S-shaped vs 3-piece airlock

zymurgy101 said:

LOL No caviar, I assume?

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I snack on caviar only when I am fishing as it doubles as bait. I like the red ones you get at Bass Pro Shops.

m.

Has anybody compared the bubbling rate of the s-type vs three-piece airlocks? Do they allow the same amount of bubbles per unit of time to escape from the carboy/bucket/whatever? Ideally, one has to use a T-connector and attach both at the same time to compare

Dougan said:

It seems like in most pictures I see, everybody is using the 3 piece airlock, which is the only kind my LHBS had for the longest time. However, I like the S-shaped ones.

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Simply said: the S-shaped sucks a$$ because the water from the airlock can easily get sucked-in inside the fermenter when you pick up the bucket or try to remove the S-shaped from the fermenter. The design of the 3-peace airlock prevents this from happening.

Scooby_Brew said:

Simply said: S-shaped suck a$$ because the water from the airlock can easily get sucked-in inside the fermenter when you pick up the bucket or try to remove the S-shaped from the fermenter. The design of the 3-peace airlock prevents this from happening.

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Sound like you are filling it too much. I have never had this problem. In fact, the s style airlock is the only one I use when I cold crash because it doesn't suck in the sanitizer under vacuum.

S-shaped for lagers in primary, 3 pce for ales and cold crashing, kegs for lagering.

With what could/has been summed up in one post this is now like the great toilet paper debate...


Doesn't matter, its all preference and people have irrationally strong opinions

i've broken the S type ones pulling them out of the bung, so now i wont use them. other then that, the S ones were more entertaining to watch for sure!

Blow off tube, then after it calms down, switch to whatever one you have.

For the record, the toilet paper should always go OVER and not under. It's just silly to go under.

capcrnch said:

For the record, the toilet paper should always go OVER and not under. It's just silly to go under.

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No way! It's just ugly when it goes over. And it takes more space. Aesthetically, going under is the only way to go.

bredstein said:

...And it takes more space...

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?????

Hang Glider said:

?????

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I meant to say that when the paper is closer to the wall it hangs in a more accurate way and occupies less space in the bathroom.

capcrnch said:

Blow off tube, then after it calms down, switch to whatever one you have.

For the record, the toilet paper should always go OVER and not under. It's just silly to go under.

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If you have little kids around the house you really need to have the paper go under. My daughter emptied a whole roll in less that 10 seconds.

rack04 said:

If you have little kids around the house you really need to have the paper go under. My daughter emptied a whole roll in less that 10 seconds.

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luckly im over the whole toilet paper deal with little kids but with this full house it always seems im the one stuck on the pot with the empty roll..lol

My wife likes the tp to be under but I like over. Luckly our toilet paper holder holds two rolls side by side so one over and one under

Definitely over.
1) Designs on the TP are inside-out if you do it under.
2) Look at the way nice hotels do their toilet paper. Always over with a little triangle often folded on it.
3) I have no kids, but I would think kids in the house would make "over" a necessity. Easier for dirty hands to grab the paper instead of smearing up the wall.

I do the 3 piece because they are easier to clean and install blow off.... Pretty much everything already posted here. And oddly enough they are cheaper at my LHBS (northern brewer).

Old post, new to me... I use both as well as a blow-off hose. Hose for high grav. 3-piece on lower grav./1st ferm. but still easy to clean over the S- type. Then the S type on secondary/lager or long aging brews.... oh and I also like to use vodka in my air-locks to kill anything, just in case I get suck back.

Get rid of your S-locks. They're a pain to clean and if you ever get a bug in the s-lock it can sour several brews.

Aunt_Ester said:

Get rid of your S-locks. They're a pain to clean and if you ever get a bug in the s-lock it can sour several brews.

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Shame they don't sell OxiClean in Virginia Beach.

"S" shape are the only way to go, especially for aging. Those stupid 3 piece dry out quickly and you can never tell at a glance if it's still working or not.

Only fools use 3 piece airlocks!

The S shapes are easy to clean. I frequently get a little krausen blown up into them when I primary in my 6 gallon carboy when my 6.5 gallons are in use. I don't even change them, just make sure they have an ample amount of star san solution in them as I always do. By the time I rack the beer out the stuff in the airlock is very dry and crusted on. An overnight soak in an ice cream bucket of oxi clean solution, then force some water from the faucet through them and they're good as new.

I like the look and action of the "S" shaped better. They are weaker though. 2 of my "S" airlocks got so stuck in the bung that when I finally got it loose the plastic stretched to the breaking point. Since then I go with the 3 piece air lock.

Shame they don't sell OxiClean in Virginia Beach.

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Touché. But I have no confidence in scrubbing bubbles. Elbow grease is my only resolve.

Just read most of this thread. I started with a 3 piece and thought it was perfectly good for my first two beers. Then my local store talked me into an S type for my apfelwein due to the evaporation issue and the fact that intend to leave it in the carboy for 6-8 months. It did bubble over and I ended up putting in a blowoff tube, but not before a bunch of juice/wort got into the airlock. I just soaked it in PBW overnight and it seems fine.

