I just finished my first ever Big Brew, which was a hell of a lot of fun! When transferring my wort to the carboy, I used a cooking oil filter pump, picked up at the local camping supply store: http://www.buy.com/prod/eastman-electric-oil-pump/q/loc/17250/202064168.html?dcaid=15891
This thing worked like a freakin' charm! Instead of taking 10+ min to siphon out of my kettle (I don't have a valve on my kettle), it transferred about 5 1/2 gal of wort in less than 2 minutes!
I just stick it in my sanitation bucket during the brew, and run the sanitizer through the pump for a few seconds right before I transfer. At 23 bucks, I couldn't pass it up, and it so far is unbelievably easy to use.
