Primary fermenters...

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universe

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The kits I do call for an airlock. How many people use an airlock for the primary and how important is it really?
 
Well, is it really that big of a deal if you use one? They cost about $3.

Better be safe than sorry
 
I never use an airlock (or even a cover, beyond a clean dish towel) for primary. Within about 5 days, though, fermentation slows down, and I rack to a carboy, top up so there is almost no headspace, and airlock. A primary doesn't need to be covered, but a secondary certainly needs to have the headspace minimized and it must be airlocked. That fermenter will work fine for primary, as long as you have an appropriately sized carboy for secondary.
 
I never use an airlock (or even a cover, beyond a clean dish towel) for primary. Within about 5 days, though, fermentation slows down, and I rack to a carboy, top up so there is almost no headspace, and airlock. A primary doesn't need to be covered, but a secondary certainly needs to have the headspace minimized and it must be airlocked. That fermenter will work fine for primary, as long as you have an appropriately sized carboy for secondary.

Is this just the way you do it for wine Yooper or do you not use a lid on beer too?..
 
Like Yooper, I never use an airlock on my primary. I assume that since this is the wine forum we're discussing procedures for wine. I don't even use a top. Instead, I use a clean t-shirt or towel and keep it in place with a bungee cord that I remove to punch down the cap or straining bag 1-2 times a day. After 5 days or so I rack to an airlocked secondary.

These photos were taken a couple of years ago but they may as well have been taken today. I'm using the same primary, the same t-shirt, and even the wine and straining bag looks the same for the Amarone I currently have going right now.

IMG_1140.JPG


IMG_1141.JPG
 
Is this just the way you do it for wine Yooper or do you not use a lid on beer too?..

Wine only. I always airlock my primary for my beer. I've been doing a lot of reading though and may want to just cover the primary loosely sometime, just to try it. I think it's BobNQ who says that you don't need to airlock beer in the primary.
 
The normal directions for the kits i use say use airlock and leave 2 weeks. Is it ok to leave that long when using this bucket/lid kid of primary or should I rack it sooner?
 
I'm thinking that airlocks really don't do much. The let CO2 out, without letting breezes in. But once fermentation starts, the gas is going only one way. And once fermentation slows, and the carboy cools, outside air gets drawn through the airlock any way. A clean cloth or a loose plastic bag will do as good. Or a condom with a hole in it, and it'll show pressure/fermentation by erection.
 
Wine only. I always airlock my primary for my beer. I've been doing a lot of reading though and may want to just cover the primary loosely sometime, just to try it. I think it's BobNQ who says that you don't need to airlock beer in the primary.


That is the way I do my primary for beer
 
I'm thinking that airlocks really don't do much. The let CO2 out, without letting breezes in. But once fermentation starts, the gas is going only one way. And once fermentation slows, and the carboy cools, outside air gets drawn through the airlock any way. A clean cloth or a loose plastic bag will do as good. Or a condom with a hole in it, and it'll show pressure/fermentation by erection.

Well, the point of an airlock is that outside air CAN'T get drawn through the airlock. The co2 vents out, but no air can get in. That's the whole idea.

If I was using a kit and the instructions said to use one, I would use one. Kits are designed with the directions in mind. I think 2 weeks without an airlock is way too long.
 
I'm thinking that airlocks really don't do much. The let CO2 out, without letting breezes in. But once fermentation starts, the gas is going only one way. And once fermentation slows, and the carboy cools, outside air gets drawn through the airlock any way. A clean cloth or a loose plastic bag will do as good. Or a condom with a hole in it, and it'll show pressure/fermentation by erection.

The temperature (rather the pressure difference due to temperature) change would have to be quite dramatic to push the air the other way! I could see it happening easier on a 1 piece airlock...but on a 3 piece, that would be rather impressive!
 
Well, the point of an airlock is that outside air CAN'T get drawn through the airlock. The co2 vents out, but no air can get in. That's the whole idea.

Do you really think that those die cast plastic parts are so precise they hermetically seal? I've been a mechanic and machinist, and I know how hard it is to make a gas-tight seal, and air locks ain't it.

The fluid might act as a sanitizer, but even pure alcohol needs time to kill bacteria, and outside air will push it's way through the airlock in fractions of a second.
 
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