How to use a Siphon Hose

Imagine this… You’ve been storing water over the past few years, sealed safe and sound in the 55-Gallon Water Storage Barrel, but an emergency just turned the world upside down. There’s barely any water left in the state, let alone your city, and what is available is contaminated. Luckily, your family has prepared for this moment. You’ve stored enough clean drinking water to help you outlast this emergency…But how do you get the water out of your storage barrel? In an emergency, people resort to all types of ways to get to their clean water (such as tipping the barrel on its side). But there’s no need for that. Not when you can easily do it with the siphon hose and keep your barrel free from contamination. With the siphon hose it’s as easy as one, two, and three. All you need is a bung opener, the hose, and a bucket. 1. Get yourself a siphon hose, if you don’t already have one. Storing water is fairly useless if you can’t get the water back out of the barrel to use in an emergency. A siphon hose gives you an easy, efficient way to remove water from large containers, whether you need it to drink or you need to empty the barrel so you can clean it out and replace your water. In addition to the siphon hose, try adding the Garden Hose Adaptor to your supply. This adapter allows you to connect your siphon hose to your garden hose for additional length when siphoning your water. This adaptor can also be used to extend your garden hose if you need the extra length for other projects.

2. Position the bucket and stick the siphon hose in the water

Place a bucket on a lower surface level than the container you are siphoning your water from so the hose will slope downward. Next, notice the difference between the two ends of your siphon hose. One end is bare, exposing the plastic tube that the water will travel through. The other end has a copper head piece on it—this piece allows for flow control and induces the siphon action. Stick the bare, exposed end of the tube into your empty bucket. Place the siphon end into your water barrel.

3. Shake it up and down

Keeping the siphon end fully submerged in the water, begin moving it in a quick, vertical, up-down motion. You’ll begin to see water entering the tube (unable to flow back out through the siphon), making its way out of the barrel and into your empty bucket. After a few seconds, when the water is flowing on its own, you can stop shaking the hose and the water will continue to flow from your barrel into your bucket. If you struggle a bit getting the water into the hose to start siphoning, make sure your vertical shaking is done with quick, jerky movements. If the water stops siphoning when you let go of the hose, just shake it in the vertical, up-down motion for a little bit longer.

4. To stop the flow, remove the copper valve from the water

Once you have enough water, simply remove the copper valve from the water to stop the flow. You can siphon about 2 gallons of water per minute with this hose, making it a great way to quickly remove water from large containers. The siphon hose can also siphon gasoline, oil, diesel, and other fuels, solvents, and chemicals safely. But it doesn’t only siphon—it can remove water from clogged sinks, aquariums, water tanks, and more! The siphon hose is great for a variety of liquid removal needs. Note: If you use your siphon for drinking water, use a separate siphon hose for gasoline and other chemicals—and be sure each one is clearly labeled.

Still confused? Check out this video of how to use the siphon hose: