So I just bottled my first ever batch. So pumped. Upon cleaning up it seems as though my siphon and bottle tip have become one with the tubing. I can't pull them apart without potential breakage ofthe siphon and tip. I ran oxy clean and water thru it followed by star San. Is it fine to just leave it be or should I make sure to separate?
Siphon tubing
- Thread starter gmflash88
- Start date
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Ideally you'd like to separate everything and take the bottle wand apart for cleaning. Try running some hot water over the point where the tubing connects to the other pieces and see if that loosens it up enough. Use a dry towel to make sure you can get a good grip.
Flipadelphia
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Try sticking the attached part in some really hot water to loosen it, and twist the connected pieces in opposite directions to detach. Usually works for me.
flars
Well-Known Member
It works, but twist very lightly back and forth.
When you try to pull the tube off, it's like those old Chinese finger puzzles, the harder you pull, the tighter it gets. So instead of pulling the tube off, push it off. Before you put the tube onto either the cane or the bottling wand, slide an appropriately sized nylon/plastic washer over the cane or wand. Then you'll have something to push against the tube. Here's a pic of the set-up on my racking cane:
I'd avoid doing that. Scratches (even little ones) in the plastic tend to harbor/grow bacteria. Hot water for about 30 seconds seems to soften that vinyl up nicely.
I've gone more and more to using silicone tubing if possible and use it for siphoning purposes (1/2"). It's much easier to work with, more flexible and handles an wider range of temps.
