JS <jayceeessfouratfrontiernetdotnet> wrote:[color=blue]
> [email]rdadams@smart.net[/email] (Dick Adams) wrote:[/color]
[color=blue][color=green]
>> My hydrometer is 4 years old. But I go through three auto-siphons
>> every 2 years. Yesterday when my LHBS was open, my auto-siphon
>> worked. Today when my LHBS is closed and the damn thing won't draw
>> a suction
>>
>> Does anyone sell an auto-siphon with replacement parts?[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
> What exactly are you doing to yours to have to replace it so often?[/color]

If I knew the answer to that question, I wouldn't have needed
to ask thr question!
[color=blue]
> I've had mine for at least 3 years, and it gets lots of use. One
> thing I noticed is that you should wet the plunger part a little to
> lubricate it, then start your siphon. My procedure is to siphon from
> a jug of iodophor solution or Star San with the device, but dipping
> the plunger end into the sanitizer first. After it drips dry, the
> plunger is still moist enough to go into the large tube without
> forcing, and I just go about the racking. I just sense that forcing
> it in dry risks breakage.[/color]

Makes perfest sense. I rinse, samitize, and rinse before and after
each use using Iodophor and, obviously, water. With the exception
of the one-time the case developed a pin hole crack/leak, the problem
is the siphon not drawing a suction on the wort. FWIW I siphon
primary to srcondary to keg. Also I force nothing.

Since I first started this thread, I purchased and replaced the
plunger. The siphon is bow functional.

Are you taking the plunger out when storing the siphom?

Dick