But how to people dry these? They seem really tough to dry (and I'm in a semi-arid climate). And while I used PBW on it and will use starsan on it before it's used again, I'm a bit worried about stuff growing in there if it doesn't totally dry out. I've tried blowing it out, which gets out some big stuff but also introduces moist air (and other fun stuff). I guess I could blow a hair dryer into it, but I don't think we have one. How do others do it?

I'm starting to think I should have stuck with the 3 piece.

I like both but have had better experience with the S locks.

The 3 piece seem to suck water back in and suction the middle piece when in a chest freezer for fermentation.

I had problem with suck back on the 3 pieces. Switched to the double bubble and found that it easier to perform yeast swirling.

llazy_llama said:

It's not that you don't need an airlock on your starter, it's that using an airlock on your starter is actually detrimental. As much fun as it is to watch the pretty bubbles, you're hurting the yeast in doing so.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/stop-putting-airlocks-your-starters-104529/

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Unless you're re-introducing O2 back into your starter (shaking, stirring, or injected), putting foil over your vessel is hardly going to be any more harmful than putting an airlock. You're still going to build a layer of CO2 over the wort unless you actively remove it. I also find it humorous that people insist on using foil, but still use an Erlenmeyer flask which reduces surface contact with O2.

Thanks all. But really what I'm looking for is how people dry the S or double-bubble style? I just put it in the drying rack upside down and it is taking an extremely long time to dry, which I fear is asking for mold.

mmb said:

Slip a 1/2" ID tube over the center post of of the three piece and you have your blowoff tube. Then pop the tube off and put the bubbler back on and you have an airlock.

Remove the little X of plastic at the bottom of the airlock though. That will get gummed up and give you a blockage.

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I have a couple of 3-piece, but I have been using S-locks for the past couple of years. I think I may be going back to 3-piece. How simple to add the blowoff if needed!
My S-locks have grown something in the bottom of the S. I can't get it clean, and I have had to toss a couple. I use Starsan in them.
Old threads reveal good ideas.

RunnerDude said:

Thanks all. But really what I'm looking for is how people dry the S or double-bubble style? I just put it in the drying rack upside down and it is taking an extremely long time to dry, which I fear is asking for mold.

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I just throw it in the box with all the rest of the brewing stuff. When I go back to it it is dry. I clean it well after use and clean it well again then sanitize it before use. I always use a blow off tube so I have never gotten krausen in either style airlock.

That said; I have 2 of each and it seems I usually go for the 3 piece. And always when I use my bucket because I attach the blow off to it.

Also, I have not noticed much difference in the bubbling. That is probably because most of the bubbling was done into the catch bottle of the blow off system.

Make sure you cut the X off the bottom of the 3-piece

cut the X off?

Rivenin said:

cut the X off?

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There are plastic crosses at the bottom of certain airlocks that can cause blockage and eventually lids blowing off. You cut that off and you don't have to worry about it.... as much.


Also, USMCMatt.... nice necrothread.

I have had suck back on both types but far more on the 3 piece airlocks. I bought several 3 piece airlocks because it's easier to convert into a blow off tube but I want to buy more S airlocks because they evaporate less fluid so I am less concerned about a dry airlock.

I guess I didn't have anything different to say on the subject...

I use both, plus blowoff tubes.

More often than not, I'm doing 6-7 gallons in a 14 gallon SS Conical, so I'm not usually dealing with Krausen getting in there.

3 piece pros:
Holds more Vodka/Starsan, so during an active fermentation, it doesn't dry out as fast.
Easy Cleaning

3 piece cons:
Suckback. Happens with temp changes. I have a heated/cooled fermenter that holds +/- 1 degree so it's not a big issue with ales until I cold crash.

1 piece Pros:
No Suckback. (If you don't overfill it's physically impossible)

1 piece Cons:
Harder to clean if crap gets in. Not impossible. just an overnight soak vs 1 minute job.
During energetic fermentation, it will evaporate the much smaller volume of vodka quickly. Like 2 days with a 1.052 OG Lager rockin and rolling.

I use both, I always use the 2 piece on stuff that has to sit for awhile just so I don't have to keep filling the sanitizer in there as much as with the 3 piece.

I've been using a 3 piece airlock for 12 years. Back when I started I didn't have temperature control so I ended up with some big krausen that would clog up the airlock. Now that I have temperature controlled freezer to ferment my beers, my fermentations have all been very civilized with short krausen. I've started using the technique of cold crashing the beer at the end of fermentation and of course this causes major suck back using a 3-piece. I think I'm gonna switch to an S-lock for my next beer just because I hate the idea of stuff getting in my beer.

sorry to bring back a thread, but I was having this debate in my head, and it brought me here. I do like the sound of the s lock better. I have recently switched to s locks and I have 4 wines 2 beers and a cider going, and my brew room sound just awesome!