Beginner Co2 set up

[aaronm13]

Looking for advice on using Co2 in my set up as Ive just started looking into it. What took me here is I'm looking to start brewing using dry hopping and specifically  hoppy New England IPAS. Everything I've read online so says oxygenation is a killer to these beers and I do think I probably have a bit of a problem with oxygen getting into my beer through my syphon.

Initially I looked at getting one of those small cartridge guns to purge my bottle bucket or the fermenter when opening for dry hopping. This looks expensive long term and pretty limiting I would think. I would love to keg but don't have the space at the minute for a second beer fridge. Was on thin ice the day I came home with the first one. Obviously I could use the fridge when not brewing.

Homebrew company seems to be the way to go for kegs, so is it OK to have a full keg in the fridge but take it out for a few days while fermenting, besides having warm beer?

Their regulators seem expensive at €65, are they particularly good or is there better value on Aliexpress? Any links would be great.

I'd get the gas form the lads in Bray going by this site anyway, do they do good value regulators?

Is there anything else that I'd need as I haven't a clue? Probably get an aeration stone and the beer guns look great on Aliexpress. Just want to get some prices together so I can maybe make a start and prioritize parts. Even if didn't keg they look great solution for dry hopping or even as a bottling bucket and will be a sound investment down the line. I need to stop buying cheeper stop gaps and just buy sensibly. Thanks in advance, should be me more food for thought.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

You can get very good oxidation protection with something like a CO2 capture device. It's basically a daisy chained blow off tube.

But a systematic approach to O2 minimisation required a bit of thought, and modifications to your fermenter like ball valve taps with adjustable racking arms/pick up tubes. They allow you to package from primary without opening the vessel, as long as you can top up the head space with sterile CO2.

[aaronm13]

Thanks for that, gives me another option to look into. Cost wise, would there be much in setting this up versus a keg and Co2 gas. Probably looking at around  €160 to get the regulator, keg and Co2 tank from the Homebrew Company. Not sure about the Chinese regulators as some reports say they don't fit EU fittings. So maybe for the extra €30 safer going for the in bought here and a lot quicker getting it too.

[Damofto]

Aaron, I'd consider changing your Syphon.  I was having the same problems of Oxygenation with my old Syphon, it ruined a few beers on me.  Someone here recommended the Fermtech ones so I picked up one on Ebay and haven't had any problems since. 

[aaronm13]

I ended up going the kegging route, my absolute hatred of bottling won out. Got everything from the HBC the other day and going to brew a NEIPA the weekend hopefully. Just need to get over to Bray tomorrow or Thursday to pick up the gas. Probably need to source a better syphon to for transfering in the keg.

[Ceedee]

I had an issue with my siphon in that I could see tiny little bubbles travelling down the pipe with the beer. Turns out that the seal wasn't perfect on the plunger. To resolve this, a little bit of beer (probably a few hundred ml or so in a sanitised container) poured down the centre of the siphon resolved this. No more bubbles.

This might be your issue.

[aaronm13]

My syphon bubbles like crazy to be honest, don't know why I never out 2+2 together on this, really annoyed with myself. My lastest Hefe I bottled two weeks ago has a slight tang is probably the best way to describe it. The Dubbel I'm bottle conditioning too has the faintest hint of a tang too. Would this be down to oxidation? I'll definitely pick up a new one though, it was only a cheap one I got with my first kit from Home brew west.

[dcalnan]

Better to just put diluted starsan down the inside of the syphon.

[aaronm13]

Sorry for sounding stupid, but could you describe the process of putting the star San into the syphon, no quite sure what you mean, thanks.

[johnrm]

Squirt here

[aaronm13]

Thanks. So just a couple of ml of solution and this will help with bubbling?

[johnrm]

Problem could also be air getting in where the hose meets the siphon.
You could test with water (maybe drop in a tea bag to color it?) and a tiny bit of wash up liquid, that way you can see bubbles and identify your source of air.
Also, measure say 5ml dilute starsan, put this in to siphon, see how long it takes to be sucked in.

Other points to note...
While greater head height can speed up transfer, increased head height means greater vacuum in your transfer.
If you have muslin over the tip of the siphon to keep hop material back, this can create a vacuum and introduce air.

[mac2k]

Just on this one, has anyone had any positive experience with the Aliexpress regulators. The seem to be good quality, but there are a few types of fitting.

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