Wow, I am at about 3 AS's for 7 years of brewing. One thing I learned is that if you seal the output end of the
as hose, the end that pours into the keg or secondary with a clip like mentioned before and you can draw
more wort/beer up into the AS above the liquid line. It takes some work. I actually just kink the hose and get the
siphon started, and re-kink when the line is full. Then it is a cinch to keep it going and what not.
BTW I have noticed cracks in the body of the AS, and I have snapped one cane. But it was done while
I was trying to take the hose off it. Easier to commit a line to it and let it be.