CWeston's 6.5g Bucket Blowoff Technique

CWeston...

Thanks for the tip on the 3 piece airlock blowoff rig for my ale pails! I wound up brewing a 1.080 OG Belgian Trippel and decided to try out your technique. So far, I don't think it is going to 'blowoff' anything, but hey, you never know! I broke out the little prongy thing on the bottom of the stem to reduce clogging as suggested too. Here it is in action:



When this batch is done, I'm going to dump another Belgian Trippel on it's yeast cake, and I'm sure there will be some blowoff taking place then!

Thanks, CW!!!

5gB

No problem--I'm pretty sure the idea was not mine initially, but I can't recall where the suggestion came from.

Ooh hey, I am going to repitch onto a cake (first time for that) this weekend hopefully. What size is that tubing?

For real, I couldn't tell ya. I wound up buying a length of tubing that was too small the first time (but it fit into the opening of the bucket lid without the rubber bit). When I went back, I just tested out the other tubing to see which tubing fit snuggly around the inside of the 3p airlock.

@ 3' cost me 80 cents though

5gB

My bubblers have some 'cross pieces' at the bottom inlet, like the crosshairs of a scope. Good idea to cut those out with a knife, or the blow-off system will plug up right there.

5gBrewer said:

I broke out the little prongy thing on the bottom of the stem to reduce clogging as suggested too.

Click to expand...

Are you talking to me? If yes, then "Yep. I did that." We're allllll clear.

5gB

My friend did that against my advice. I told him that even with the tip of the airlock cut open a little bigger that opening could easily be plugged up with sticky krausen. He went ahead and did it anyway. Guess what happened. It plugged up in the middle of the night. He and his wife were awakened by the sound of a fermenter lid blowing off in the closet! I can't imagine how the airlock didn't just pop out of the grommet, but it didn't.

Needless to say, his wife was not too happy about sticky wort plastered all over hers and his clothes. Oh, I also warned him about keeping the fermenter in the closet!

You would be better off just pulling out the airlock and grommet and sticking a piece of tubing in the hole. IMHO.

John