Do you always need a blowoff hose?

I'm using 6 gallon better bottles and I'm finding that I always have to pop on a blowoff hose, even with regular non-hefe 5% ABV brews. Otherwise I will get junk blown up into the airlock.

Is that normal?

In all my years brewing, I've only needed to use a blowoff 3 times. And I brew a lot.

Try fermenting a bit cooler then gradually raise the temp ifyou can. It has been working for me.

I would say step your brews up, but my ceiling in the kitchen is now stained thinking I could do it (5gal batch and I left 1gal out for room, then added in that last gallon a few days later). But I still have faith that it'll work! However, I don't have guts and now have an 8gal fermenter...

I have done only about 8 batches.

Only one needed a tube.
That one was a super hopped up IPA.
Luckily I caught it at the beginning and saved myself a big mess.

Just dealing with it once though, I may end up tubing more in the future.
Super easy to do from the start, and avoids a potentially huge mess.

I've never waited until I need one but I use one anyway. I ferment in 7.5 gallon buckets so that's a lot of headspace. I've had active fermentations but only one that actually kicked out any material, and that wasn't very much. I figure, as long as I'm not doing any harm in using a tube, I may as well use one. Doesn't take much more setup.

I use fermcap and use a tube on every batch. I've had to clean up after a couple, and don't want to do it again. If you get into the habit of using one every time, it's almost as easy as using an airlock.

are you using an airlock like one of these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Piece-Fer...448?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2315d7a930

http://www.ebay.com/itm/S-Shape-Fer...638?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231d11f99e

whenever i tried using one of the 3 piece type ones, they got all gunked up. switched to just using 1/4" hose into a wine bottle with beach water. works as a blow off tube and an airlock. never had problems with them getting stopped up.

The only beers i've made that needed a blowoff were 9% + beers. I now use one always just in case and I bought the tubing (which is ridiculously cheap, you all should buy some).

So moral of the story, use one, but not always needed.

domdom said:

switched to just using 1/4" hose into a wine bottle with beach water.

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Hmmmm, sand and salt

I'm sure it's a typo but had to say it!

Better have it and not need it than need it and not have it. It takes 5 minutes to set up. Otherwise you could be cleaning beer off your ceiling (this has happened to me).

I never have understood why there is such a reluctance to using a blowoff tube. Is it because of looks or something?

Pez.

I'm not reluctant to use one, just curious if everyone else was running into the issue of always needing one.

For example, I'm currently fermenting a 4.X% blone ale (Magic Hat #9 clone) in a 6 gallon better bottle at 66F. I didn't expect it to need a blow off hose. I did pitch a properly sized starter and oxygenated the wort well.

The 6 gallon BB has a fair amount of head space with 5 gallons of wort in it. If I had been using a smaller 5ish gallon glass carboy it would have really been a problem.

I'll probably go back to using my 7.9 gallon bucket. The only time it has filled up with krausen was a 10% imperial stout.

If I used a 6 gallon carboy, I'd probably need a blow off tube.

But I nearly always use a 7.9 gallon bucket, and I ferment on the cool side of the yeast strain's optimum range (usually low 60s). I needed a blow off tube once, in mid 2006 I believe it was, with a wheat beer at 70 degrees.

It really depends on the amount of headspace in the fermenter, and I always have enough except for that one time!

Yooper said:

It really depends on the amount of headspace in the fermenter, and I always have enough except for that one time!

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This. After fermenting a 7% ABV wheat beer w/ Wyeast 1010 (only one gallon or approximately 15% head space) and cleaning the ceiling, I use a blow-off tube for every beer, every time.

I fully realize that it is not needed, but it helps me sleep at night, so I do it. YMMV.

I've made 23 batches, most of them in 6 gallon Better Bottles. I have had 3 or 4 blow off. I have had both low and high gravity brews blow off. I have also done very similar recipes using the same yeast, one will blow and the next has only a little krausen.

I always start with the tube installed. I feel it is better to do that than clean krausen off the ceiling. I switch it out if I need the tube for a new batch.

I've brewed four beers, one cider, and one mead. I've used a blow-off during primary on every one. The beers all sent krausen into the tube, the non-beers did not.

These were in a 5 gal better bottle filled nearly full, in a bottling bucket (6.5 or 7.5 gallons?) with 1-2 gallons of headspace, and two in a 6 gallon better bottle with 0.5 gallons of headspace. The strongest beer was a 6.1% stout in the bucket, and that one probably would have just gunked an airlock rather than actually blowing it out. The others all deposted significant quantities of liquid in the blow-off catch jar.

So, based on my experience, you do not always need one, but it's a small price to avoid some unpleasant clean up later.

Question is: Now that my blow off hose is installed, when do I remove it? How do I know it's okay to go back to the airlock or do I just keep it in there until fermentation is done?

I've never used a blowoff hose, I ferment in a freezer so temp control is very tight, I tend to keep it low 62-64. I also use fermcap in my boil kettle and some seems to transfer over to the fermenter. On the other hand I haven't brewed nearly as much as some people in this thread, so there may be a day when I need to clean my freezer, but that will be easier than the ceiling

I had never used one until a few months ago when I blew one lid and had the next one come pretty damn close. Now I always do. I figure better safe than sorry. I just switch to my airlock after a week

I brewed two batches on Saturday and put them both in bucket ferms with S-shaped airlocks. as of this morning I had to clean whiskey off the top of the buckets on 3 seperate occasions in two days. Are blowoffs necessary for buckets?

adamjackson said:

Question is: Now that my blow off hose is installed, when do I remove it? How do I know it's okay to go back to the airlock or do I just keep it in there until fermentation is done?

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you can keep it on the entire time it's in the primary if you want. I tent to switch to a regular airlock after 5-7 days...just because it's easier to move that way.

TexasAggie said:

I brewed two batches on Saturday and put them both in bucket ferms with S-shaped airlocks. as of this morning I had to clean whiskey off the top of the buckets on 3 seperate occasions in two days. Are blowoffs necessary for buckets?

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Blow off tubes are never necessary.


That is.. If you don't mind cleaning up a big mess, even with buckets. Keep reading and you will come across a lot of stories of lids that pop off the buckets from built up pressure.

I only have one blow off assembly for my Better Bottle so mine usually get switched before I get them bottled but I don't switch to an airlock if I don't need the tube for a new batch.

A blow off tube is really just a very large airlock with the ability to contain amounts of krausen that are too much for the fermenter.

atom said:

you can keep it on the entire time it's in the primary if you want. I tent to switch to a regular airlock after 5-7 days...just because it's easier to move that way.

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I also tend to leave it on until there's some reason to switch it. In my case, since I use better bottles, even with an airlock I have to remove it to move. Otherwise the bottle stretches and sucks the vodka out of the airlock. In this case, I actually find it easier to move with the blow-off tube in.

I had the blow-off tube plug and got a big mess. Now I use an airlock, but just set the bucket lid on loose, with a little weight to hold it in place. After a few days, I snap the lid down.