Help! Clogged racking cane

[askear]

I am trying to rack my beer from the primary to the secondary with no luck. I cannot get a siphon going that is strong enough to get it out of the primary. The issue is that the racking cane seems to keep getting clogged around the bottom. I tried removing the black plastic cap and putting a grain sock over the cane but that did not work either. I've tried about six or seven different times over a couple of days and am starting to worry that I may ruin the batch plus I've already wasted several bottle of beer trying to get it racked over.
Are there any other alternatives? I thought about pouring it through a strainer but read other places that this will introduce too much O2 in the beer.

Thanks!
Russ

[rcarson]

when I brew I pour through a very fine strainer when I go into the primary, this clears out the gunk and aireates the wort, also when i rack from primary to secondary I keep the tip of the cane 3 or 4 inches off the bottom and then move it down when almost done. I try to keep it about 1/2 inch below the level of the wort and I can keep the bad stuff out that way.

[grapeadmin]

Try keeping the racking cane submerged only 2 inches into the beer. Then start the siphon and then continue to lower the racking tube as the volume decreases. Keep it out of the bottom sludge and you should be ok. If you have to, pour it. A little o2 would only shorten the shelf life a little but is better than losing the batch.

john

[askear]

Thanks for the input guys!

[grapeadmin]

Anytime!