I purged my brake fluid by myself this weekend. I began the process by trying to use a hand held vacuum pump, however it kept sucking in outside air from around the bleeder. I resorted to using 10ft coil of clear tubing that I emptied into an empty 1G milk jug. 10ft is the standard purchase length from Menards.

Did I screw up by doing this?

I figured there would be no way for the bleeder to suck in any air when there was 10 ft of hose filled with fluid attached to it. The brakes do feel OK

 

If the brakes don't feel like there's air in the lines, why do you assume there's a problem?

FWIW, just because you bought it in a 10ft length doesn't mean you can't just cut it to length...10 feet is ridiculous.

 

I don't think I have ever felt spongy brakes. If I had a point of reference I would not have asked. The brakes still do not feel as responsive as they once did, i.e., I have to press hard for the same stopping power. They did improve after the flush.

The 10 feet of hose was very effective in monitoring how much fluid I was replacing.