Has anyone been able to accomplish this? I tried attaching two straws and racking from one container to another, but wouldn't work 
Racking/Siphoning with a straw?
- Thread starter OrganicTruth
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Siphoning is the usual way we all transfer to new containers and help leave sediment behind.
The important thing to remember is you have to put the full container above the empty one. If they are on the same lever it won't work.
You will need something longer than a couple of soda straws for this.
The important thing to remember is you have to put the full container above the empty one. If they are on the same lever it won't work.
You will need something longer than a couple of soda straws for this.
racking with a vacuum pump
If you use a vacuum pump (doesn't need to be very powerful) you can transfer the mead from one carboy to another even if both are at the same level (siphoning uses gravity, a vacuum pulls the mead), and indeed, the source (the one you want to empty) carboy could be LOWER than the target container (the one you want to fill). The use of a vacuum pump means that you can rack say five or six gallons even if you cannot safely lift the 50 or 60 lbs of liquid in a glass carboy (I keep my carboys in plastic crates which makes lifting them much easier and safer).
If you use a vacuum pump (doesn't need to be very powerful) you can transfer the mead from one carboy to another even if both are at the same level (siphoning uses gravity, a vacuum pulls the mead), and indeed, the source (the one you want to empty) carboy could be LOWER than the target container (the one you want to fill). The use of a vacuum pump means that you can rack say five or six gallons even if you cannot safely lift the 50 or 60 lbs of liquid in a glass carboy (I keep my carboys in plastic crates which makes lifting them much easier and safer).
Without use of a pump, it won't work unless there's a difference in liquid levels, and siphoning will stop if the levels balance out and it'll go backwards if you lift up the container you're siphoning into so that it's higher than the one you were siphoning from, the whole thing uses gravity and the weight of the liquid in the hose to draw more liquid to the lower level. Aquarium tubing or racking hose or even some sanitized garden hose would be a lot better than straws.
If you can't get your hands on appropriate tubing, then you may have to pour off the clear stuff instead of racking, but this does run a small risk of oxidation. And use a funnel, go slow and once you start you can't stop till you're done or you'll just stir up your sediment.
If you can't get your hands on appropriate tubing, then you may have to pour off the clear stuff instead of racking, but this does run a small risk of oxidation. And use a funnel, go slow and once you start you can't stop till you're done or you'll just stir up your sediment.
