Stupid question - (airlocks)

pretty sure this is a stupid question.. here goes... do i leave the little cap on the airlock or not?

Yes, you do

Yes, you're right. It is a stupid question. :fro:

there are no stupid questions...just stupid people asking questions!

Well hang on a second..... which little cap? The open-at-one-end cylinder that fits over the spout that is an airway to your beer? Or the flat soft piece that caps off the whole thing and just has tiny little holes in it that let CO2 out?

Because if you're talking about that flat plastic piece, I leave that off sometimes, with no ill effects.

But if you're talking about the inner one, yes, there are no stupid questions, except that one.

sorry BruDaddy not all of us were born brewers.... lucky you i guess.

but rockout answered my question...

That officially marks the first time I've ever helped someone on these forums, as opposed to coming here begging for help myself.

Just out of curiousity, which cap WERE you talking about?

Sorry about the cheap shot, should have used a smiley face. There really are no stupid questions and if you're on this forum your smartness is not in question either. This is a great place for info and I've asked plenty of fairly basic questions myself.

no harm done

dammit i still wanna know which cap you were talking about!

he's talking about the white plastic one that fits over the top of the airlock. I wondered about that myself at first, but i would assume you want that on to make sure the inner piece doesn't get blown off or rises above the water/vodka/starsan level and allow air to get into the beer.

Are we talking about:


Or are we talking about:


My guess is the former, since a white cap was mentioned. The only reason for that cap is to keep the center piece from flying off during a burst of pressure. It doesn't take much.

The top pictured one is commonly called a three-piece airlock - all three pieces are required.

I believe that was the style to which the OP was referring.