Methods of Transfer

AGbrewer

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What do you use to transfer wort from one vessel to another vessel?

Right now I use an SS racking cane with some tubing. I typically fill the tubing with a starsan/water mix and use that to prime the flow into a bowl and then into the vessel once only beer is flowing.

I've owned an anti-gravity pump for a while that I used once with no success (could have been user error). Might be time to try this again.

I also have a keg setup that I don't typically use with a bottle of CO2, just can't use it for my primary as I'm doing 5 gallons batches most of the time. So that doesn't really solve my primary to secondary transfer.
 
What do you use to transfer wort from one vessel to another vessel?

Right now I use an SS racking cane with some tubing. I typically fill the tubing with a starsan/water mix and use that to prime the flow into a bowl and then into the vessel once only beer is flowing.

I've owned an anti-gravity pump for a while that I used once with no success (could have been user error). Might be time to try this again.

I also have a keg setup that I don't typically use with a bottle of CO2, just can't use it for my primary as I'm doing 5 gallons batches most of the time. So that doesn't really solve my primary to secondary transfer.
All I use are pressure transfers anymore. You can get pressure rated fermenters and transfer a full 5+ gallons to your kegs. Once you've got it down, I can't imagine doing it any other way.
 
All I use are pressure transfers anymore. You can get pressure rated fermenters and transfer a full 5+ gallons to your kegs. Once you've got it down, I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Gonna have to save for those pressured fermenters. If I got one, I would definitely want a SS one. Of course, those are somewhat pricey.
 
Is there any particular reason you're transferring to a secondary fermenter? In most cases it's unnecessary, and any benefits are usually outweighed by the chances of contamination and/or oxidation. The only time I'd consider secondary would be to bulk age a beer for more than a couple of months.
 
Is there any particular reason you're transferring to a secondary fermenter? In most cases it's unnecessary, and any benefits are usually outweighed by the chances of contamination and/or oxidation. The only time I'd consider secondary would be to bulk age a beer for more than a couple of months.

For most beers, you are right. There is probably not much need for secondary. Problem is that I'm brewing big beers.

Most of my beers are pretty big (OG between 1.100 - 1.150) so they require several months of aging. In addition, I do a lot of barrel aged stuff. Once Primary is done (typically 3 weeks), they go into a secondary with cubes/chips/staves/spirals that have been soaked in some sort of spirit (e.g. bourbon) for at least 2 months.

As such, looking to see what everyone else is using to transfer to secondary.
 
I've seen you post that you brew a lot of big beers, but am getting forgetful.

My fermenters have spigots and I always use tubing to reach the bottom of kegs when transferring to reduce O2 exposure to a minimum. On the rare occasions that I have used secondary for bulk aging, I've made sure the head space was minimal.
 
I've seen you post that you brew a lot of big beers, but am getting forgetful.

My fermenters have spigots and I always use tubing to reach the bottom of kegs when transferring to reduce O2 exposure to a minimum. On the rare occasions that I have used secondary for bulk aging, I've made sure the head space was minimal.

No worries, I'm pretty sure that I've posted the same topic at least once without knowing it.
 
I've got ball locks on most of my fermentors and if I'm bulk ageing or doing a secondary it'll be in a cornie. So it's nearly always a closed transfer. The sour fermentors can only take about 1.5 psi, so it's more a gravity transfer with the top of the fermentor being topped up with CO2. Occasionally things screw up and I'll fall back to a gravity transfer and purge the remaining keg headspace with CO2.

The most common complication is the dip tube on the liquid post getting blocked. I use floating dip tubes now, though they can also get blocked. If they're blocked a quick burst of 20psi CO2 clears them. So while I'm not using a lot of CO2 for these transfers I still need that occasional burst to clear the dip tube.
 
I use to do pressure transfer from glass carboys, beer and bbq by larry has a good video on that. I was always nervous, always kept the pressure looooowwww, and went slow. Very easy to do a low, to no oxy transfer. Now that I have HDPE Speidels I drain from the spigot to the keg. Don't do any aging, except in bottles.
 
I use to do pressure transfer from glass carboys, beer and bbq by larry has a good video on that. I was always nervous, always kept the pressure looooowwww, and went slow. Very easy to do a low, to no oxy transfer. Now that I have HDPE Speidels I drain from the spigot to the keg. Don't do any aging, except in bottles.

I'm going to check that bbq larry video out as I have a few glass carboys. That may be my solution until i have enough money to buy the SS pressure rated fermenters.
 
It is pretty easy, but takes a few goes to get the procedure down pat. You need one of those orange car boy caps with the two openings on them. I found that I needed a gear clamp to keep that cap from popping off. Also need a racking cane. It is a bit fussy, and a bit slow, but you can a relatively o2 free transfer. Just be sure to keep the pressure pretty low.
 
IMG_20190317_1100535~(1).jpg
 
Pressurizing a glass carboy like that is a dangerous thing to do. It looks like that gauge is over 5 psi.
 
It does look like close to 5, that picture is about a year and a half old, I don't have glass anymore.

You very correct that it can be dangerous. For total force applied, multiply your 2-3 PSI x the number of square inches inside the carboy. Having said that, I did many transfers like that, and never had a problem.

Research what you plan to do, and enter into such an activity at your own risk.
 
Spigots work just fine.
I transfer to secondary on day 7-8 with a spigot and tubing, making sure there is no splashing and keep the tube submerged. There should be enough CO2 coming out of solution to cover the liquid in the secondary. Same for the bottling setup and no noticeable problems with oxidation so far.
 
For most beers, you are right. There is probably not much need for secondary. Problem is that I'm brewing big beers.

Most of my beers are pretty big (OG between 1.100 - 1.150) so they require several months of aging. In addition, I do a lot of barrel aged stuff. Once Primary is done (typically 3 weeks), they go into a secondary with cubes/chips/staves/spirals that have been soaked in some sort of spirit (e.g. bourbon) for at least 2 months.

As such, looking to see what everyone else is using to transfer to secondary.
Secondary = Keg.... Easiest way.
Adding oak chips? Keg to keg transfer after aging... Done. No need to buy extra fermenters or secondaries... Kegs. Worried about yeast? Get a ball float for the "secondary" keg... Nothing but clear beer into the serving keg.
 

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