Krauesen in airlock

[Cyclometh]

And wow, it's going to TOWN in there. I moved my carboy into an eight-gallon pot and then moved the pot into my bathroom downstairs. The airlock has not clogged or anything; it's still bubbling away but the krauesen head is definitely taking up all the headroom. And this is a 6.5 gallon carboy with a 5 gallon batch(!).

How likely is it that the airlock will plug enough to stop the CO2 from escaping and build pressure? What techniques can I use to prevent such an occurence until the yeast flocculates?

 

[frazier]

Blowoff tube
Blowoff tube
Blowoff tube
Now, before it's too late!

 

[maffewl]

Either now, while it's clean, or later when it's all over the airlock and carboy... make a blow-off tube.

 

[Copperpots_Brewing]

That has happened to me before. Definitely consider a blow off tube. Theyre not that hard to make, look on YouTube.
When it happened to me, I didn't do a blow off and the fermenter would poo out krausen everyday when I was at work, all over the floor. Ick!

 

[Number68]

Blowoff tube
Blowoff tube
Blowoff tube
Now, before it's too late!

^^^^this. now.

 

[Cyclometh]

Relax. If it needs a blowoff tube I'll get one, but let's not get into a panic or anything.

It's not foaming out at some epic rate; it's just colored the airlock water and produced some froth on the top of the airlock. My wife is keeping an eye on it during the day.

I just wanted to hear experiences from others on whether the airlock is likely to gum up and if so what to do about it. I can put in a blowoff tube if necessary, although I'd prefer not to muck about with it while it's fermenting.

If the only thing I really need to worry about is overflow or foam coming out and dribbling around, then I'm not too concerned.

 

[JonM]

It can clog and, of it does, pressure will build until it blows the top off, spraying sticky sugary wort all over, which will require cleaning, maybe repainting, and will land you deep, deep in the doghouse if there's a SWMBO in the house.

A blowoff tube and a fee drops of Fermcap-S and your problem will be solved.

 

[Cyclometh]

That has happened to me before. Definitely consider a blow off tube. Theyre not that hard to make, look on YouTube.
When it happened to me, I didn't do a blow off and the fermenter would poo out krausen everyday when I was at work, all over the floor. Ick!

Eh, I slung the whole thing into an eight-gallon pot and put the pot on a tile floor. It'd have to drain out over half its liquid volume to really cause a problem I couldn't take care of with 5 minutes, some sanitizer and a few paper towels.

I'm not concerned about the mess so much as I am the possibility of the airlock gumming up. This is day 2 of fermentation, I pitched it Wednesday night, so by tonight we'll be at 48 hours.

 

[Cyclometh]

It can clog and, of it does, pressure will build until it blows the top off, spraying sticky sugary wort all over, which will require cleaning, maybe repainting, and will land you deep, deep in the doghouse if there's a SWMBO in the house.

A blowoff tube and a fee drops of Fermcap-S and your problem will be solved.

Heh, that sounds like fun. :cross:

I have to run some errands at lunch, I'll go by the LHBS and pick up the parts for a blowoff tube.

In a way I almost hope pressure does build up; the cork is too far into the neck of the carboy to get it back out by hand and I was going to have to figure out how to get it out once it's done. If the pressure pushed it out for me, that'd solve at least one problem!

(kidding about that last part)

 

[Cyclometh]

Actually, since I have a 3-piece airlock it seems I can do a blowoff tube with some 3/8" tubing and just put it over the mouth of the outlet in the cup of the airlock. Then when things have settled down a bit I can put the cap back in place with a bit of water and call it good.

 

[triangulum33]

Why did you ask then? The responses you got were based on experiences of airlocks spit out and pints of yeast, hops and wort puked out all over.
If there is any chance that your high OG or lively yeast will ferment vigorously, put on the blowoff tube.

 

[Cyclometh]

Why did you ask then? The responses you got were based on experiences of airlocks spit out and pints of yeast, hops and wort puked out all over.
If there is any chance that your high OG or lively yeast will ferment vigorously, put on the blowoff tube.

I asked because I wanted an answer to the question, but I'm not going to get overly worked up over it.

