Blow off tube material

[mloster]

Does a blow off tube need to be food grade plastic? I was thinking of just buying 3' of 1" vinyl tubing from home depot. Would that work?

 

[dancness]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, since the krausen is flowing out of the fermentor and not into it. So whatever chemicals you think might leach from the tubing won't be flowing into your beer anyway.

I'd say go for it.

I'd get more than 3' though. I use a 5' blowoff tube to make sure I have enough wiggle room if I need to move things around. Plus what does tubing cost, like $.50 a foot?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I got mine from the lhbs, but I've seen posts on here about using tubing from a hardware store. You should be fine as long as it's sanitized when you attach it to the fermenter.

 

[onipar]

I hope this isn't a thread hijack, but I was wondering what you need to make a blow off tube. They sell premade ones for like $7, but I was under the impression it's just a stopper and a plastic hose connected to it? Is there something special I need to buy to make a blowoff tube for a 5 gallon glass carboy? Because those two components sold separately are like two bucks or less...

 

[unionrdr]

Yes,it'll be fine. That's what I use. I needed a couple of different sizes,due to all my buckets/fermenters having different diameter spouts on the spigots. I got the clear tubing from home cheapo myself,for $7.99/10' roll. Hasn't failed me yet. But do remember to soak them in PBW or the like overnight after use to clean them. Then rinse them out,dry,& store.
I run star-san through them with a cheapy store funnel that has a tapered spout that fits all the sizes of tubing I use Right before they get used during racking,bottling,whatever.

 

[Wrenchman]

If not mistaken, the 5 gallon glass carboy will accept a 1" I.D. clear tubing with the O.D. being approximately 1.2". No stopper needed as it will be a tight fit inside the neck of the carboy.

 

[onipar]

If not mistaken, the 5 gallon glass carboy will accept a 1" I.D. clear tubing with the O.D. being approximately 1.2". No stopper needed as it will be a tight fit inside the neck of the carboy.

Great, thanks!

 

[dancness]

Ok here's what you do. Buy the "3 piece airlock" seen here.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/fermentation-locs

Pop off the plastic top and remove the inside plastic piece. It should now simply be a plastic spout. Get the 1/2" diameter tubing and fit it snugly around that spout. You might need to cut a small slit at the end of your tubing to get it to fit over the spout opening. Just make sure the tube fits snugly on the spout.

And you're good to go. The good thing about this method is it works on carboys AND buckets, whereas the methods mentioned above with the 1" tubing only work for carboys.

 

[onipar]

Ok here's what you do. Buy the "3 piece airlock" seen here.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/fermentation-locs

Pop off the plastic top and remove the inside plastic piece. It should now simply be a plastic spout. Get the 1/2" diameter tubing and fit it snugly around that spout. You might need to cut a small slit in your tubing to get it to fit over the spout opening. Just make sure the tube fits snugly on the spout.

And you're good to go. The good thing about this method is it works on carboys AND buckets, whereas the methods mentioned above with the 1" tubing only work for carboys.

Nice! That saves some bucks too. The "blowoff tubing" costs $1.49 a foot, so about $7.45 for 5 feet. With this method I get my airlock for $1 and 5 feet of 1/2 inch tubing for 50 cents a foot for a total of $3.50!

Sounds perfect to me, thanks.

 

[lurker18]

Ok here's what you do. Buy the "3 piece airlock" seen here.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/fermentation-locs

Pop off the plastic top and remove the inside plastic piece. It should now simply be a plastic spout. Get the 1/2" diameter tubing and fit it snugly around that spout. You might need to cut a small slit at the end of your tubing to get it to fit over the spout opening. Just make sure the tube fits snugly on the spout.

And you're good to go. The good thing about this method is it works on carboys AND buckets, whereas the methods mentioned above with the 1" tubing only work for carboys.

That is what I got, but be sure to snip off the bottom of the airlock that goes into the stopper. Some of them have cross bars at the bottom that get plugged with stuff trying to get out.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I got a brass fitting from Lowes and secured it to the end of the vinyl tubing with an aviator clamp. Pops right into the airlock grommet on my brew bucket.