Make refrigerator slightly bigger for fermenter?

[j88davis]

I have an old fridge/freezer which I'm planning to use as a fermentation chamber (with an Inkbird and heat bar). My conical fermenter fits in the fridge compartment, however I stupidly forgot to include the airlock when checking the height, so it's now clear the fridge is slightly too small (by about an inch or so).

Is it possible to enlarge the fridge interior slightly (e.g. can I remove some of the white plastic?), or is there a really small airlock I could get that would be more likely to fit? I'd rather not have to get a new fridge/freezer...

Thanks!

 

[DBhomebrew]

Instead of an airlock, you can use a blowoff tube.

This brewer uses a tube to move the airlock. Just don't let the tube kink.

 

[j88davis]

That's perfect, thanks for your help!

 

[IslandLizard]

This brewer uses a tube to move the airlock. Just don't let the tube kink.

He uses a 90° (plastic) elbow, coming right out of the lid. That prevents the tubing from kinking.

I'd recommend using a 1/2" ID elbow and slightly wider (thin-walled vinyl) tubing (5/8" ID) that fits over it. Dip the end of your tubing in some hot water to stretch it easier over the elbow's barb.

You may get away with a 3/8" ID elbow and 1/2" ID tubing. I think that's what's used in the picture. But keep an eye on it, so the the smaller opening doesn't get plugged up with krausen during the height of fermentation.

Lower, controlled fermentation temps will help against sudden explosive blow-off. Also, don't fill your fermenter too high, leave ample headspace (1/6 to 1/5 of your batch size).