Floating dip tube for corny

[Cobnut]

I have 3 different floating pickups:

1) Fermentasaurus - which is only used in my fermentasaurus for pressurised transfers. It does sometime "stick" and draw only foam, but a quick agitation of the fermentasaurus fixes it. I can see how the extra weight of the solution used by @foob4r helps. I'm sure a bit extra weight could be added to keep the tube under the liquid surface would work too.
2) Balihoo - used a couple of times in keg. Works fine.
3) King keg floating pickup - used a couple of times in keg. Works fine.

[Suffolkbrewer]

Thanks F00b4r

Where did you get those from? Any dimensions i need to order?

I've slightly altered the connection to the floating valve and gone for a 6.7mm ID tubing. All cleaned and santised, will look to add it to the corny this evening and see if i have any success.

Otherwise, looks like it could be a f00b4r purchase

Thanks
SB

[Cobnut]

Thanks F00b4r

Where did you get those from? Any dimensions i need to order?

I've slightly altered the connection to the floating valve and gone for a 6.7mm ID tubing. All cleaned and santised, will look to add it to the corny this evening and see if i have any success.

Otherwise, looks like it could be a f00b4r purchase

Thanks
SB

Find a suitable sized stainless steel nut, or washer, and slide it over?

[Jocky]

I use the 6.5mm tubing with fermentasaurus floats and after 3 kegs I've had zero difficulties.

[f00b4r]

Thanks F00b4r

Where did you get those from? Any dimensions i need to order?

I've slightly altered the connection to the floating valve and gone for a 6.7mm ID tubing. All cleaned and santised, will look to add it to the corny this evening and see if i have any success.

Otherwise, looks like it could be a f00b4r purchase

Thanks
SB

I will did it out for you tomorrow along with a couple of other options I have seen people use for weight.

[Suffolkbrewer]

Quick update

What seemed to work was adding a wing nut close to the float ball which then held the beer in pipe under the surface of the beer. Some continued foaming, though this could be that i had to re-carb the beer with CO2. I'll check this later tonight as it will have had 24 hours to settle.

A good start, might need some more tweaking, but going in the right direction!

Thanks all
SB

[rpruen]

I have exactly that setup, and so far so good. It leaves a little beer in the keg, that being the only downside.

I got lazy last keg, and served out of the fermenter keg direct using these. It worked fine with nice clear beer till the very bottom.

Regards

Richard

[orlando]

I bought from here and here. Had to wait a long time but Covid was responsible for quite a bit of it. I've had no problems at all using them as they are. No fobbing, but then I don't highly carb my Beers. The issue of getting the supplied tubing over the gas dip tubes was to use a bit of silicon lube, simple as. Oh! and 4 sets cost £34 delivered.

[PeeBee]

As usual, I take forever to create follow ups for these threads. This is a sample of a few of my floating dip-tubes using "Cask Widge" parts:

I purchase the Cask Widge floating extractors on their own and get a length of silicon "milk hose" (eBay) separately to have the right length (Corny kegs come in lots of sizes so the "correct" length isn't just available off the shelf).

The correct length will put the gauze bit of the extractor on the bottom of the keg. I find there is no need to worry about the extractor sinking into the yeast sediment and sucking up cloudy last pint or two, because the extractor will just settle on the top of the yeast. It's a bit like these films that show the baddie sinking into a pool of lava (e.g. LOTR and the demise of Sméagol), no they don't, lava is far too dense, they sit on the surface and cremate in full view (don't know how I know that).

The other end of the tube is fitted with a "tube x stem increaser" (e.g. LE-3168 08 06 Increaser), to allow the assembly to be detached from the keg. I used to fit the tubing directly on to a short (gas in) dip tube, but after a couple of years started to get "off" flavours: Yeast (if it was yeast!) accumulated in the tube and unless very scouring circulating cleaning systems are used these accumulations got big enough to affect the next brew. (If pumping a cleaner through the tube I suggest having it flow the same direction as beer will; I could easily push the tubing off the dip-tube if I pushed cleaning fluid in the opposite direction). So I can take them off now an use one of these on them https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pipe-Tubing- ... SwOtFcsglw

The dip-tubes need a little groove for the "Increaser" to catch on to. These cheap tools are good for that (careful not to cut through the dip-tube!). They can also be used to cut a "gas" sized dip-tube from the now redundant liquid dip-tube. The dip-tube should be about 37-8 mm long with the groove about 7-8mm from end. Any shorter and the floating dip-tube assembly is nearly impossible to remove.

[Jocky]

I've never had any issues with the 6.5mm silicone hose coming off a gas dip tube without the need for any clamp. I do recommend removing it between brews and giving it a proper clean (or boil) to remove any bio film though.

[PeeBee]

I've never had any issues with the 6.5mm silicone hose coming off a gas dip tube without the need for any clamp. I do recommend removing it between brews and giving it a proper clean (or boil) to remove any bio film though.

I'll have to look at that 6.5mm bore stuff (or 6mm bore will do). I know you are using Fermentasaurus floats ('cos you said so) whereas I'm using "Cask Widge" floats and using 5mm ID (10mm OD) tubing because that's what "Cask Widge" use. But 5mm is very difficult to get on the dip-tube, and the floats too! Never understood why the floats have ribs (Too grip better? Not necessary. To collect bacteria and the like? That'll work, but hardly a useful feature!) so it'll be an opportunity to file them off.

But what I said about the tube potentially slipping off: The Fermentasaurus float will use "full bore" whereas the Cask Widge floats are more restrictive and probably the reason pushing fluid into them "the wrong way" (when cleaning say) will push them off. So I'll continue to put clips on them (the alternative of having them come off when serving beer doesn't bear thinking about).

[Jocky]

Ah that makes sense!

[f00b4r]

This year they have changed the silicone hose that was being supplied with the Fermentasaurus floating dip tube to something a little thicker, athough I am not sure if the inside diameter has changed too. This tubing does work better and is much easier to put on than the originally supplied one.
Kegland also now do these, if you want to put a filter on the end (/help ensure the pickup tube does not catch on a keg wall if using to server).

[brewbrew]

I'm keen to try a Caskwidge. I have looked on their website and there are 3 different sizes ranging from 11 gallon to 4.5 gallon. Does anyone know if the difference is only in the hose length - or are the floats different? If the floats are different, which is best for a Cornie?
Thanks for any advice that anyone can offer.

[PeeBee]

I'm keen to try a Caskwidge. I have looked on their website and there are 3 different sizes ranging from 11 gallon to 4.5 gallon. Does anyone know if the difference is only in the hose length - or are the floats different? If the floats are different, which is best for a Cornie?
Thanks for any advice that anyone can offer.

The floats are the same, but different colours (I tend to use the translucent ones). The different sizes only means the length of tube supplied with them, and the colour (red, black, translucent). Some posts suggest the translucent size (4.5 gallon pin) is good for Cornies (I think too short!), but Cornies are different sizes and I got red (firkin) size and cut them to the right length. Now I buy float only and a length of silicon "milk tube" (5 id, 10 od) off eBay. (see my earlier posts in this thread).