Do you consider blow-off tubes essential?

[ConAcide]

I finished my first homebrew a few weeks ago. Rigged a blow off tube up to a 3-piece airlok that I cut the grate tip off of. I placed this into a sanitized milk jug that was 2/3 - 3/4 full of Star-San solution.

I put my bucket and my blow off in a (I thought unused) corner of my house. Now, the issue with this is that I work 9 hour days and unfortunately "unused" to me and "unused" to my cats mean very different things.

I come home from work to find my off tube in the floor, and fruit flies (maybe large gnats) hanging around the tubing as well as in the tubing. I'm pretty concernd about the possibility that insects got into my wort. I pulled the tubing off and put a new, sanitized tube on, but that doesn't negate the possibility of a ruined batch.

So, my question is: Do you find blow-off tubes to be essential? I want to eliminate the possibility of this kind of thing happening again and m looking for advice.

 

[hunter_le five]

Depends on the brew, the yeast strain, fermentation temps, the size of your fermentation vessel, etc.

I've rarely needed one.

But the times I did need one, I REALLY needed one. :cross:

 

[kh54s10]

The need is partially dependent on headspace. If you have a large one you might not have the need. I use Better Bottles and use a blow off tube EVERY time. When in doubt, use the blow off tube, otherwise you might be cleaning krausen off the ceiling.

Use less Starsan. You could get a reverse siphon created by pressure or temperature changes. You only need enough to keep the end of the tube submerged.

If insects got in you could have no problem other than bugs in the beer, or it could infect it, only time will tell.

 

[doug293cz]

They're only essential if you want to keep the fermenting beer off of the walls and ceiling.

Not all fermentations are going to need one, but for the ones that do, you'll be sorry if you didn't use one. There's no really good way to predict which fermentations might go nuclear.

Find a way to keep the cats away from your fermenters.

Brew on

 

[blizz81]

Sounds like more justification to get a fermentation chamber to me.

 

[LandoLincoln]

No. Not with a few drops of Fermcap-S in the fermenting wort.

 

[blizz81]

No. Not with a few drops of Fermcap-S in the fermenting wort.

Neither fermcap nor temp management (I was at a measured 65*F inside the carboy during peak ferment) nor ample headspace (5.1gal in a 6.5gal carboy) helped my imperial stout from blowing off enough that a liter mug was too small of a blowoff vessel. I had to put a damned bucket in there.


Sometimes conditions will dictate that a beer is just going to blow.

 

[Opiate42]

But the times I did need one, I REALLY needed one. :cross:

Essentially this.

I default to the tube simply because it's better to be safe then cleaning up a sorry.

Find a way to keep the cats away from your fermenters.

YES YES AND YES

 

[SnakeRidge]

They're not essential until they are. Paraphrasing @Yooper, you're not a real homebrewer until you've mopped your ceiling though.

 

[LandoLincoln]

The solution is to get a blow off vessel large enough that your cats won't knock over. A one gallon jug filled two-thirds full of water should do it.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Sounds like more justification to get a fermentation chamber to me.

I've always had one and still have blowoff from time to time. I have used fermcap and still had blowoffs and used blowoff tubes and still had them clogged.

I agree with an above post that say, you'll never know which fermentations are going to require one. Unless I can watch my fermentations closely in the first 3-4 days (frequently I can) and use fermcap to stave off any near blowoffs, I'll just put the blow off tube on anyway as an insurance measure. The wider the tube the better.

PS, I do agree with the idea of giving OP a justification for a ferment chamber. It really helps in making great beer!

 

[blizz81]

I've always had one and still have blowoff from time to time. I have used fermcap and still had blowoffs and used blowoff tubes and still had them clogged.

I meant then the cats won't be knocking things around.




Unless they're REALLY mischievous cats!

 

[jbaysurfer]

I meant then the cats won't be knocking things around.




Unless they're REALLY mischievous cats!

Oh..in that case...I totally agree!

 

[LandoLincoln]

Neither fermcap nor temp management (I was at a measured 65*F inside the carboy during peak ferment) nor ample headspace (5.1gal in a 6.5gal carboy) helped my imperial stout from blowing off enough that a liter mug was too small of a blowoff vessel. I had to put a damned bucket in there.

Sometimes conditions will dictate that a beer is just going to blow.

