Interesting note on Auto Siphons and Cleaning...

[Mitch S]

So I recently had to toss my mini auto siphon I purchased from Northern Brewer back in May. I was noticing fissures/cracks on the bend at the top and the rubber ring on the bottom of the internal tube had deteriorated. The rubber had actually come off and left a small ring inside. Needless to say, this increases my chances of an infection (fingers crossed on the two Christmas beers I have currently bottled or almost ready to bottle...). Northern Brewer sent me an email based on a review offering to replace it and noted the following (and possibly a replacement):

"The siphons are not meant to last a long time, in fact one should replace them every 6 months to keep it from potentially infecting your beer or wine. Letting it sit in PBW or Star-San can make the rubber gasket brittle..."

Interesting as I did not see this on any literature when I purchased! Moral of the story, be careful with cleaning and sanitizing your auto siphons.

Note: My apologies if this is a repost of an old thread.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

There are improved, all stainless steel with replaceable gasket, versions available. I have not used any one of them yet.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I have the BreSSSiphon way over priced in my opinion but it's a worry free product. I have had auto siphons last 2 years with no issue but then I replaced then as routine maintenance.

 

[Mitch S]

I have the BreSSSiphon way over priced in my opinion but it's a worry free product. I have had auto siphons last 2 years with no issue but then I replaced then as routine maintenance.

Almost anything stainless has a premium these days (I deal with a lot of it in my day job as a construction estimator). But good to hear it's worry free. I will look into one as I start to upgrade my system.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

A nice bonus is you can heat the oven and use the oven to sanitize it or beat a home invaded unconscious if need be

 

[homebrewer_99]

6 months? I've used my siphon for over 20 years. No issues so far. Definitely no black ring.

I clean mine IMMEDIATELY after use (soap, hot water and a HOT rinse). I let it air dry and NEVER store the pieces assembled.

 

[Mitch S]

Definitely no black ring.

It was actually blue, which is how I was able to tell the rubber was deteriorating. It is Northern Brewer's in house model.

 

[gnef]

I think I went through 3 or so autosiphons before moving on to a stainless racking cane. I kept braking them at the bend for the tubing, and got tired of replacing them. I have been using my stainless racking cane for close to a decade now, and it is still working great.

 

[Shack01]

WOW!

I have a large, Fermtech (3/8" ID), that I've had since the late '90s. It LIVES in PBW.
OTOH: I have short one (also lives in PBW) that I had to replace recently.

I had to replace the short one, because it was leaking air at the 'crook' of the 'cane.' My best guess, as to why it failed, was from trying to remove the hose.
The large one, even after living in PBW, all these years still works fine. The short one, a more recent purchase, had cracks in the 'cane.'
I use the short one to rack from my cubes into my FastFermenter. Because that's, typically, a 'cold' transfer, I didn't give it much thought...

 

[Beer Nuts]

"The siphons are not meant to last a long time, in fact one should replace them every 6 months . . .

If it's cracking at the bend it is a defect in workmanship.

The bulk tubing starts out as hard pellets which are heated to a temperature hot enough for it to flow as a fluid to be extruded then harden again. So heat is not the problem.

The straight sections of the tubing are not cracking, just the bends that are being reheated and worked.

So, the problem is the plastic is not being heated to a high enough temperature and being bent prematurely causing stress in the material. There is no reason the bend should not last as long as the straight sections. And, it is a simple fix.

I am not saying they are doing it on purpose. I doubt they are. I'm saying they are aware of the problem and don't care.

All they would need to do is tell the people doing the bendy section to do it right. Instead they are making excuses for it.


They should add this to the product description:
Due to known defects in workmanship, this item has a limited useful life of 180 days.

 

[gnef]

that bend is the point of greatest stress during use though. When moving tubing around, pulling up, etc.

I just got tired of plastic for racking, and went with stainless to not have to worry about plastic failing. When I needed a longer racking cane for my bigger fermentations, I just bought a 3 ft (maybe 4 ft?) stainless tube and just bent it myself as needed. I'm a big fan of stainless racking canes.

 

[Mitch S]

I am not saying they are doing it on purpose. I doubt they are. I'm saying they are aware of the problem and don't care.

I've heard some posters here won't do Northern Brewer anymore and I am thinking QC might be why. That said, they did send me a replacement at no cost. They pulled my order history and since I was only a few months in, they sent a replacement. I probably wont soak it in PBW as much; probably only hot water and StarSan moving forward.

I'm pricing out a new kettle and fermentation bucket (SS Brewtech stuff). I'll include a stainless steel siphon in my pricing.