Air Lock Water

[maxcar13]

So I've just brewed my first batch of beer and it's been in it's primary for about 36 hours and for whatever reason my airlock keeps losing all of it's water. The beer is fermenting like crazy but I don't know why I'm losing water. I keep filling it up but am I missing something?

 

[Alemann]

Pics ?

 

[Fritobandito]

Maybe it has a crack that it's leaking from. Do you have a different airlock you could try?

 

[Alemann]

Fritos prolly right never heard a airlock losing all the water

 

[steber]

So I've just brewed my first batch of beer and it's been in it's primary for about 36 hours and for whatever reason my airlock keeps losing all of it's water. The beer is fermenting like crazy but I don't know why I'm losing water. I keep filling it up but am I missing something?

3 piece? Examine the center piece to see if there is a leak? If you're getting postive pressure (co2) and losing water id just try and get another airlock at the lhbs. They are cheap enough. Save the headache of trouble shooting. Plus if the original turns out to be fine down the road then gives you reason to buy another carboy!

 

[maxcar13]

It keeps bubbling out the top. Too much star San?

 

[kh54s10]

Looks OK, but you should not be losing the water. The foam from the Starsan is not a problem at all.

You could set up a blow off tube. Then it would take a major weather change to move the water.

I always set up a blow off tube in the beginning - just in case. It is better than cleaning wort off the ceiling.

 

[brewingbryan]

I've had a similar experience - hopefully nothing serious. For me, it's entirely been related to the activity of the yeast. The blow off valve/stopper will lose SOME sanitized water, but not the whole thing. Typically, the sanitized water will bubble a little and lose some space, but it's nothing I've worried about.

I have added extra sanitized water to the stopper if I deemed necessary, but I don't think it's impacted the final outcome. My assumption is you're probably ok.

 

[BradleyBrew]

its gotta be a crack. a hairline crack will slowly leak water. I put starsan and excessive foaming will cause the level of starsan in the lock to decrease.

 

[brewingbryan]

Looks OK, but you should not be losing the water. The foam from the Starsan is not a problem at all.

You could set up a blow off tube. Then it would take a major weather change to move the water.

I always set up a blow off tube in the beginning - just in case. It is better than cleaning wort off the ceiling.

I'll second this, although it's depended on the type of beer I brewed. Your starting gravity will obviously give you the right idea of whether you'll need blow offf tube or not. This is something I worried (and learned) quickly because it was also a worry for me.

 

[D0ug]

I have had really foamy, high concentration, starsan solutions almost entirely foam out of my S shaped airlocks during vigorous fermentations. There is usually a tell tale trail of foam flowing down the side of the airlock or carboy though, so it's not much of a mystery when it happens.

Try vodka or water.

 

[Stauffbier]

So I've just brewed my first batch of beer and it's been in it's primary for about 36 hours and for whatever reason my airlock keeps losing all of it's water. The beer is fermenting like crazy but I don't know why I'm losing water. I keep filling it up but am I missing something?

It's just bubbling out and evaporating. It happens to me all the time. When it goes down just add more starsan solution. Easy as that!

 

[maxcar13]

Thanks guys, I just set up a blow off hose to be safe