The question was not, "is there a way to guarantee that you'll never have a blowout?" The question was, "do you consider blow-off tubes essential?" I don't consider them essential, because if my beers ever do blow out, they are contained in a chest freezer so cleanup is not that big of a deal. The vast majority of my beers are kept in check with a few drops of Fermcap-S. The few beers that can't be controlled with that can blow out and I'll clean up later.

 

[cyberbrew]

For me, it's essential on my carboys (they're a small 5 gallons). For my conical I've not needed a blow off...lots of head space. So I guess it depends...

 

[ConAcide]

The solution is to get a blow off vessel large enough that your cats won't knock over. A one gallon jug filled two-thirds full of water should do it.

The issue wasn't that they knocked over the milk jug, it's that they batted the tube out of the jug. I may end up having to tape it on or something.

 

[notyal]

I come home from work to find my off tube in the floor, and fruit flies (maybe large gnats) hanging around the tubing as well as in the tubing. I'm pretty concernd about the possibility that insects got into my wort.

Gnatty Light.

 

[LandoLincoln]

The issue wasn't that they knocked over the milk jug, it's that they batted the tube out of the jug. I may end up having to tape it on or something.

Or just make one of these.

 

[Rhumbline]

I do a lot of Saisons using yeasts that are pretty active so, yes, I do think they are necessary.

The real question is wether cats are necessary!

.

 

[Venari]

My question: are the kit n kilo batches likely to blow up? Hasn't happened thus far...

 

[doug293cz]

My question: are the kit n kilo batches likely to blow up? Hasn't happened thus far...

Key phrase is "thus far." There are those that have mopped the ceiling, and those who will...

Brew on

 

[kh54s10]

My question: are the kit n kilo batches likely to blow up? Hasn't happened thus far...

It depends on the recipe, yeast, temperature and headspace. You need at least 1/5 of the total volume of the fermenter to be empty to control the krausen.

 

[Natdavis777]

At my old house, before a fermentation chamber, I came home to a 1.090+ RIS that was oozing, and what looks like diarrhea splattered on the wall and on the ceiling... IT was awesome. Not...

I use one usually on higher gravity beers, as that is when I notice Ive needed one, but 80% of my beers suffice with airlocks.

 

[cannman]

I always start with an air lock, and if the carboy becomes a little too excited, I plug in a blowoff. I'd day I use it 80% of the time.


Check it out:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eqieo352tjlwt9y/File%20May%2027%2C%205%2003%2045%20PM.mov?dl=0

 

[drainbamage]

I consider blowoffs one of those "better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it" kind of things.

The last time I was feeling lazy and decided not to use the blowoff hose, I spent the following morning mopping up wort. Never again.

 

[m1k3]

Neither fermcap nor temp management (I was at a measured 65*F inside the carboy during peak ferment) nor ample headspace (5.1gal in a 6.5gal carboy) helped my imperial stout from blowing off.

Yes. When I hit 1.080 it's gonna blow. If it doesn't may your under pitching.

But with the proper pitch and a big beer.... it will explode.

For awhile I was thinking that blow off = poor temp control. But size does mater (as they say).

 

[DaNewf]

I use a Cooper's DIY fermenter and leave the krausen collar on for the first week. There is a ridiculous amount of headspace even for a full 23 litre batch. I've had some pretty impressive fermentations (Cooper's Stout/Dark Ale toucan springs to mind) that would have blown the lid off an ale pail. The DIY fermenter was never in danger of making a mess.

 

[Venari]

I use a Cooper's DIY fermenter and leave the krausen collar on for the first week. There is a ridiculous amount of headspace even for a full 23 litre batch. I've had some pretty impressive fermentations (Cooper's Stout/Dark Ale toucan springs to mind) that would have blown the lid off an ale pail. The DIY fermenter was never in danger of making a mess.

Are the markings on the side of those cooper's fermenters accurate? When I use those to do a 19L batch, I find the beer tastes watered down.

 

[tstanonis1]

use the blow off tube and get rid of the cats or a 20 dollar electric fence surrounding your fermentation vessel...

 

[DaNewf]

Are the markings on the side of those cooper's fermenters accurate? When I use those to do a 19L batch, I find the beer tastes watered down.

I've always assumed they were. Cooper's sell quite a lot of those fermenters and the reviews are generally pretty good (some people had problems with leaky spigots but mine is still watertight after 3 years of regular use). I would think if something as basic as volume markings were wrong someone would have noticed and complained. You can confirm for yourself pretty easily since you have access to them.

As for a watered down taste, I've pretty much done all my beers (except a couple one gallon batches) in this fermenter so I have nothing to compare against.