poor guy. Ha ha ha

Brew on!

Chris

 

You want to oxidize the shit out of it before you pitch the yeast...after you've cooled it down of course

 

Isn't it a lot easier to just pour it down a funnel than to try to siphon it? You only need the siphon for transferring from the fermentation vessel to individual bottles (if there is not spigot on the vessel).

Assuming of course it's not a 10-gallon+ batch.

 

FUBAR

---
Fermenter - yeast
Fermentor - fermenters' workplace

 

Just in case it wasn't clear, I was making light of the "oxidize" comment. You "oxygenate" your wort prior to pitching.

Just making sure I don't actually cause confusion.

 

OP: what do you use for a fermentor? Ale pail (bucket) or carboy?
I use a bucket, my process is to dump it through a big kitchen strainer, which gets the gunk out and aerates the heck out of the beer-to-be at the same time.
Very involved, I know.
One thing you could do if you do use a carboy is, once the wort is cooled, stir it with a (sanitized) spoon. get it moving, but don't splash if you can help it. Get it going pretty good, then leave it be to settle. All the hops and break material will settle in a cone in the middle of the kettle (this is called whirlpooling) At that point, you can use the siphon along the edge to get the wort out. You may get a tiny bit of stuff, but the majority will stay in the kettle.

 

I agree with just pouring it into your fermentor, and you can use a strainer to catch most of the trub. The strainer provides good oxygenation as a bonus. However, since the trub is mostly at the bottom, just pour it short and leave the trub in the fermentor.

Two other points: if you get a funnel as well as a strainer, get them as large as you can, but not so large that they won't fit into your sanitizer bucket for a good dunking.

Also, I've discovered that the pouring process works okay for 5 gallons or smaller batches, but if you need to pour larger batches, then you need to beef up your arm muscles a bit.

Edit: one more thing for using a funnel into the neck of a carboy you need to use a spacer of some sort to keep the funnel's spout from sealing tight against the glass. Air needs to escape while you are pouring the wort into the funnel.

 

Some people take s swig of vodka or bourbon before they put their mouth to the siphon hose. As others have said, you don't need a siphon at all here.

I'd recommend you test out your auto-siphon before you try to use it again. Fill a container with water and run it successfully into your bath tub or something. Just try to get a feel for it and make sure you sanitize it before you rack into your bottling bucket. I've also noticed that it fits together better when the inside of the tubes are wet (from sanitizer).