QUICK!! Help!!

Should I add fermcap drops to the fermenter??? I'm thinking this thing is going to blow any minute.

No. Put in a blowoff tube and route it into a jar of starsan.

MHO. No big deal, you'll lose a little bit of beer in the blowoff, but I've only used fermcap in the boil and don't know about putting it directly into a fermenting beer.

Blowoff tube, now.

Jam your siphon tubing into the grommet hole and put the other end into a jar of sanitizer.

Dang I have no idea on how to use a bloww off tube? ANy pics?

Blow off tube.

Pretty sure fermcap is supposed to added during the boil.

something like this.



Make sure the water the tube is in, is sanitary.

http://www.brewing-tips.com/airlocks-and-blowoff-tubes/

IXVolt said:

something like this.

Make sure the water the tube is in, is sanitary.

Click to expand...

An ounce of star san mixed with some water good enough??

That looks like your star san in your air lock foaming up to me. Better safe than sorry though, add a blowoff tube.

SmoothSmoke said:

An ounce of star san mixed with some water good enough??

Click to expand...

I would think that would be fine. Once the blow off has stopped, you can put the air lock back on.

Fermcap is actually GREAT for fermentation. That's it's primary use on the bottle. I just bought one.

For blowoff, take your siphon tubing you use to rack beer and put it down the hole in place of the airlock (remove airlock, jamp tubing in hole instead). Then put the other end of the tubing in a jar/bucket of water/starsan.

I'm assuming you used starsan in your airlock? That just looks like starsan foam from the bubbling airlock. That's why i prefer to use cheap vodka sometimes - it won't foam.

Some people always use a blowoff at the start of fermentation just in case. I just let it go until i see krausen blowing into the airlock, then switch to blowoff since only like 1 / 5 of my batches actually need one.

To each their own. If that airlock clogs, THEN you have a problem. The pressure can blow the lid off the bucket and make an impressive mess. Never happened to me, but there are pictures on here.

SmoothSmoke said:

An ounce of star san mixed with some water good enough??

Click to expand...

You don't even need an ounce. A half ounce mixed in quart jar of water is fine. Leave the Jar about 1/3 empty so any blowoff volume doesn't cause it to overflow.

My airlocks keep getting stuck in the bung. I think the starsan is eating the rubber and causing it to "fuse" to the airlock shaft. Pisses me off. Hard to get them out without ripping the bung out. I switched to 3-piece airlocks on most of my fermenters because I don't have to remove it to add blowoff, just slip 1/2" tubing over the tube inside.

tre9er said:

Fermcap is actually GREAT for fermentation. That's it's primary use on the bottle. I just bought one.

For blowoff, take your siphon tubing you use to rack beer and put it down the hole in place of the airlock (remove airlock, jamp tubing in hole instead). Then put the other end of the tubing in a jar/bucket of water/starsan.

Click to expand...

Not doubting you, but the way I understood it was that you put it in the boil to get the benefits of lower Krausen/blowoff when it gets to the fermenation stage. I don't know if it's sanitary or not, but adding anything to my fermenting beer that isn't hops scares me.

tre9er said:

My airlocks keep getting stuck in the bung. I think the starsan is eating the rubber and causing it to "fuse" to the airlock shaft. Pisses me off. Hard to get them out without ripping the bung out. I switched to 3-piece airlocks on most of my fermenters because I don't have to remove it to add blowoff, just slip 1/2" tubing over the tube inside.

Click to expand...

My guess is that it's the krausen working it's way into the crevices that causes that stick. I just use a spray bottle of starsan, spray the bung and airlock completely where they meet the bucket, then gently twist as I pull up. Works pretty well.

Edit: You also can add a blowoff tube to the top of the S airlock too, same difference. I don't like that method because the bottom of the airlock is tapered, and thats the spot most likely to clog and cause a blowout.

Alright guys, tell me if I did it right. I sanitized a bucket and the tubing. The tube fits into the grommet hole fine, however I did find another thicker tube that came with my kit. It is shorter, but I opted for the slightly thinner longer tube. Hope I chose the right one.

The bucket has about half oz to an oz of star san mixed with some water.

Oh and I stuck the tube about 3" into the grommet? Should it go in deeper or less?

Just to clarify,

Fermcap can be used in the boil to prevent boil-over and in fermentation to prevent blow-off.

Per NB description:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/fermcap-s-1-oz.html

THank you all!!! Talk about panicking here.

SmoothSmoke said:

Oh and I stuck the tube about 3" into the grommet? Should it go in deeper or less?

Click to expand...

That looks good to me, I usually only put the tube around an inch in, making sure it's secure. but as long as it's not in the beer itself I'd sure that will be fine.

You want the water to be lower than the beer, for obvious siphoning reasons, and you want the end of the tube under the water level.

I usually take a Gatorade type bottle, and cut cross hatches in the lid and pushed the tubing through it, so it somewhat pinches/holds the tubing in place.


Oh and lastly RDWHAHB

IXVolt said:

That looks good to me, I usually only put the tube around an inch in, making sure it's secure. but as long as it's not in the beer itself I'd sure that will be fine.

You want the water to be lower than the beer, for obvious siphoning reasons, and you want the end of the tube under the water level.

I usually take a Gatorade type bottle, and cut cross hatches in the lid and pushed the tubing through it, so it somewhat pinches/holds the tubing in place.


Oh and lastly RDWHAHB

Click to expand...

Space is at a premium here. I can't elevate the bucket so that it is much higher than the blow off bucket. The tube is coiled below the water level. I might add more water though to be sure.

SmoothSmoke said:

Space is at a premium here. I can't elevate the bucket so that it is much higher than the blow off bucket. The tube is coiled below the water level. I might add more water though to be sure.

Click to expand...

You height is fine, I just wanted to make sure you didn't set the blow off water ontop of the bucket or something. It's not the end of the world, but you wouldn't want to suck back sanitizer into your beer.

Good job.

Ok, looks like things are under control. The blow off bucket is burping. So the blow off tube trick is working!!!

Good job, now get a beer and count the bubbles,

(or maybe that's just me)

As long as the tube fits snugly in the grommet, that looks fine. You don't need that big of a bucket, but it works. You can use a 22 oz bomber bottle too.

IXVolt said:

Just to clarify,

Fermcap can be used in the boil to prevent boil-over and in fermentation to prevent blow-off.

Per NB description:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/fermcap-s-1-oz.html

Click to expand...

Thanks IX Volt. This thread and it's multiple, timely, informative responses is why I'm so impressed with this site.

I think I over reacted and like fred said, it was just the star san bubbling. Better safe than sorry though. Thanks again, you guys are awesome.