Hey guys, I have a batch of caribou slobber in the carboy for several days now, occasionally i notice that the bubbler is pulling air in not letting it out. It only does it when I run cool water around it to keep it cool. I have it in a large utility sink and if the temp gets to the max optimal temp i run cool water to keep it cool. Is that normal when you cool it down?
whenever i put a carboy in the fridge it sucks in air. so cooling it down would do the same. a lot of people forget this, and lose some vodka or sanitizer into their carboy when they cold crash. this is why, whenever i move a carboy into the fridge, i replace the airlock with a piece of sanitized tin foil
[quote=“EagleRising”]Hey guys, I have a batch of caribou slobber in the carboy for several days now, occasionally i notice that the bubbler is pulling air in not letting it out. It only does it when I run cool water around it to keep it cool. I have it in a large utility sink and if the temp gets to the max optimal temp i run cool water to keep it cool. Is that normal when you cool it down?
It rights itself after a couple minutes.[/quote]
Thermal expansion and contraction of the wort and the headspace in your fermenter. It is perfectly normal and okay for it to occur, but i sure hope you are using a sanitzed solution or rubbing alcohol in your bubbler otherwise possible infection can occur.
Thermal expansion and contraction of the wort and the headspace in your fermenter. It is perfectly normal and okay for it to occur, but i sure hope you are using a sanitzed solution or rubbing alcohol in your bubbler otherwise possible infection can occur.[/quote]
:shock:
A cheap bottle of vodka for the airlocks. Use something you would drink.
I believe the S shaped airlocks will not suck in the liquid like the 3 piece ones will do. The air will get pulled through the liquid before entering the fermenter. I always use an S shaped airlock with lagers because of all the temperature changes it has to go through.
Thermal expansion and contraction of the wort and the headspace in your fermenter. It is perfectly normal and okay for it to occur, but i sure hope you are using a sanitzed solution or rubbing alcohol in your bubbler otherwise possible infection can occur.[/quote]
:shock:
A cheap bottle of vodka for the airlocks. Use something you would drink.[/quote]
Ahahah yes it probably be a good idea to not use rubbing alcohol, but it is what i have on hand and a few drops that gets suck backed into the 5 gallons of beer is negligible in the overall product.
[quote=“EagleRising”]aah ok, I do have sanitizer in the lock.
Which locks are better the S shape or the three piece?[/quote]
I am a big fan of the 3 piece because of this reason as shown in attachement i can turn it into a blowoff tube by adding proper sized tubing. Once vigorous fermentation is over and blowoff is no longer a problem i remove tubing add sanitzer solution or alcohol and it is back into a 3 piece airlock. Also i don’t want to buy a flexible brush to get at the insides of a bubbler. Honestly as long as they are supposed to do their intended job both work fine, i just like to get creative.