S.O.S. (Save Our S-shaped glass airlocks)

snipped-for-privacy@youngshomebrew.co.uk snipped-for-privacy@northdevonhomebrews.co.uk Unit A, Cross Street, Bradley, Bilston, West Midlands, WV14 8DL, United Kingdom

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Andy

Andy

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If you interrogate your data for long enough, she will tell you almost anything. Simon Singh

Try sanding off the rough seams of the plastic airlocks and they will fit fine after that. Tim

This is not what you asked, but you might consider using plastic wrap instead of air locks.

I tear off about 5 to 6 inches of plastic wrap (that's about 10 inches wide), double it to make a square, put it over the top of the carboy, and put a rubber band around it.

Voila, an air lock. One that will never dry out!

When fermentation slows to a crawl, I remove the plastic wrap, place a rubber stopper lightly into the carboy, and replace the plastic wrap.

When fermentation stoops, I tap the rubber stopper into a tighter fit.

Been doing that for decades, with never a problem.

vince norris

I agree, with one suggestion. Use TWO rubber bands, and check them occasionally. Rubber bands do deteriorate and snap with age, especially if they are stretched a bit.

It also makes sense to put plastic wrap with rubber bands around the outside of a rubber stopper. If something happens to make the rubber stopper pop out,the plastic wrap will keep the stopper from flying across the room, and will also maintain the seal.

They don't make that lovely bubbling sound though. :(

I stretch the rubber band only slightly in the early stages of fermentation. Just enough to make a snug fit. A local office-supply store has just the right size for that.

If the band fits too tightly in the early stages of fermentation, the plastic cap will be blown off.

It is a good idea to use a second band later, when a tighter fit is appropriate.

Yes, that's what I meant. But since I merely drop the stopper in at first, it is able to rise slightly when necessary to allow gas to escape, and then drop back into place.

At least I assume that's the case, and I've never seen evidence it doesn't work that way.

vince norris

snipped-for-privacy@netscape.net (Tim McNally) pushed briefly to the front of the queue on 17 Sep 2003 09:03:50 -0700, and nailed this to the shed door:

^ Try sanding off the rough seams of the plastic airlocks and they will ^ fit fine after that.

A good idea. One that I never thought of, and will use in future when I do use plastic airlocks. Doesn't solve the problem of the DJ+airlock being too tall to fit between the shelves I have available, though :-(

Andy

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Negodki) pushed briefly to the front of the queue on 17 Sep 2003 23:33:24 -0700, and nailed this to the shed door:

^ vincent p. norris wrote: ^ > This is not what you asked, but you might consider using plastic wrap ^ > instead of air locks. ^ > ^ > I tear off about 5 to 6 inches of plastic wrap (that's about 10 inches ^ > wide), double it to make a square, put it over the top of the carboy, ^ > and put a rubber band around it.

(snip Negodki's 2nding, with double rubber band amendment; thanks to Rex for 3rding the suggestion, too)

^ They don't make that lovely bubbling sound though. :(

Yup, that would be a bummer indeed. I lurve that sound. In principle, it sounds like the perfect solution, but I have a more fundamental misgiving. The airlock has two functions, doesn't it - it keeps air out, so the fermentation makes alcohol and not just more yeast, but it also lets carbon dioxide out. Too much carbon dioxide in solution is a fermentation inhibitor, isn't it? Doesn't the plastic wrap solution leave too much carbon dioxide in solution?

Andy

The plastic (cling) wrap itself doesn't let anything out, but it is only held in place by the rubber (elastic) band. Thus, the pressure from the CO2 pushes against the plastic, which then tries to lift from the bottle. The rubber band hold it in place, but stretches enough to allow the CO2 to escape.

If it didn't let the CO2 out, the pressure would eventually cause the bottle to explode. Which makes a sealed fermenter the perfect time-bomb. :)

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Negodki) pushed briefly to the front of the queue on 20 Sep 2003 21:50:25 -0700, and nailed this to the shed door:

^ snipped-for-privacy@globalnet.co.uk (Andy Spragg) wrote: ^ ^ > Yup, that would be a bummer indeed. I lurve that sound. In principle, ^ > it sounds like the perfect solution, but I have a more fundamental ^ > misgiving. The airlock has two functions, doesn't it - it keeps air ^ > out, so the fermentation makes alcohol and not just more yeast, but it ^ > also lets carbon dioxide out. Too much carbon dioxide in solution is a ^ > fermentation inhibitor, isn't it? Doesn't the plastic wrap solution ^ > leave too much carbon dioxide in solution? ^ ^ The plastic (cling) wrap itself doesn't let anything out, but it is ^ only held in place by the rubber (elastic) band. Thus, the pressure ^ from the CO2 pushes against the plastic, which then tries to lift from ^ the bottle. The rubber band hold it in place, but stretches enough to ^ allow the CO2 to escape. ^ ^ If it didn't let the CO2 out, the pressure would eventually cause the ^ bottle to explode. Which makes a sealed fermenter the perfect ^ time-bomb. :)

Yup, I can see that the arrangement would allow carbon dioxide out. But it's very soluble stuff, so only a moderate partial pressure in the headspace would correspond to a /lot/ in solution. I'm trying to picture in my head the relative resistance offered by c. 1" of water (in an airlock), and by a couple of rubber bands on the other. And failing. But pragmatically, you and others say it works well, so that's all I need to know, isn't it?

Andy

I could do the equations, but I'm not sure how helpful they would be. There are too many variables to consider. Different shapes of airlocks. Different altitudes, temperatures, etc. Different size and strength and age rubber bands. Different thicknesses of cling wrap. Different shaped carboys. Different phase of the moon. How much I had to drink last night. How much I had this morning.

Yup. Unless we're taken the mick. :)

Another tried and untrue method is putting a balloon around the end of the bottle, and piercing a small hole in the ballon to let the CO2 out. Theoretically, when the balloon collapses, the ferment has completed (or stuck).

In practice, the balloon either becomes a space traveller, or the "small hole" gets larger and larger until it reaches the same size as the bottle neck.

This is the standard recipe for 1 gallon of Balloon Wine:

6-8 lbs. red or white balloons 2 1/2 lbs. sucrose 2 tsp. acid blend 1 tsp. yeast nutrient yeast (Montrachet) water to 1 gallon

To prevent air from reaching your wine, plug the neck of each bottle with a grape.