Midwest Supplies

Home /
Brewing Equipment /
Fermentation Equipment /
Tubing and Siphoning

My Cart

You have no items in your shopping cart.

Compare Products

You have no items to compare.

FAQ-Tubing and Siphoning

Question: How do I start a siphon?
Answer:

There are a few ways to start a siphon. At the very least, you will need a racking tube, preferably curved, and three feet or so of siphon tubing. The FermTech AutoSiphon is a wonderful tool that makes starting a siphon effortless. Short of that, you have a couple of options. You can place your racking tube into the fermenter and attach your siphon tubing to it. Place the fermenter at a level that is higher than your carboy or bottling bucket. Then, simply suck on the end of the hose until your siphon begins. Some homebrewers suggest filling your mouth with a shot of vodka before doing the sucking, you know, to sanitize your mouth, right? I think this is just an excuse to drink a shot of vodka, but I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Method number two is to take your siphon hose and attach it to your racking cane. Then, run water through it, placing your finger on the end of the siphon hose once it is full. Then carefully place the racking cane into the fermenter, keeping your finger on the end of the hose. Then drop the end of the hose into your carboy or bottling bucket, and, voila! Your siphon should start. This method may take a couple of tries, but once you get it down, it’s very easy. Method number 3 employs one of the newer items in our catalog, the Better Bottle Pail Adapter. This item eliminates the siphoning process altogether, and uses gravity to move your beer or wine....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Which bottle filler should I use?
Answer:

Midwest stocks three bottle fillers: The Fermtech Plastic filler, a plastic spring tip filler, and a 1/2" bottle filler. The Fermtech Plastic filler is the one included in our Homebrewing Equipment Kits, and is also the least expensive. This bottle filler will work just fine for most homebrewers for a long time. The only difference between this one and the spring tip is the valve; the Fermtech model has a ball valve that works on gravity (when you push down on it, the valve opens, when you let up the valve closes). This valve works great 95% of the time, but occasionally the valve does stick a little bit. Most times this can be avoided by making sure that you clean the filler thoroughly after each use. The spring tip has a spring valve that works much the same way, but since it has a spring, the valve will not stick open. The spring valve is on the top of the filler, which means that it empties itself out when the valve is released. The 1/2" filler requires a length of 7/16" tubing as well as a 1/2" spigot to run from your bottling bucket to the filler, and fills bottles much faster....Click to Read full Answer