Better blowoff device??

I've gotten sick of the mess and cleanup with the old fashioned big bore blowoff tube. I want to fashion something more permanent and possibly to aid in harvesting yeast off of the top (provided it is sufficiently sanitized). I ferment in glass carboys, so I need a means of attaching to the top.

I was thinking something along the lines of this (would love feedback). A fitting tightened on the carboy neck snugly but not airtight. A carboy cap with the top cut off in the shape of a big bore blowoff tube. A large vessel on top of the hole in the carboy cap to provide headspace for blowoff/allow for harvesting of yeast (with a vented lid on it), perhaps a few liters.

Ok, time to break out the MS paint skills...



Edit: The picture should show that the clamp is attached to the carboy cap/blowoff container

 

I use this blow off setup. It all comes apart for easy cleaning and I can use it for the glass carboy and a better bottle which have different diameter openings. I haven't developed a way yet to harvest the blow off yeast.

 

Is that a drilled out stopper in the carboy? What is the other piece before the PVC elbow?

 

You could use a stopper and tubing of the right size (say, 1/2 inch diameter or so) from the carboy to a smaller, sanitized vessel like a growler. Use a 2-hole stopper on the growler with the hose in one side and an airlock on the other, and voila! you have a closed collector on the blow-off.

This seems somewhat similar to a Burton Union arrangement, except that a closed collector below the fermenter wouldn't flow yeast and foam back into the fermenter.

Burton Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burton Union in Use

 

are you going to have some type of flow valve on this? Seems to me whatever goes into the upper vessel is just going to drop back into the carboy.

 

Yes, I was thinking I'd have a means of stopping the flow at high krausen, harvesting the yeast, and putting the re-sanitized "container" back into the carboy cap

 

I think that this device, especially with the backflow valve and the ability to vent CO2 while the Kraeusen has already fallen, will be more complicated than a sanitized hose into a sanitized vessel with sanitized water. The latter is for harvesting yeast. If you don’t want to do that you don’t have to sanitize the overflow vessel or liquid. I just clean it and use tap water in it. Maybe w/ some JetDry to control the foaming in there.

Kai

 

Better Bottles have larger diameter than a carboy so I drilled the stopper to fit the 1.25" blow of tube that fits the carboy. There is a 3/4 pvc union into the 90 elbow. Here is pic.

 

Are you saying you collect yeast from the sanitized water? Do you boil the water prior to using it?

 

Yes, I collect the yeast from the sanitized water. If you want to use true top cropping of the yeast, use a bucket for fermenting.

Kai

 

Your idea got me thinking, would something like this be easier to keep sanitary?

have a setup like a normal blow off tube, but have it dump into a "Collection bottle" first, and the gas can escape to a second bottle with your sanitary solution in it to keep things clean and properly vented.

With a stiff tube sticking into the carboy you could adjust its height to collect what you want by using the CO2 pressure generated, and the rest of the time just let it gas off normally. This way it doesn't need a check-valve of any sort, and there wouldn't be a risk of anything backflowing into your beer.

I haven't brewed anything yet, just been studying, but figured i'd throw this idea out there.

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/147532/DNM/Idea.jpg (link incase this image doesn't load below.)

sorry if this is large:

 

I know what you have here is not to scale but the second container needs to be at least 2 to 3 gallons because the foam will be a lot more than you think on some batches. I have done this before to catch yeast and it works good. I used 1/2 inch ID tubing.

 

to keep it sanitary I wrap plastic wrap around the hose and neck of the collection bottle.

Kai

 

Still not a "scale" drawing, but I changed it to avoid confusion for people who may not read the next post in excitement!!

 

Very cool stuff (and much simpler!). I'm thinking of fermenting in a 6 gallon carboy and using a two gallon harvesting vessel.