Syphon or tap

[lefkasman]

I'm on the verge of a new boiler build. I had made my mind up to put a ball valve in the old beer keg my mate is letting me have.
I then read another forum where this guy seems paranoid about all the bits added to a boiler intended to make things easier only complicate matters a further. He reckons he has seen loads of ball valves harbouring nasties. As the wort has gone off the boil by the time it passes through the valve its not getting sterilized.
He preferred a juggler syphon. OK its not as easy as tuning on a tap but it is easier to sterilize. It could also do away with need for a hop filter as you would be syphoning off the top of the wort as the hops sink.
What do you think ? Or has he got me paranoid too?

[DeadFall]

Before you brew boil a few litres of water and run it through the tap.

[jaroporter]

yeah i am pretty paranoid about that also but just make sure i clean it well each time. it's annoying but less so than siphoning! i did actually buy an autosiphon to try that method (also i was having issues with my hop filter as well) but hate the thing. wastage increased threefold and it was a pain to sanitise using my normal methods.

i recirc a few jugs of wort during the boil then fill the tap outlet with foamy starsan before draining the boiler

[soupdragon]

Not sure if this is correct or not but......

Someone told me that, as long as the tap is clean, the heat generated in the boiler will be enough in itself to sanitize the tap through heat transfer.

Cheers Tom

[lefkasman]

Tap it is then. Thanks for your views on the subject.

[soupdragon]

Let us know how you get on. I'm thinking about fitting a tap to mine too

Cheers Tom

[Dave S]

I used the original tap that came with my boiler, then switched to a ball valve. I take no special precautions and have had no issues with sanitation.

[TC2642]

I used the original tap that came with my boiler, then switched to a ball valve. I take no special precautions and have had no issues with sanitation.

Same here, if you are boiling something for a prolonged period it's going to kill anything that may be lurking in the tap anyway.

[lefkasman]

That was my point. The stuff in the tap isn't getting boiled. Your opening the tap after the boil. Even with no chill its still gone off the boil.

[lefkasman]

Maybe a tri clamp valve that comes to bits is the answer.

[TC2642]

That was my point. The stuff in the tap isn't getting boiled. Your opening the tap after the boil. Even with no chill its still gone off the boil.

You could open it up when it's on the boil and pass some through before returning it back to the boiler, but I must say that I've never had a problem with it.

[lefkasman]

That's true. Ive never had a problem either. Too much flaming internet reading instead of brewing beer.

[bigchris]

if you've had that boiler full of liquid at 100 degrees for an hour or so, then all the mechanism of the tap is likely to have come very cloe to that temperature, certainly above 90 degrees, which is enough to kill off anything likely to be lurking in there. As TC2642 says, whilst it is boiling, run off a jugfull and add it back into the boil and all will be fine.

[Dave S]

I've never heard of anyone having problems with sanitation between boiler and tap, so maybe it isn't worth pondering.

[Wonky]

Me too, I drain a couple of jug fulls through the tap & return to the boiler to sanitise.