Do you really NEED an airlock? I have one, but I have my swamp cooler in such a way that the top is on top of the blow off hose so its lifted up to catch the air from the fan and push it inside to keep it at 66 degrees. I tried putting on the airlock but it will require no top which means no air. Can I just do the whole brew with just the blow off valve?
Blow off valve vs. airlock
- Thread starter dest149
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Sure,it's the same principle as an airlock. Just allows for more release volume.
I can't really visualize your setup but if your talking about blow offs for fermentation then a blow off tube is fine. I would recommend a blow off over an airlock. If you have a very active fermentation, airlocks tend to plug up causing a huge mess. A blow off tube does not have this problem.
ArtVandelay
Well-Known Member
I have to be reading this wrong because this sounds like a terrible idea. What I interpreted, you have your lid lifted up to allow for air flow inside the fermenter to help cool your wort? You will be blowing bacteria and wild yeast straight into the fermenter. This is exactly the opposite of an airlock.
If I misread I apologize. I'm hoping you mean you are blowing air into some sort of fermenting chamber and an airlock is just too large to fit but a blow off lifts the lid up just right
maffewl
Well-Known Member
Confused as well. In essence... all an airlock does is allow CO2 from the fermenter to exit without allowing outside air back in. If outside air is being blown into your fermenter, that is a bad idea. However, if you just have your lid on the top of the fermenter, not tight, but covering the beer, you should be fine. It's the fan blowing outside air into the beer that would concern me.
lol, no I have the lid of the sawmp cooler up to blow air into the fermentation chamber so that it will help evaporate the water and keep the carboy cool. I have the carboy sealed with a blow off hose into a bucket of star san
ArtVandelay
Well-Known Member
Rereading, its definitely a swamp cooler top and not the fermenter top. No issues. So the answer is no, if a blow off is working, you don't actually need an airlock. A blow off is an airlock, just bigger.
Dingdingdingding Bingo! Yahtzee! Whadda we have for him,Johnny? 
That's what I thought,like one swamp cooler overturned on top of another...
That's what I thought,like one swamp cooler overturned on top of another...
JimTheHick
Well-Known Member
Thank the Lord for blowoffs.
MooMooBrew
Well-Known Member
amen +10
does 66 degres sound good for an american wheat ale? Wyeast recommended 58-74. I wasnt sure if I should try to go down to 64. Good thing about 66 is that with the fan t-shirt swamp cooler set up it keeps itself at 66 with no ice. It started to show signs of steady fermentation after 10 hrs or so, and I have been checking it regularly and it hasnt gone up or done even 1 degree. Should I just relax and enjoy that I don't have to switch out ice? Or try to bring it down a bit more?
JimTheHick
Well-Known Member
dest149 said:
Id let her ride... If the yeast are going gangbusters best to not screw with them unless your temps start skyrocketing. In that god awful mess pictured above the yeast were in about 7 extra gallons of water so the temp didn't rise at all - I let it ride.
Wheat beers should be brewed higher to get the banana/clove esters that are common to the style. Lower is cleaner.
Yeah a blow-off is just a bigger version of an airlock. I've pretty much quit using airlocks... too many volcanoes.
