Bubbles in autosiphon

[Mark_]

Hey folks,

I was racking into a carboy to mix in some priming sugar and my auto-siphon was submerged in my brew with a grain bag wrapped around it to filter out any trub. From time to time I would get a STEADY stream of bubbles coming from the brew, down where it was being drawn from within the beer. it wasn't coming from where the tube connects to the cane but from within the beer and the auto-siphon was definitely submerged.

I don't get it... Was it CO2?

 

[Billy-Klubb]

sometimes the seal will pull air through. I've gotten into the habit of splaying the seal on the top of a sanitized bottle before starting the siphon. works pretty good!

 

[GenIke]

Keep a santizied turkey baster handy and squirt some beer down behind the plunger of your autosiphon. You might need to repeat more than once throughout the entire racking so keep that baster clean.

 

[Mark_]

So we are thinking oxidation at this point and not Co2? Well crap, damned auto-siphon!

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

I had that problem before but my stream of bubbles originated from the joint. I found pinching the tube and releasing seemed to solve it altho I'm not sure why. In your case, GenIke might have a point and the seal of your plunger is the issue.

Now, before bottling I always practise with sanitised solution first and when the autosiphon works smoothly, I keep it filled with solution (I close the valve on my tubing), move the suction end to the wort and open the valve. That ensures continuation of the smooth flow. Just don't forget to collect the solution in the piping in another container! When the beer reaches the end of the tube I close the valve again and start bottling from there.

 

[DanH]

So we are thinking oxidation at this point and not Co2? Well crap, damned auto-siphon!

Not necessarily. I've had bubbles in my auto siphon a couple/few times but I've never noticed any off flavors from oxidation. And I've read threads of people doing much worse and having their beer turn out fine.

 

[GenIke]

So we are thinking oxidation at this point and not Co2? Well crap, damned auto-siphon!

I dunno what that means in the long term. If it was my beer I would probably not worry too much, but I would try and drink this one a little quicker.

 

[jonmohno]

Its the grain bag,my concensus is to have a more course filter maybe or none. Im going to be opting for one of those stainless steel racking canes which you can use a course filter over. Ive had terrible luck trying to filter the way you have. Dont worry too much though, I had bubbles in about a third of my racking on a batch before,(I kinda think its just co2 though-because when you start clogging it pulls more air and there is only co2 in your beer so it may just be co2 racking out.) that beer was good and was good for over a year,I even think I had my last few bottles almost 2 years and no problem with it,it was good. Unless you have a bad connection with your siphon and hose also-make certain you dont because that very well could be it. You want a very snug fit with the connection. Sometimes if you kinda twist and adjust that when its flowing then it may stop.

I thought I had ruined mine the time or two I did it though-never had a problem later. Oxidation can take some time,so if they are good and you want to drink most of them, then do so ,maybe save some for research too and see what happens. Hope it turns out good for ya. Dont worry. Cheers!

 

[Mark_]

Great information everyone, thank you! I will keep an eye on the auto-siphon, look for a positive pressure device (CO2 most likely) as well as just RDWHAHB!

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

It's definitely the grain bag! I just tried bottling with a bag wrapped around the auto-siphon head the other day and things went well until the bag became too clogged. From that point, there's not enough liquid making it thro the bag to relieve the pressure caused by the weight of the beer in the tube so instead air is being forced past the seal.

This is the last time I use a grain bag on my auto-siphon. Yooper was right....again.

 

[Ridire]

It's definitely the grain bag! I just tried bottling with a bag wrapped around the auto-siphon head the other day and things went well until the bag became too clogged. From that point, there's not enough liquid making it thro the bag to relieve the pressure caused by the weight of the beer in the tube so instead air is being forced past the seal.

This is the last time I use a grain bag on my auto-siphon. Yooper was right....again.

I learned that the hard way, too. Never again.

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

Disagreeing with Yooper or using the grain bag?

 

[Ridire]

Disagreeing with Yooper or using the grain bag?

Grain bag.

 

[Mumbly]

I recently encountered this problem with my auto siphon on bottling day. It was the "gasket" between the plunger and the "base". I had read stories of people racking onto large amounts of starsan and it causing little effect on finished product, so I put a little bit of mixed starsan through the top of the base to act as a buffer I guess you could call it. Very minimal amount of the mixed starsan got mixed with the finished product (a fraction of an ounce per 5 gallons of beer) I'm planning on trying some keg lube on that gasket next time I use it.