is there a side mounted airlock?

I found these 4 1/4 gallon square buckets at my local donut shop. They stack nicely so I was wondering if there is a side mouted air lock I could use so I can ferment multiple batches of cider in these while they are stacked on top of eachother?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/photo/imag01231-60829.html

If the lids seal and they stack you can put your own air lock where ever you want as long as its above the liquid level. your LHBS sells the rubber grommets and the S shaped airlock should work with a little thought and experimentation.

you could make something to stand your S airlock up vertically and place a small rubber hose in the bucket sideways that connects to your airlock, this will have to be a DIY project

You could drill a hole in the side and fit a stopper, then strap/glue/tape a small cup just below the hole and run a small piece of blow off tubing from the stopper into the cup, that should work I think

Threaded PVC pipe with a 90 degree bend and a collar to tighten up against the inside wall. Then insert an airlock into the pipe which would be pointed upwards.

Or, maybe a bottling bucket spigot, since it's already got all the parts you need. You might be able to fit the airlock directly into the spout. I might try this on one of my buckets. I bet it would work on a bucket just fine too and I could stack them likewise in my ferm chamber.

Stacking would be nice for space efficiencies.. Square buckets are nice too. Would be nice to find a 6-7 gallon square bucket. Gonna start expirimentint with the options suggested.

Why not just drill a hole for a stopper, then shove some 3/8ths tube in the stopper as a blowoff tube?
If your going to have multiples stacked on eachother a single sanitizer vessel to put your tubes into would work.

Try making a 'riser' that would span the top of the lower bucket(B), provide space for the vent, and on which you would place the upper bucket.??? Like a spacer made of 2 pieces of plywood held apart from one another a small amount by pieces of material just high enuf to allow a vent tube to exit to the side.
If this riser were to cover the entire top edge of the lower B, the entire bottom of upper B, have space for grommet, a 90 degree piece of tubing, and an outlet to the side, you could accomplish stacking, venting, AND you would not alter any of your buckets. Only the lids would be perforated.

FuzzeWuzze said:

Why not just drill a hole for a stopper, then shove some 3/8ths tube in the stopper as a blowoff tube?
If your going to have multiples stacked on eachother a single sanitizer vessel to put your tubes into would work.

Click to expand...

I would go with multiple blow off tubes or hoses. This would be easy to do; you could put the tubes wherever you want; and like most blow off tubes, it would not need to be vertical.

Mark

I'm gonna do side mounted blowoff tubes. Seems like the best way to go.

Here it is. I need to pick up a few grommets to do the other buckets, but it seems like it should work quite well. Stackable fermentation will be nice and It can be done this way with round buckets as well.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/photo/square-bucket-with--blow-off-tube-60834.html