TaylorInOK
Well-Known Member
Hey fellow DIY'ers. This is a proof of concept that was inspired by a poster here that was talking about making an air filter from cotton and carbon that fit on top of an airlock. Will the OP please stand up? I'm sure I've almost broken the search page trying to find it and I'd like to give credit where it's due.
White Labs German Ale / Kolsch yeast #WLP029 - LOVE these beasties but for the love of all that is good and holy they stink. Even with a ferm temp of 67 they stink. Haven't brewed with them in a while simply because of that.
Trying to cut a long story short, I loved the airlock post but worried about the filter getting clogged with an extra-aggressive fermentation so I combined his idea with a blowout bucket.
This is what I came up with as a test to see if it would work.
Items I used:
--Small plastic container w/lid
--Cotton (Wife had cotton balls and also had some cotton disk things that I used)
--Some sort of epoxy or good glue
--1/2 ID 5/8 OD tubing (or choose your own - I use plastic fermenter buckets so this is what I needed)
--Activated Stone Carbon (got this at my LHBS)
--Sealable Tupperware bucket or large bowl
I cut large holes in the lid, and bottom of a small plastic container. Used the cotton disks on both ends, attached with duct tape to form a barrier so the cotton wouldn't fall out.
Cut a similar hole in the top of the Tupperware lid and attached another cotton disk there, then attached the plastic container to the top of it using Goop. I also drilled four (I only have 2 fermenters so I'm reaching here) holes for the blowoff tubes to enter the Tupperware lid. (I let the epoxy sit overnight)
Pulled apart the cotton balls and filled the "Filer container" 1/3 way full, then poured 1/3 activated carbon, then filled the final 1/3 with more pulled apart cotton balls and attached the lid.
Here's a test fit with an empty fermenter.
And here it is in action. This was taken 3 days in and IT WORKED! Not one sniff of Godzilla dropping trow in my office closet.
So now I know it works, I'm going to replace the small Tupperware with a larger bucket... maybe two gallons. I would also pack the cotton a bit better in the next revision.
So there it is.
White Labs German Ale / Kolsch yeast #WLP029 - LOVE these beasties but for the love of all that is good and holy they stink. Even with a ferm temp of 67 they stink. Haven't brewed with them in a while simply because of that.
Trying to cut a long story short, I loved the airlock post but worried about the filter getting clogged with an extra-aggressive fermentation so I combined his idea with a blowout bucket.
This is what I came up with as a test to see if it would work.
Items I used:
--Small plastic container w/lid
--Cotton (Wife had cotton balls and also had some cotton disk things that I used)
--Some sort of epoxy or good glue
--1/2 ID 5/8 OD tubing (or choose your own - I use plastic fermenter buckets so this is what I needed)
--Activated Stone Carbon (got this at my LHBS)
--Sealable Tupperware bucket or large bowl
I cut large holes in the lid, and bottom of a small plastic container. Used the cotton disks on both ends, attached with duct tape to form a barrier so the cotton wouldn't fall out.
Cut a similar hole in the top of the Tupperware lid and attached another cotton disk there, then attached the plastic container to the top of it using Goop. I also drilled four (I only have 2 fermenters so I'm reaching here) holes for the blowoff tubes to enter the Tupperware lid. (I let the epoxy sit overnight)
Pulled apart the cotton balls and filled the "Filer container" 1/3 way full, then poured 1/3 activated carbon, then filled the final 1/3 with more pulled apart cotton balls and attached the lid.
Here's a test fit with an empty fermenter.
And here it is in action. This was taken 3 days in and IT WORKED! Not one sniff of Godzilla dropping trow in my office closet.
So now I know it works, I'm going to replace the small Tupperware with a larger bucket... maybe two gallons. I would also pack the cotton a bit better in the next revision.
So there it is.