I'm just being proactive;The situation is under control at the moment, there's no immediate risk of anything going horribly wrong and I have some good ideas on what to do to mitigate the risk without unduly risking the beer or my safety.

I'm not going to do anything in a panic- that's the way to disaster. Rushing off and doing something half-cocked because I let myself get freaked out isn't going to help.

If I came across as ungrateful or dismissive of the advice and responses I've been getting, I apologize for nothing could be further from the truth- I really do appreciate the information! I merely wanted to get some data on which to base my next steps.

RDWHAHB, right?

 

[xjmox14x]

Ok well. The consensus is get a blow off tube. You're 8 gallon pot isn't going to do squat when the top blows off if the airlock gets clogged, which can happen. It's not like a little bit is going to leak out and your problem is over.

No one is saying to panic. Everyone is saying to get a blowoff tube in place sooner rather than later, that's all. You may end up being fine and not needing it, but if signs are already showing a vigorous fermentation, why risk it? But hey, your beer, your tile floor, your house, your call.


And yes, what you described is a good way of fitting a blow off tube. I've done it with no ill effects. However, the bottom of the airlock (the part that sticks into the lid) can be fairly small and sometimes has that "x" in plastic on it. That can get clogged as well. Now, I pretty much just take out the black rubber fitting and just stick a larger tube in lid hole itself.

 

[Copperpots_Brewing]

Yeah, as for your question your air lock will gum up and either shoot the air lock out or blow your lid off, both of which will expose your beer to oxygen (bad thing) and it could potentially cause a huge mess. Which, of you are getting krausen in your air lock, that is the direction you're heading.
And why would you want to deal with cleaning a mess of that magnitude up I you could just spend 3 minutes to put a blow off on? That's the more proactive approach.

 

[Cyclometh]

Well, as I said I'll be getting one at lunchtime and I can rig it up in short order. I appreciate the responses and information.

Again, if I'm coming across badly I apologize- sincerely! From my perspective, the conversation has kind of gone like this:

Me: Hey, I'm getting some foam in my airlock, I don't want it to plug up- what's best to stop what I'm seeing now and prevent it in the future.
HBT: ZOMG Blowoff tube RIGHT NOW!
Me: Woah, chill. It's OK for the moment, I'll put a blowoff on later today and if it makes a mess before I get to it, that's not hard to clean up.
HBT: Why aren't you listening? Get a blowoff tube, or (insert horror story x) will happen!
Me: I am going to. Everything's stable right now, I'll be getting one today and I already have a way to do it. Let's not panic.
HBT: Why did you even ask then?

Me: ??

I'll take a quick trip to the LHBS and pick up some tubing and rig up a blowoff at lunchtime. SWMBO has informed me that the airlock continues to bubble merrily and the krausen has dropped a bit (probably because I moved it this morning in case of a mess), she'll keep an eye on it every hour or so and let me know if things change.

Thanks again for all the advice, you guys are awesome!

 

[unionrdr]

My 3/8" tube wouldn't fit the center tube of the airlock. Seems like 7/16" would fit snugly.

 

[triangulum33]

However, the bottom of the airlock (the part that sticks into the lid) can be fairly small and sometimes has that "x" in plastic on it. That can get clogged as well.

Yeah, just cut off that little end. It definitely causes clogs.

I've since switched to a 1 7/8" OD tube that gets stuffed into the carboy neck (fits extremely tight) to handle the volcano-like fermentation of 1.100 OG beers with 4L starters.

 

[triangulum33]

The other thing to remember is the same recipe may ferment differently each time based on a number of factors like yeast condition and ambient temperature. One batch may be with an older batch of yeast at low winter temps(slower fermentation) and the next might be with fresh vibrant yeast in warmer temps (volcano).

If there is a question, use the tube.


.

 

[Cyclometh]

Well, I took my lunch hour and went to get a 1" tube for a blowoff from my LHBS. I also got some small toggle bolts and sanitized them, then used them to yank the cork which was too far into the neck of the carboy.

One of them broke (!) pulling it out - they're rated for about 300 pounds, so wow. A few steel bits on the bottom of the carboy means I'll have to be careful when racking it, but aside from that all seems happy now.

Thanks for all the advice and help.