HELP! my carboy is about to blow!

[jdcoffman]

So I just whipped up my 2nd ever batch yesterday... I checked on it this morning and it's fermenting violently (yay!) but uh... it's bubbling out the top of the airlock. It's a constant hiss of air coming out and some beer has seeped out as well.

I'm brewing a FatTire Ale, 5 gallon batch, I did a GOOD job on this batch, better than my first batch I'm convinced... only this whole overflowing thing.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm using a 6 gallon carboy for my primary, but I guess that extra gallon of space isn't enough to hold this beer back?

What should be my concerns at this point and what can I do about them?

Thanks so much for your urgent help!

 

[Blender]

You need a blow off tube. My carboy takes a 1.25 inch tube with the end submerged in water. You should be able to purchase this at a hardware store. I use a 6 gallon carboy and use a blow off tube each time until fementation subsides.

 

[user 574]

Well you've been baptised with your 1st blow-off :rockin:. If you don't have a blow-off setup you'll just have to ride it out. Contamination is unlikely because of the aggressive ferment. As soon as it stops blowing over, remove your bung/airlock clean and sanitize it and put it back. 6g carboys have this potential. 6.5 is preferred but it could happen with these as well. For the future, get one of these below where you put a hose on it when a blow-off is occuring. Your normal airlock goes in the center and if she's going to blow put your hose around the smaller piece and the other end of the hose in a contairer with sanitizer; remove the airlock and plug the center.

Or Blenders method

 

[boo boo]

I wouldn't leave the airlock in place, that's for sure.

Rig up a blow off.

 

[jdcoffman]

So, how might you suggest I handle taking the existing bung and airlock off without spraying too much?

I'll make a trip to the hardware store and see if I can come up with some tubing and a bucket.

So, basically (and I'm trying to read on the topic now) this gunk will not get stopped up but rather flow into this bucket that I fill partially with water/sanitizer and it becomes like a bigger airlock?

Maybe if I don't want to mess with this in the future I should use a 6.5G carboy instead of a 6?

thanks for your help!

 

[Mikey]

Another alternative is to ferment in a plastic bucket with lid and airlock. No blow off tube to mess with, much easier to clean afterwards than a carboy.

 

[boo boo]

Another alternative is to ferment in a plastic bucket with lid and airlock. No blow off tube to mess with, much easier to clean afterwards than a carboy.

Except that in a few cases I have had blow off from even that.

 

[user 574]

Yea, I had a huge mess with a 6.5 plastic bucket fermenter when the top blew off and dented the ceiling. 6.5 doesn't guarantee a non-blowoff whatever the vessel jdcoffman. Just have the "goods" available in case a blow-off does occur is the best approach.

 

[jdcoffman]

Alright, i'm off to find a length of tube.

When I return maybe someone can give me some ideas as to how to handle taking out the plug and airlock without it going everywhere as I insert the rigged up airlock?

 

[boo boo]

Cover the top with a sanitized cloth and remove the plug very slowly to let the pressure vent

 

[user 574]

Alright, i'm off to find a length of tube.

When I return maybe someone can give me some ideas as to how to handle taking out the plug and airlock without it going everywhere as I insert the rigged up airlock?

Sanitizer ready, dip hands & yank it out. install sanitized blow-off. Take some paper towels, dip in sanitizer and clean up the exterior. No other choice in the matter.

 

[jdcoffman]

Well i'm back from my hardware store adventure, they didn't have any stoppers in stock (imagine that) so I've got a piece of tube that doesn't fit very wellstuck in the top of the carboy held tight with barmops soaked in sanitizer. This i have taped about as tight as I could get it to minimize intake..

not glamorous, nor ideal, nor am I proud, nor do I know if it'll turn out ok or not... but holding back the explosion for now.

just for future reference, as I went to take the existing bung out, i got it loosened a little, heard some gas escaping, then POP! out it went the rest of the way.

