Air Lock

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wildcatman17

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Ok so I just finished my boil put in yeast put air lock on noticed it wasnt half full so I took cap off added some more water just a little not even an ounce it ran in bucket.. Didnt realize that was gonna happen think i destroyed my beer I sure hope not ..Air lock was sanitized but container I used to fill again wasn't.....:confused:
 
RDWHAHB. It'll be fine. I've had the tubes from my immersion chiller pop off and got hose water into the kettle and could never tell.
 
Thanks for the re-assurance I have been freaking the whole time up to brew time . Everything went good untin this airlock thing....
 
Yup. suck-back,caused by a partial vacuum in the head space. Must cooled down quick or something by the time you tried to re-fill it. Got that a couple weeks ago. But I use cheap grocery store vodka in my airlocks. Any nasties that get through the little holes in the airlock cap die of alcohol poisoning.
 
Agreed... Your beer should be fine. Use Starsan, or Vodka for your airlock, or just use a blow off tube to eliminate the risk going forward.
 
Another vote for Star-San or vodka in the airlock.

It can also get sucked into the bucket during a cold crash.
 
Went to check on my beer this morning to see if it has started fermenting and the Air lock is low on liquid again less than half full Whats going on here......:confused:
 
I use star-san in my airlock, star-san in my water bath when I need one, I keep a bucket of star-san handy. Everything goes into star-san before it even gets near my beer, including my hands. It keeps all the nasties out.
 
The thing I don't like about starsan in the airlock is that when bubbling,it foams up goes out & is lost. Cheap vodka doesn't do this.
 
Yup,suck back. When the wort cools down,it creates a partial vacuum & sucks the airlock liquid back into the fermenter. Unless you're filling the airlock with starsan. That stuff foams up & out when bubbling occurs.
 
Definitely sounds like your wort is too hot when you're pitching/sealing.
 
^

And if it's still sucking it in after sitting overnight, it's still too warm........Gonna produce off flavors, too late to fix now......
 
The thing I don't like about starsan in the airlock is that when bubbling,it foams up goes out & is lost. Cheap vodka doesn't do this.

I'm surprised to hear that you're having that issue. I fill my S-type airlocks even with the fill line with StarSan and never have had to add any during the whole 2-3 week process.

wort was 65 when I pitched my yeast it is at 64 now,,

Excellent.:)
 
Puhleeeeeeaaaasssseeeee!!! Vodka will NOT kill nasties!
I got my arse chewed royally while on the job making synthetic DNA because I made the same assumption. The alcohol has to be 70%, AND there MUST be water also, so you need 30% water. That is why isopropyl alcohol swabs are 70% iPA and 30% water. If suckback is a problem, why not put a reservoir in the system: between the airlock and the carboy, put a plastic bag full of filtered air, and, later, it will fill with CO2, solving the problem of Head Space Oxidation. Jeez!
 
How long should my air lock keep bubbling its been 3 1/2 days and it seems to br slowing down..
 
That sounds normal. It doesn't really matter how much the airlock bubbles per se.
 
How long should my air lock keep bubbling its been 3 1/2 days and it seems to br slowing down..

That's pretty normal.

Sometimes they bubble a bunch for 2 days and then quit. Sometimes they bubble 7 days (like a lager). Sometimes they never bubble at all, but fermentation still happens and you get beer!
:rockin:
 
Puhleeeeeeaaaasssseeeee!!! Vodka will NOT kill nasties!
I got my arse chewed royally while on the job making synthetic DNA because I made the same assumption. The alcohol has to be 70%, AND there MUST be water also, so you need 30% water. That is why isopropyl alcohol swabs are 70% iPA and 30% water. If suckback is a problem, why not put a reservoir in the system: between the airlock and the carboy, put a plastic bag full of filtered air, and, later, it will fill with CO2, solving the problem of Head Space Oxidation. Jeez!

What about Bourbon? :D
 

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