First Problem! Airlock blew off.

Well I read up on this topic, but I just wanted some reassurance.

I finished my wart yesterday (American Wheat Extract Kit) around 3. All was well last time my room mate check on it for me. It was bubbling late last night. However, this morning, he called me and found this. I am not home at the moment






These pieces were found on the other side of the room






So, the airlock had been as it was in the first picture since sometime last night. I told him to remove it, clean everything, and put it all back together. This time, push it down hard.

Do you think it will be ok? Is this normal? It doesn't look good haha

Your beer will be fine. You should consider a blow off hose during the first few days of fermentation.

Do just that, clean it re sanitize and put it back in. It's not that it wasn't in good enough. It got clogged with krausen and couldn't release any more pressure to something had to give. Look into using a blow off tube (large diameter tube shoved din bucket lid hole going to a 1/2G growler filled with sanitizer) for vigorous fermentation.

yes, the fermentation is vigorous at this point, bugs getting in is next to 0% chance. the yeast is healthy, happy and in control, just re-sanitize the stuff that blew across the room, refill w/ sanitized water or vodka, and let it go, +1 to 509inc's suggestion of a blow off, I have them ready myself and if I see the kraeusen climb up to near the top, I just switch over to a blow off tube into sanitized water.

would you use a blow off tube in place of the airlock?

Correct. I have seen people attach the hose to the main piece of those 3 piece airlocks and I've seen the hose shoved into the hole in the lid.

My father in law had a similar problem with his wine a couple years back - blew the airlock off and made a giant mess in has basement.

Every batch of beer I've been involved with so far (at a buddy's place - I can't take credit) has used a blow-off tube, as 509inc suggests - they work great for the first few days in primary!

Is a blow off hose something I could make using supplies from the hardware store?

Does anyone have a picture of this set-up

Its just a hose brother... one end in the bucket lid and the other in a jug of starsan or similar

Easy enough haha Thanks for the clarification.

I have learned a substantial amount of info from this site already. Great place!

RLewis15 said:

Is a blow off hose something I could make using supplies from the hardware store?

Does anyone have a picture of this set-up

Click to expand...

Easy way to make a blow off tube with what you got already is to clean up the bottom part of the 3-piece airlock; the part that you insert into the bucket. Take an old flower vase, fill it half way with sanitized water (so nothing grows in the thing), get some 1/2 in ID vinyl tubing and take one end and place it over the opening of the airlock piece that is still in your bucket (the center piece that is sticking out of the bottom half of the 3-piece airlock) and then place the other end of the tubing in the vase full of water, securing it with something weighted using a zip tie so it won't pop out.



David

Perfect! Thanks everyone!

From the description of the problem it sounds as if you're surprised the airlock was in three separate pieces, did you take airlock apart and fill with fluid before installing? It wouldn't have changed the blow-off problem, but you should know how to use it correctly.

Yes. I was using the Airlock correctly. I just found it kind of humorous that it shot to the other side of the room.

yeah brewing beer can build up some pressure. Hell I've had a bucket lid shoot off the top twice in one day. Luckily I had a shirt going over the fermenter that was sitting in tub of water. So the shirt stopped the lid from actually shooting in the air and making a huge mess. I awoke to find the lid just chilling on top of the bucket not secured at all with a slight mess on the shirt. Needless to say it still made good beer.

The first wheat beer I made blew the airlock in my closet and spewed wheat yeast all over the ceiling and my wife and I's coats. Wheat beer fermentations can be pretty impressive. Its a blow off for me from now on.

Is it something about wheat beers that causes more CO2 to be released?

Wheat malt along with some yeasts tend to go volcano, very aggressive ferment for the first couple of days. Don't know if the total CO2 release is more or not but its more in a short time.
I drilled the holes out on the top of the air lock, that keeps the hops bits from plugging the tiny holes, the krausin will still go thru the airlock, but it will keep it from launching. You can clean the air lock up and put it back on, or use a blow off tube, for me the air lock drilling was simpler