Overflow siphon belongs to the category of products widely used in home winemaking and brewing. With its help, the raw materials are transferred to separate containers from the container in which fermentation was carried out. A large assortment of such devices of industrial and handicraft production is on sale. But how to understand what are the characteristics of electric, automatic and manual models for overflow are the most important? How to choose a siphon with a filter and pump and avoid common mistakes of not-too-experienced brewers?
What is overflow siphon
The product, called the overflow siphon, is a tubular structure, which is used to move brewed beer or aged wine to a prepared container. Its main purpose is to prevent the contact of raw materials with oxygen, which can provoke active growth of pathogenic microflora. In addition, this device helps to produce various manipulations with fermentation products, without risking to move the yeast sediment into a clean container.
The use of overflow siphons is made at the stage of formation of a yeast sediment, and it is not worth delaying with the procedure. For large volumes of beverage production, it is recommended to use models with an electric or manual pump. The simplest variants use the principle of communicating vessels and require some effort from the winemaker himself. In the design, regardless of the modification, there are tubular elements along which the contents are transported.
Varieties and Characteristics
All existing varieties of overflow siphons can be divided into the following categories.
- Hand held- for gravity overflow with a filter to prevent sediment from entering new containers.
- Purge - automatic, which allows for the removal of sediment and overflow of liquids. The kit should include a cone-shaped nozzle for fixing in the neck. Such siphons are equipped with a telescopic tube, which allows to produce upper bottling from tanks and barrels of large volumes that cannot be turned over.
The integrated membrane creates the necessary pressure and automates the process.
- Electric - equipped with built-in pumping equipment. This equipment is connected to a battery-powered electric motor, part of a siphon is immersed in a container and used to move liquid media. After start-up, the equipment begins to work, driving the beer or wine to the packaging options prepared for it.
- Connected to the pump. The performance of such systems varies in the range from 420 to 5 thousand l / h. Supported nozzle diameters are 10–30 mm, which allows for convenient selection of equipment for professional or private winemaking.
Secrets of a successful choice
Choosing a convenient version of the siphon for use, it is necessary to take into account not only the peculiarities of the environment, but also the volume of product production. A powerful pump for a home distillery is required quite rarely. But if the process of beverage production is put on stream, you should still take care of automation. Versions of light and compact overflow siphons with a pump allow you to remove the mash or wine material from the sediment without any additional effort and expense.
Mechanization of manual labor helps and the presence of a built-in filter. It ensures thorough cleaning of raw materials from large fractions, makes it possible to immediately eliminate the possible clogging of tubes and other elements in the overflow process. Compact systems for home use look like a bottle nozzle. When buying it is worth making sure that the siphon has a collapsible design. In this case, the system will be much easier to rinse after use. Materials must be safe, made from components approved for use in the food industry.
Manual or electric
In the process of translating the management of the winemaking process into the in-line production of domestic alcohol-containing beverages, the problem of high-quality movement of raw materials into bottles and other types of containers is becoming more acute. And here high-quality overflow equipment - compact or mobile - allows you to significantly simplify the life of the owner of the distillation apparatus. When choosing the appropriate version of the siphon is preferable to automatic or electric models. The presence of batteries and an electric motor allows for an optimum ratio of the speed and quality of media movement.
Models with manual type pumps require a lot of effort when activating the system for further work, but they are quite easy to use, non-volatile, easy to use. Even in the absence of much experience, such a system will allow to obtain a good result by simultaneously filtering the sediment and large particles of the raw material.
In the next video you will find a brief overview of the Easy Start Medium automatic overflow siphon.
