Use a Blow-off!

[MWM777]

Learned my lesson the hard way over the weekend. Brewed a 5-gallon batch of Hefeweizen, and began fermentation Saturday night with a standard airlock on my carboy. Sunday morning, I woke up to chunks of wort protein and yeast all over the CEILING of my bathroom. The pressure became too intense for the airlock, and it shot it right out of the carboy, sending chunks of nastiness flying everywhere with it. From now on, my carboy fermentations will ALWAYS use blowoff tubes to start.

It's hard to see, but those little brown specks are the crap all over my bathroom ceiling.

Let this serve as a warning to the fellow newbies out there that think a 6-gallon carboy is plenty of room for a 5-gallon batch...






Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[kh54s10]

EVERY TIME!!

But, that is not very impressive comparatively.

 

[m1batt1]

Granted I've only made a half dozen batches and I'm sure my time will come but I've only ever used airlocks and haven't had a fermenter volcano yet!

Sent from my SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[MWM777]

Granted I've only made a half dozen batches and I'm sure my time will come but I've only ever used airlocks and haven't had a fermenter volcano yet!

Sent from my SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

This was my 8th batch of beer. I said the same things, my friend. All I can say is airlock them at your own risk. It's only a matter of time. Although, It's actually never happened to me with a bucket. This was my first carboy fermentation, because I wanted to watch the yeast work. So, perhaps the reduced volume above the wort fill line contributed. But man, it went EVERYWHERE. I actually had to scrape it off the ceiling with a putty knife, and am now planning to re-paint the ceiling to fix it. It's that bad...

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[MWM777]

EVERY TIME!!

But, that is not very impressive comparatively.

It's worse than it looks in the photo. Pea-to-dime size chunks plastered the entire ceiling, wall and tub/shower. It took 2 hours to remove it all, and now fresh paint is the only fix. Probably 2-3 coats to hide the scrapes, honestly.

It. Sucked.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[insanim8er]

It's funny because the photo doesn't really show anything, but we all know what's below.

Kinda like seeing the shadow of a scary monster with out actually seeing the monster.

 

[m1batt1]

I'm sure it will happen to me eventually. But I've always ran primary in a 6.5 gallon carboy and got lucky so far.

Sent from my SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[MWM777]

It's funny because the photo doesn't really show anything, but we all know what's below.

Kinda like seeing the shadow of a scary monster with out actually seeing the monster.

The carboy looks like a giant wad of sticky oatmeal. It was a chore..


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[derek704]

My 1 gal fermenter blew it's top WITH a blowoff hose last night.. That's my ceiling..


Brown Porter 1.072 OG. Got .010 extra unexpectedly from steeping grains.

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[tooblue02]

Looking at these pics scares me a little, I was planning on doing a 3 gallon imperial stout and putting it in a 5 gallon carboy to keep my main two fermentors available for other "normal" beer. Think there is risk with a 1.1ish 3 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy with a blow off? Planning on doing a starter for it.

 

[MWM777]

Looking at these pics scares me a little, I was planning on doing a 3 gallon imperial stout and putting it in a 5 gallon carboy to keep my main two fermentors available for other "normal" beer. Think there is risk with a 1.1ish 3 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy with a blow off? Planning on doing a starter for it.

You should be fine. That's plenty of space. But, as you've seen, a blow-off tube is still a good idea for ease of pressure release for the first 24 hours or so.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Homercidal]

2 Brews ago I brought a big stout in from the garage when the ferm chamber failed. It was close to freezing. couple days later my daughter calls to tell me I have stout in the carpet. My blowoff tube leaked. She cleaned it up.

Last brew I made a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. I placed it in the closet, no blowoff. Well, I was SUPPOSED to rig up a blow off, but got busy and forgot to put it on there. I should probably check it. I haven't looked at it since the day after brewday when I peeked inside to see the if it was fermenting. It was. Krausen was about 1 inch from the lid...

 

[MWM777]

My 1 gal fermenter blew it's top WITH a blowoff hose last night.. That's my ceiling..
View attachment 177266View attachment 177267

Brown Porter 1.072 OG. Got .010 extra unexpectedly from steeping grains.

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

It's almost enough to just make you want to open ferment, isn't it? So annoying.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[MWM777]

2 Brews ago I brought a big stout in from the garage when the ferm chamber failed. It was close to freezing. couple days later my daughter calls to tell me I have stout in the carpet. My blowoff tube leaked. She cleaned it up.

