I've generally dismissed noises from my auto-siphon, (1/2"), but I'm starting to wonder if others brewers are getting similar results. This thread can be for any siphon. There are several noises that I've noticed. One is a fluttering noise that I'm assuming comes from the trap at the bottom of the auto-siphon. It sounds like it wants to close. I generally don't notice this changing anything in the way that the siphon draws. This is generally a noise that I hear after I've racked 1/2 to 1 gal of beer. It continues intermittently through racking Anyone else hear this? For hop-forward beers, I also get a little bit of lag at the top of the (L?) bend of the cane. This is BEFORE the cane meets the tubing. This is right at the bend. There's a little bit of slack in the beer. I'm worried that there's an air bubble there. I'd suspect that a pellet, or five, get stuck around the draw site of the auto-siphon. The auto-siphon is always submerged in at least an inch of beer throughout racking. There's still a little bit of a 'slurp' here. Thoughts? My general practices (maybe irreverent): I don't take measures to purge much with CO2, and I don't expect my hop-forward beers to be great for more than a couple of months. I drink them hard and fast. I don't brew them often. The keg gets purged, but none of my equipment does. I expect to rack a 5 gal batch to a keg in about 20-25 minutes. This includes cleanup time. A hop screen or nylon bag, (around the hops, around the siphon, or any part of this equation), doesn't seem to help either of the above problems.
never noticed any sounds from the siphon. maybe its me. maybe its the al greene/chaka khan/beatles/motorhead/zeppelin in the air when I am brewing. the first few ounces go into a discard bowl. after that its clear beer. then don't move the cane. if you lift the tube a bit at the bend near the top of the racking cane then gradually drop, you can force the small airspace down the tube. this will also increase the flow rate substantially. it takes a bit of practice. I will have a helper hold the cane steady if I can. this limits the disturbance at the bottom of the bucket and keeps the trub and junk from being sucked up. I am able to get very little debris into the keg. so little that I haven't had a dip tube clog in months. Cheers.
The laws of physics kind of tell me that if noise is being produced then there must be some turbulence in the system. If you don't see bubbles being generated, then the beer is probably okay. It's also possible that the turbulence is just causing a vibration in the joints of the siphon, or the siphon is vibrating against something. Either way, I'll agree that you need to turn up the music so you can't hear the noise and quit worrying.
My guess is there's air in the tube resulting from inadequate flow. Try pumping with more staccato when starting the flow. I'll intentionally inject air into the flow as a means of aeration while racking by lifting the draw end from the wort for a quick moment. You can see the minute air bubbles getting mixed in as the draw level rises up the 'spill' tube toward the 'L" head of the siphon.
As has been posted previously, if you are hearing noise then vibration is occurring. I personally would be concerned that the source of vibration could have an air component to it. I am uncertain how best to troubleshoot this issue then to say: can you see any indication of air being introduced (bubbles)? Cheers!
