Quiet Alternatives to an Airlock?

I'm using a plastic bucket with S-shaped airlock, and the gurgling is starting to drive me crazy! My house is small enough that you can hear it in every room, and it's been going non-stop for the last three days.

Has anyone used a check valve or something else to keep air from coming in but let CO2 go out? Or should I just buy earplugs?

Thanks!

You could just plug the hole the airlock is in, and loosen the bucket lid a bit. Just make sure you actually do loosen the lid so that pressure can escape.

And be sure you don't have any creepy crawlies or fruit flies about.

Take the water out of the air lock and cover with a scored piece of tinfoil. But at 3 days, you should be close to done with the active fermentation if you have a average beer.

A ballon with a hole in it...

turn up the radio

This is crazy, thats the sound of victory!

You could try an inline sanitary filter, B3 sells them.

In the meantime, you might consider laying off the psychedelics.

Beermaking might not be for you if that bothers you.

Use a piece of aluminum foil. That will work fine.

Many people don't bother with airlocks. They cover their bucket fermenters with a sheet of plexi-glass, and their carboys with tinfoil. All an airlock is is a valve, not a gauge, something to bleed off excess co2, and to keep you from painting the ceiling with your beer. So it is really superfluous. As long as there's a way to let the co2 bleed off, without letting anything in, you can do whatever you need to do to eliminate the blip-blip sound.

If you do tinfoil, I wouldn't perforate it. The CO2 will leak out around the foil on it's own.

But, you should learn to love the sound of the airlock. Each little *blurp* is one step closer to beer!

With an S shape airlock w/ red cap you could run that thing without water. The cap should keep vinegar flies out and prevent anything from falling in.

Man I love that noise... I put my fermenting beer as close to my bed as I can, so I can wake up in the morning to the beautiful bubbling.

But, I have forgotten to put airlocks in, and nothing bad happened.

If you're paranoid you can always just put less liquid it in. There will be less noise.

belmontbrew said:

I'm using a plastic bucket with S-shaped airlock, and the gurgling is starting to drive me crazy! Thanks!

Click to expand...

Take lots and lots of antipsychotic drugs.

As said previously, just cover the dry airlock w/ foil. IMO airlocks are intended for locking out air during the aging process when fermentation is slow. Having an airlock firing like a machine gun during peak fermentation is kinda silly, oh, and god help you if that thing becomes clogged, You got a bomb on your hands, kaboom. I've seen it happen, and as Quint says, "I'll never put on a life vest again".

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/_10-11_FOAM_STOPPER_P1010.cfm

although I do like the sound, I no longer hear it due to fermentation chamber and really large inductor tank.

i find that instead of the s shaped airlock if you use the double cup airlock style it is MUCH quieter, i only know because i want it to be loud. that way i know when its done, in my house i cant hear the bubbling from the brew room without an s-shaped airlock.

and by double cup, i mean that the airlock is a cup with a tube rising into it part way, and another cup sits upside down on it in water. it results in alot more, but quiter bubbles. most of the time it will bubble at 3 times the rate of an s shaped airlock because it only has to push up enough co2 to lift hte cup instead of all the water in an shaped airlock

Take the S shape air locks and plug the end with poly fill, its the stuff used to stuff pillows and stuffed stuff
its will work every well and keep all germs out

this method is used in labs and mycology and biology all the time
and has a proven track record to not just being an air lock but to alowe two way gas exchange of you have even pressure