Easy airlock question

Out of curiosity, are I suppoed to leave the cap off of my airlock after I add the water to the fill line?
All indications say no but im wondering how the carbon escapes.

Thanks

It really doesn't matter if the cap is on or off as long as there is liquid in the airlock. The caps do not fit tightly and the CO2 will escape with the cap on just as easily as with it off.

the caps leave space for CO2 to escape, I did not use a cap before and i found bugs trying to get in my beer. Poisoned by CO2 most likely, little bastards

If it is a 3-piece airlock, you put the cap back on after you add your sanitary solution up to the fill line. Don't just use tap water, use vodka or water you used to sanitize your equipment, but not iodophor.

Also the caps have little holes. Depending on the weather where you are, it can keep fruit flys out Although with my mead a few still managed to get into it somehow.

Talloak said:

Don't just use tap water, use vodka or water you used to sanitize your equipment, but not iodophor.

Click to expand...

Curious why you say this. I use my iodophor solution to fill the airlock all the time and never had any issue doing so.

It hasn't been mentioned, but the cap, at least on my airlocks, have little holes in them.

Edit...Oops, strider beat me to it.

great thanks guys

Kilted Brewer said:

Curious why you say this. I use my iodophor solution to fill the airlock all the time and never had any issue doing so.

It hasn't been mentioned, but the cap, at least on my airlocks, have little holes in them.

Edit...Oops, strider beat me to it.

Click to expand...

Once in a great while, the solution in the airlock will get sucked back into the vessel, for whatever reason. So whatever was in the airlock, is now in the beer. Vodka, thats cool. No-rinse cleanser, ok. Iodophor? Nasty looking, smelling brown stuff. I wouldn't want that in my beer.

Maybe it's fine, no off flavors, whatever. But if I have a choice, I'll use something else in the airlock. Just personal preference.

I kept mine off the first time too, but found a dead Boxelder bug in it. To much vodka for it I guess. But I keep my cap on now.

I guess where I'm coming from is Iodophor is a no rinse sanitizer. I'm not putting straight Iodophor in the airlock, so it's not brown nasty looking. I don't get every last drop out of the carboy when I'm using it to sanitizer it. The amount that MAY fall back into the beer is so inconsequential I don't see the need to fear it.

But as you said, personal preference. Just curious why one would say NEVER use something.

The only problem I see with idophor is that my understanding of it is that it looses it's disinfecting nature rather rapidly.

I use Idophor solution and have not had a contamination problem or a taste issue due to sanitizer.... yet.

Talloak said:

Once in a great while, the solution in the airlock will get sucked back into the vessel, for whatever reason. So whatever was in the airlock, is now in the beer. Vodka, thats cool. No-rinse cleanser, ok. Iodophor? Nasty looking, smelling brown stuff. I wouldn't want that in my beer.

Maybe it's fine, no off flavors, whatever. But if I have a choice, I'll use something else in the airlock. Just personal preference.

Click to expand...

Thats why I use my own urine, because its sterile and I like the taste.
j/k I also use vodka, its cheap, clear, a great sanitizer, plus if some gets in, hell I'll still drink it! :rockin:

Common sense, if I possess it, tells me that the lid keeps the little square holes submersed during high positive pressure. I think this is best to avoid outside air directly getting into the primary.

Runyank said:

Thats why I use my own urine, because its sterile and I like the taste.

Click to expand...

Dodgeball FTW

strider said:

The only problem I see with idophor is that my understanding of it is that it looses it's disinfecting nature rather rapidly.

Click to expand...

It does, but by that point it doesn't really matter anymore.

llazy_llama said:

Dodgeball FTW

Click to expand...

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!! HaHa

I'm glad to have just found this thread!

I am brand-spanking-new to homebrewing and just ordered a basic brew kit last week. Yesterday i did my first batch, and today it's already bubbling.

But then I realized, hey maybe I didn't know how to use that air lock.

I just simply put tap water in it, and I didn't even notice there was a fill line.

Hopefully I've done no damage.

Is it too late to just pull the air lock out & set it up correctly (after I figure out just what that means)?

No harm in pulling the airlock off, dumping it out, giving it a shot of sanitizer and putting it back. I just give mine a few shots from my bottle of starsan and water to fill it halfway.

Welcome to HBT! It's not too late to set your air lock up correctly. Pull it out, re-sanitize, fill half way with sanitizer, put the cap on and put that baby back in the hole. No, you have done no damage to your beer.

Thanks for the welcome and the advice!

A bit off topic, so feel free to move the question, but ....

I forgot to add the aromatic (pelletized) hops for the last 2 minutes of boil -- until I had sat the pot in it's ice bath. I had just sat it in the ice bath so I added them then (they were lying next to the sink or I would've missed them altogether). They were absorbed immediately. What's the likely effect of that?

ChshreCat said:

No harm in pulling the airlock off, dumping it out, giving it a shot of sanitizer and putting it back. I just give mine a few shots from my bottle of starsan and water to fill it halfway.

Click to expand...

So glad I found this thread. I started my 1st batch last night and forgot the cap on my airlock. I woke up this morning and it was bubbling away and most of the water was on the lid of the fermenter.

Now I can relax