It was actually mildly entertaining as I caught it on it's way down without even trying..then came the foam and other gasses so I had to stop revelling in my great catch.

As soon as I got my tube in the mouth of the carboy it started sending foam and gas through.

Let 's hope since it's somewhat warm I can see a fast fermentation and get this done with and I can return the normal airlock soon!

the nearest LHBS is about 2 hours away, and it's not a very good one at that! So I'll have to try to order one of those fancy caps with the blowoff tube attachment and have it delivered I guess.

I'll update everyone on my progress a little later. I don't want to leave this brew out of sight for a while

 

[jdcoffman]

So another update before I have to leave my baby and go to work for a few hours...

It's happily bubbling away, big loud burps, I think it's getting some gas built up in the blow tube that's taking a while to go through, anyway. I'm not too concerned about that.

My main concern now is it finishing it's violent fermentation so I can a proper airlock back on since I don't think there's anyway I'm going to be able to seal this bad boy off with available supplies.

I guess I'm just going to have to hope for the best because obviously my little contraption isn't airtight.

I am glad it's not leaking, but my main concern is for oxidation at this point. I was really hoping for my best brew yet, and hopefully this one will turn out OK. This is a learning experience and future brews I'll be more careful! (and maybe get a couple larger fermenters to help minimize the mess.

I started my first batch of wine yesterday also (let's just say i spent waay too much time in the kitchen.) So hopefully it won't blow it's top either, although it's in a plastic primary because of the size (my only 7.75G fermenter).


so anyway, wish me luck. hopefully when I come home tonight (24 hours into the primary fermentation) things will be looking better and I can figure something out to keep the air away from my baby.

Take care and if you have any other advice or help to offer I'm all ears! (or if you know of a good mail-order outfit to get those dualie caps from.. I think i saw them in the northern brewer catalog but I'll have to double-check).

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

RDWHAHB, it is a lot harder to contaminate beer than people make it out to be. Your beer will be fine.

 

[jdcoffman]

That's what I'm banking on.

I've got the bug, and my little $100 initial investment in a homebrew kit has, in only 3 weeks since getting the idea, sprung into almost $500... le sigh. At least my first batch is aging great!

 

[jezter6]

Do you have the 3 piece airlock? If so, see if you can attach a regular size hose to the gas out post then you can stick it back in (after it and the stoper are sanitized of course).

 

[GoatFarmersInternational]

Um, any chance that you'll posting some pix of your cool blowoff setup?

The beer will be fine; don't worry... And you got a fun story to tell out of the ordeal!

 

[jdcoffman]

I'll see if I can charge up the ole digicam when I get off work, I'm just hoping it's not spraying everywhere while I'm gone :-0

actually, i'm not that worried about the explosions, it's not tight enough to build up any pressure.

 

[jdcoffman]

Well I just thought I'd update everyone with my beerytastrophy...

After about 24 hours with the ghetto blowoff tube I took it off this morning. Unfortunately, my airlock now is not bubbling very much at all... I guess it's possible that the main fermentation is over, I sure hope not, only 48 hours from starting? It's a little quick for my tastes.

So here's hoping for the best!

 

[user 574]

Actually, if you have a raucous <sp?> ferment 48h is pretty normal. Rack it in 2 days... (or when the krausen drops)

 

[Big Al]

Yeah my BarleyWine went hard for 48 hours and then just died. I left it in the primary for a little longer than needed but no big shakes. Went into the secondary today.

My Barley almost ended my homebrewing career. Not reading closely on how to setup a blowoff (and probably drinking a little too much homebrew when I did it) I set it up to blowoff into an empty carboy I had...duh, no where for the CO2 to escape! So I come home the next day from taking my son to the Docs and SWMBO is frantically cleaning my fermenting closet because it completely blew it's lid.

DOH!

 

[Blender]

There is no hurry to rack to a secondary. Just leave that brew for 7-10 days. The yeast still have some work to be done. Patience is the hardest part sometimes.