Last brew I made a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. I placed it in the closet, no blowoff. Well, I was SUPPOSED to rig up a blow off, but got busy and forgot to put it on there. I should probably check it. I haven't looked at it since the day after brewday when I peeked inside to see the if it was fermenting. It was. Krausen was about 1 inch from the lid...

I hope for the best when you finally check on it. That could be really bad news. My Hefeweizen that exploded was still spewing krausen from the top at a pretty quick rate, a full 4-6 hours after the airlock blew off. Thank god it was in my bathtub. Had it not been...ugh. Don't even want to imagine!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[kombat]

I never bother with blowoff hoses, I've found that if I carefully manage my fermenting temperatures and don't let it get too warm, things remain under control. For some of my bigger beers (double IPAs), the krausen has pushed right up to the airlock, but it's never clogged and blown on me. I've done over 50 batches.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

a couple drops of fermcap will help avoid this.

 

[JonM]

^^This, +1,000.

 

[doornumber3]

I had to clean the ceiling once and it was bad. Immediately got 6 1/2 gallon carboys and now it's all good. Some big beers ill still use a blowoff for the first couple days but standard beers no need

 

[MWM777]

a couple drops of fermcap will help avoid this.

Agreed with foam issue. But my issue was more due to the build-up of gas pressure, not physical foam build-up. I'm not sure if a ferm cap reduces has production volumes. I could be wrong there.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[kombat]

Agreed with foam issue. But my issue was more due to the build-up of gas pressure, not physical foam build-up.

But if the krausen never reached - and clogged - the airlock, how would gas build up at all? It would just escape out the airlock. Problem solved. No explosion.

 

[MWM777]

But if the krausen never reached - and clogged - the airlock, how would gas build up at all? It would just escape out the airlock. Problem solved. No explosion.

Touché. It was a factor.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Homercidal]

I agree that temps can help control, and if my ferm chamber was working right I could dial down to what I'd like for temps. FermcapS is also a good way to prevent blowoff and boilover, but I'd like to keep out anything that didn't need to be in the beer. A proper blowoff device, and remembering to use it, should eliminate the need for fermcap.

This thread reminds me that I forgot to check my beer last night. Probably should do that before the wife gets home...

 

[fearwig]

Airlock in primary is truly nonsensical. I'd call it harmless, except for this. What is it with hefe yeast and big krausen? (Or maybe it's the wheat malt.) I had monster krausen in my brew bucket from a hefe this week, and I start them cold.

I know that if I can't talk someone out of using an $8 airlock I won't talk them out of using their $50 carboy, but man--you don't have these heartaches with buckets. Glass is for aging, I say.

 

[HopMama]

I have been debating whether to use my six gallon carboy, or my 7.8 gallon bucket to ferment my first batch of beer (5 gallons).....I don't have a blow off tube. After reading this, I think I'll go with the bucket!


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[HopMama]

How do I figure out what size of tubing to get for my carboy? Is there a standard size, or should it tell me in my brewing kit?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[MWM777]

How do I figure out what size of tubing to get for my carboy? Is there a standard size, or should it tell me in my brewing kit?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

Just measure the diameter of the inner tube of your airlock. I want to say it was around 3/8" or 1/2". I just took my plastic airlock into Home Depot with me, and made sure the plastic tube I bought fit over the airlock nozzle.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[HopMama]

Thank you! I would really like to be able to observe the process of fermentation, and I think it would make a cool science experiment for my kids to observe as well.....definitely getting a blow off tube so my next batch can go in the carboy! Again, thanks


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[MB331]

I'm a new brewer also and have only used glass carboys. It is really something watching the yeast in action. I just brewed an IPA using Wyeast 1968 and to say it is active is an understatement. If you get the chance to use it in the future, go for it.

 

[Flboy]

Not sure if it has been pointed out, but that blow off is incredibly good yeast! That is now my primary way to collect/harvest yeast.

 

[fearwig]

Well, it's all the same yeast. I mean I don't think there's been an objective measurement of that yeast that says it's better yeast, it's just the stuff that happened to be on top when the bubbles got out of hand.

I agree that glass carboys and airlocks are good for people who need to see their beer, talk to their beer, feel the beer is talking back, etc. But for primary fermentation that is the end of their purpose.

 

[kcmobrewer]

Lol that exact same thing happened to my first batch. Pliny ended up all over my bathroom, including the ceiling...