Airlock

"PieOPah" wrote in news:d4frmb$obs$ snipped-for-privacy@nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com:

I know what you mean, it seems to work to fill mine to about 1/3 of the height of the S part, but don't worry about it too much, just put enough in there that it won't evaporate away (they don't seem to evaporate very fast). A bubble through the airlock every couple of seconds can be expected at the fastest point of fermentation.

peter

Thanks. I currently have 2 of the 'bubbles' filled with water. Any more than this and it seems to spit every where (tested by applying slight pressure on the lid to force air out). I guess it will take a day or so before I get any regularity on the bubbles.

This will only occur for the first 5-10 batches you make. Then the seal on your fermenter won't be completely airtight and you won't wee any action in the airlock.

At least, that was my experience.

On Mon, 25 Apr 2005 09:06:31 +1000, "Josh Button" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

That probably depends on the fermenter. I've been using the same one for a few years and I still see plenty of action in the airlock.

My airlock is now happily bubbling away. During the night it seems some of the 'beer' has managed to get in. Guess the foam inside is getting too much!

Time for a blow off tube? It is easy enough to rinse the airlock and start over. I use carboys and if I didn't put in a blow off tube they would spout foam all over. Less of a concern with a bucket.

Mine is a 1/2 gallon jug sitting in a bowl (in case the first line of defense is broached) with a tube going from the stopper to the jug and a little liquid sanitizer in the bottom. Serves as an airlock - the sanitizer tends to kill the foam.

The tubes get gunky after a few uses. Fill them with liquid sanitizer between uses and just rinse them before use. When I shut down operations for the season, I run a brush on a wire pull through them, or just throw them out and get new ones. Keeping them wetted makes them much easier to clean.

If you have some cheap whiskey, filling the airlock with it will prevent the fermenter from ingesting a bacteria when a temperature change causes it to reverse pressure. (in a long conditioning secondary stage)

On Mon, 25 Apr 2005 05:03:35 +0000 (UTC), "PieOPah" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

As long as it doesn't ferment so violently that the fermenter cover blows off and you get beer all over the ceiling. :)

Does that happen? I did have one vent . . . one side broke the seal and foam poured out of it. The entire top never came off in one go.

On Mon, 25 Apr 2005 16:28:01 -0400, default said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

I've cleaned beer off the ceiling more than once. :)

I worried about that kind of thing happening, so for the first few days I usually put my primary fermenter into my shower stall and close the door. So it explodes - Easy cleanup! Remember to remove it if somebody needs to take a shower...

Karl S.