Air lock ran dry on first day of fermenting

[Westeinder Brouwerij]

Hi all,

Well I brewed a Tripel last night and upon checking this morning it was fermenting away really strongly. I've just checked it again tonight and saw the air was now empty of ant starsan I put in it.
I've added more liquid into the airlock again, but my question is would this of now ruined my fermenting / beer? I really hope not.

And why would it do this? there is plenty room in the fermenting bucket?

 

[Westeinder Brouwerij]

Hi all,

Well I brewed a Tripel last night and upon checking this morning it was fermenting away really strongly. I've just checked it again tonight and saw the air was now empty of ant starsan I put in it.
I've added more liquid into the airlock again, but my question is would this of now ruined my fermenting / beer? I really hope not.

And why would it do this? there is plenty room in the fermenting bucket?

i've just checked it again, and its again fermenting like crazy and forcing our the starsan from the air lock?

 

[bucketnative]

There's so much pressure from the off-gassing of CO2 that you really don't need an airlock at this point. The CO2 flow will keep any bad actors out of the airlock passage.

You can keep refilling it, and when it settles down, it will stop blowing the liquid out. No harm done.

 

[Westeinder Brouwerij]

There's so much pressure from the off-gassing of CO2 that you really don't need an airlock at this point. The CO2 flow will keep any bad actors out of the airlock passage.

You can keep refilling it, and when it settles down, it will stop blowing the liquid out. No harm done.

Thanks for informing and calming my nerves ;-)

 

[grampamark]

This is why many people rig a blow off tube after filling the fermenter.

Fermentation is causing Co2 to build up faster than the gas can be diffused through the liquid in the airlock. Find a piece of tubing which will fit through the stopper in the fermenter and is long enough to reach the floor (assuming your fermenter is on the floor). Put one end of the tubing where the airlock was and the other end in a container in which you have poured 2-3 inches of sanitizer. This will allow a less restrictive path for the venting gas. Make sure the end of the tube in the container is close to the level of the bottom of the fermenter to prevent the liquid in the blowoff container from being siphoned back into the fermenter when fermentation slows and the pressure in the fermenter drops. Do not put the blowoff container above the fermenter. Also be sure that the open end of the tube stays submerged in the sanitizer. This will prevent outside air from being drawn into the fermenter when the pressure drops.

 

[hammy1983]

This is why many people rig a blow off tube after filling the fermenter.

Fermentation is causing Co2 to build up faster than the gas can be diffused through the liquid in the airlock. Find a piece of tubing which will fit through the stopper in the fermenter and is long enough to reach the floor (assuming your fermenter is on the floor). Put one end of the tubing where the airlock was and the other end in a container in which you have poured 2-3 inches of sanitizer. This will allow a less restrictive path for the venting gas. Make sure the end of the tube in the container is close to the level of the bottom of the fermenter to prevent the liquid in the blowoff container from being siphoned back into the fermenter when fermentation slows and the pressure in the fermenter drops. Do not put the blowoff container above the fermenter. Also be sure that the open end of the tube stays submerged in the sanitizer. This will prevent outside air from being drawn into the fermenter when the pressure drops.

My first time fermenting... apparently I didnt leave enough head space and I had kausen coming out my airlock. learned quickly about blow offs. I dont think I will ferment without one now. So far its infection free.

 

[MaxStout]

If you are using a 3-piece airlock, it can be adapted for a blowoff. Remove the lid and the plastic shuttlecock, then attach some 3/8" ID tubing to the stem inside the airlock. When fermentation activity slows down, you can remove the tubing, reinstall the airlock parts and fill with Starsan.

 

[flars]

If you are using a 3-piece airlock, it can be adapted for a blowoff. Remove the lid and the plastic shuttlecock, then attach some 3/8" ID tubing to the stem inside the airlock. When fermentation activity slows down, you can remove the tubing, reinstall the airlock parts and fill with Starsan.

This method works very well. The potential flow through the air lock can be improved by cutting off the tapered end of the air lock stem.

 

[Francus]

I prefer cheap vodka in my airlock to star san.

 

[PADave]

Use a blowoff tube, always, to start fermentation. The correct size hose will fit into the stopper that the airlock fits into. Then when things slow down you can switch to an airlock if it makes you feel happy, otherwise just keep the blowoff tube. Same thing, just a bigger airlock.

 

[Pinhead]

Use Vodka. I have had the same problem a number of times. Starsan bubbles up and foams out of the airlock. I currently have two buckets in the fermenter one has been in for a month and still has some activity in airlock. I dry hopped it a week ago and the vodka split out of the airlock I filled it with starsan as I had some handy. Its bubbling and foaming out as we speak but not real fast. The other has vodka, bubbling and no foam.

 

[GolFisHunt]

I had the same problem with an aggressive fermentation. It bubbled the starsan out on half an hour. I didn't have any vodka left so I refilled the airlock with starsan and added one drop of Fermcap. Worked perfectly.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Whether you use an airlock or a blowoff, add a couple drops of Fermcap S to the liquid. This will keep the foaming down and reduce the chance that foaming yeast and/or sanitizer will overflow. I had a kölsch fermentation runaway and the blowoff was so violent I thought the gallon jug I was using would overflow with yeast foam. Fermcap=miracle juice. Get it. Use it. Love it.

 

[kristiismean]

all of the above is good advice. The ones I follow are cut the end off of 3 piece airlocks, (it will fill with yeast and pop off, or pop the lid off).

and the tube on the 3 way is good (or if you only have an s type, just cut off the end)

I never used to use a blowoff tube, 300+ gallons (5 gallon batches) and then this year, pop! lost a full 5 gallons, 8 oz of comet.. time, etc becuase the airlock clogged and the lid popped off. (I did not catch it fast enough, was already infected... but smelled awesome, still dumped).

now I do it for the first week. I use a gallon milk jug,(cleaned, filled with starsan) now and just run the tube to it. no issues for 3 batches now....

I also use just gin or vodka in my airlock... nothing wrong with starsan, but it's easier to just pour it from the bottle

 

[Jayjay1976]

I also use just gin or vodka in my airlock... nothing wrong with starsan, but it's easier to just pour it from the bottle

Two reasons why I never have and never would use vodka/gin/scotch/etc in an airlock:
1. Alcohol evaporates faster than water, the solution loses its antibacterial properties over time. Compare this to Starsan which becomes more concentrated and therefore more effective with evaporation.
2. Starsan is far cheaper than vodka. Why waste booze, cheap or otherwise?