Cracked lid. Should OG determine size of fermentor?

Yesterday I made my first high OG all grain recipe. (It was a Belgian Blonde with OG at 1.083). I was so pleased about hitting all of the preicted numbers that I didn't really think about the size of the bucket to use for the primary. This is a 5 gallon recipe that was placed in the standard 6.5 gallon bucket. I used a yeast starter that had been stepped up once to get the recommeded size by Mr Malty. Four hours after the lid was snapped shut then bubbling started to occur.

Some time during the night things must have really taken off because this morning when I went to check on it I saw that there was wort bubbling out of a crak in the lid. The airlock was still in one piece but was full of foam and cracked. I guess I should have used either a blowoff tube and/or a larger bucket.

Is there an easy way to connect a blowoff tube to the standard bucket lid? I have seen tubes used with carboys before.

The next brew for swmbo will be a 5 gallon barley wine with OG around 1.094 and I don't want to go through this again. So would it be better to use a 6 gallon carboy with a blow off tube instead of a 6.5 gallon bucket or should I use my 8 gallon bucket for the primary and save the 6 gallon carboy for the secondary?

A blowoff tube can be connected directly to a 3 piece airlock.

The strain will effect how soon and how much it krausens. I've made lots of beers stronger than that that only had an inch or two of krausen, and lower gravity Belgians that went nuts. I just give myself 33% headspace when using Belgian yeasts.

Or just leave it loose while primary is going strong and clamp it in place when krausen has receeded. Or use the bigger bucket.

Yeah, just remove the cap and bubbler from your 3 piece airlock and attach a hose directly to the inside stem.

Does anyone happen to know the diameter of the inside stem on these 3 piece air-locks? Show the jugs for the blow off tube have water with starsan or is there some other liquid I should use?

I will definitely show Belgian yeast a lot more respect in the future.

Your LHBS will have tubing for you to size.

msa8967 said:

Does anyone happen to know the diameter of the inside stem on these 3 piece air-locks? Show the jugs for the blow off tube have water with starsan or is there some other liquid I should use?

I will definitely show Belgian yeast a lot more respect in the future.

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In an emergency, since the hole in the bubblers is so small, drill a hole in the lid slightly smaller than the OD of the tubing you have on hand, hopefully half inch or even larger, and force fit the tubing into the hole. Put the other end into a container of starsan or idophor, and your set.

msa8967 said:

. . . . I will definitely show Belgian yeast a lot more respect in the future.

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There are alot more variables other than yeast that affect fermentation, some of which we cannot control such as: moon phase, barometric pressure, vibrations, etc. You can simply use a blowoff tube whenever needed or just during every primary.

You could probably just buy a lid for a fermenter at your local shop. Then it's ready to accept an airlock or tube.

And just take this as a learning experience, as yeasts have their own way about getting the job done.

The British Ale yeast I like to use is always fast and furious. But when I switched to an Irish Ale yeast it was so slow and steady, I ended up accidentally over carbonating a beer I "botched" because I didn't take gravity readings to make sure it stopped. I just let it go the amount of time I was used to with the British yeast.