Airlock stuck to stopper causing cracked airlocks

[brewdvm]

I racked my cider to secondary today and found 3 fruit flies floating at the bottom of my airlock.

Didn’t think those little suckers could get through the holes in the airlock cap. In case anyone is wondering, there isn’t much Starsan solution in the airlock because I cracked it trying to separate it from the stopper. I find that the stopper sticks to the airlock quite often. Does anyone else have this problem? Has anyone tried using a tiny bit of keg lube on the airlock stem to prevent sticking? Oh, and does anyone think I have too much headspace on this cider in secondary?

I had about 6 gallons of juice in my 6.5 gallon carboy. This year, I used Safcider yeast with pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient. I found that the lees were much more packed on the bottom than usual and yielded more cider. I guess purging the carboy with CO2 first wasn’t really necessary this time

[flars]

I’ve cracked the S-style air locks by grabbing them too high to twist from the bung. Now I only use two fingers and grip the air lock on the stem just above the bung using very light twisting pressure. I have several spares also.

[brew_cat]

Wiggle wiggle. Don’t think the fruit flies will make it but no big deal if they do they won’t drink much

[loopie_beer]

I hope you flushed that headspace with CO2 or you’ll likely have vinegar…

[sneezles61]

On that type off stopper, you can slip a 1/2" ID tubing over that nipple and put the other end in a growler half full of water… Since I started doing that, I no longer use those plastic air lockers… Sneezles61