Spigot sanitation

[johnrm]

A piece of kit that constantly bugs me is bottling bucket spigots.
I have noticed liquid IN the spigot, in the rotational gap. If it can get in, it can get out, and thus spoil my beer.
One solution on other forums is to chuck it and buy another.
I chose to strip, clean and reassemble.

Word of warning...
Spigot will weep afterwards!
I prefer to remove the infection doubt and can live with this.

Here's the before, note the 'something' at 12 o'clock...


I used a vice grip, a socket set extension and a hammer...


One sharp tap later...


Now clean and starsan the bejesus out of it.

Reassembly...

[Dr Horrible]

Great post John this has always bothered me as well.  Were  there any problems with sealing after reassembly?

[cruiscinlan]

A piece of kit that constantly bugs me is bottling bucket spigots.
I have noticed liquid IN the spigot, in the rotational gap. If it can get in, it can get out, and thus spoil my beer.
One solution on other forums is to chuck it and buy another.
I chose to strip, clean and reassemble.

For scientific instruments there are what are known as 'zero dead volume' taps which screw down into a fitting. They're almost identical in every other respect to the homebrew spigots but no one seems to sell them.

[johnrm]

Spigot will weep after. Edited OP.
Once you're bottling on the day, this is not a problem for me.
This is a small price to pay IMO.

[eanna]

I just never use them, only siphon. I'd never be satisfied that they were sanitized.

[Bubbles]

I just never use them, only siphon. I'd never be satisfied that they were sanitized.

+1

Never used them, never will. They're just too difficult to clean, and another way of introducing infection into the beer.

[imark]

Could you stick those spigots in a pressure cooker to autoclave them? Or would the go to shite?

[molc]

If you don't use a spigot, do you just use an auto siphon for bottling? Tried that one and it was a right mess and a pain to start and stop the flow.

[Bubbles]

I use a regular siphon for bottling, not an auto-siphon. The siphon has a bottling wand attached to it. I just fill the tubing with water from the tap, attach it to the racking cane, attach the bottling wand, and let the first 100ml go into a jug. Siphon is then ready to go.

I use an auto-siphon for kegs and other large volumes where starting and stopping is not an issue.

A bottling wand is one of the best investments for a new brewer.

[molc]

Ahh cool, might give attaching the bottling wand to a siphon a go next time so, as I even got a new fermenter without a spigot as this was something that was starting concern me as well.

Every days a schoolday

[Bubbles]

A siphon clip (which keeps the racking cane secured to the side of the fermenter you're racking from) is worth the couple of euro investment also. It stops the racking from stirring up the trub when you're racking.

[paddyp]

Plastic lever type tap is easier clean top screws off:

[molc]

A siphon clip (which keeps the racking cane secured to the side of the fermenter you're racking from) is worth the couple of euro investment also. It stops the racking from stirring up the trub when you're racking.

Yup, I have one. Better than sliced bread, as I can wander off and prep other things while siphoning between containers