Airlock liquid

[gladdybrewer87]

What does everyone use for an airlock liquid? I used star san solution for awhile but im consistently having to refill the airlock with more solution because it bubbles out of the double bubbler. I have used a 3 piece and gotten slightly better results but it still bubbles out. I recently just put water in my airlock and i dont have the issue (because of the star san foaming i believe). But i am afraid of contamination with water since its not really a sanitizing solution. Am i just over thinking it? Or what liquid do you guys use? Thanks in advance.

 

[Snuffy]

All I use is filtered water. Never had an issue.

 

[mac_1103]

Other than Starsan, about the only things I've heard people say they use are water and cheap vodka. Vodka is sanitizing, at least until the ethanol evaporates.

 

[doug293cz]

Vodka or Everclear works well in an airlock if you want something sanitizing and non-foaming. And if you get suck back - BONUS!

Brew on

 

[BongoYodeler]

I've ditched the airlock and am now 100% blowoff into a plastic pitcher of Star San solution.

 

[worlddivides]

I've used vodka since late 2014. I used Starsan before that, but I remember some of it getting sucked into the fermenter and not really liking that at the time, so I switched to vodka and have used vodka ever since (since the idea of vodka getting sucked into the fermenter was a much more pleasant idea to me).

 

[RM-MN]

I use tap water. I don't try to cold crash so I don't get suck back.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Tap water in a milk bottle with a tube into it. UK tap water is not contaminated.

 

[MikeCo]

Starsan

 

[Whisky River]

Vodka or Everclear works well in an airlock if you want something sanitizing and non-foaming. And if you get suck back - BONUS!

Brew on

@doug293cz I think you may be on to something brilliant here!

Let’s combine this idea with the anti-suck back device thread and the biab sparge efficiency complaint thread and create the “intentional vodka suck back technique”. We can figure out how much suck back a standard batch generates during cold crash and size the blow off hose and vodka container height to intentionally suck back the amount of vodka necessary to increase the abv of the beer the requisite amount to offset the loss in efficiency of a no-sparge biab!

Just like that, 3 problems, one solution! and then maybe maybe we can stop rehashing all three issues every few months

(Play: real men of genius theme song)

 

[Slim M]

I've ditched the airlock and am now 100% blowoff into a plastic pitcher of Star San solution.

Yeah I did the same because back when I moved up to 12 gallon batches first run I put an airlock on it and it pretty much blew it off when things got rolling.

Basically I get a cheap quart spray bottle from the dollar store and drill a couple holes in the upper neck so I can run a shower curtain hook though it and hang it on my fermenter handle. I always use Star San.

 

[sixstring]

What does everyone use for an airlock liquid? I used star san solution for awhile but im consistently having to refill the airlock with more solution because it bubbles out of the double bubbler. I have used a 3 piece and gotten slightly better results but it still bubbles out. I recently just put water in my airlock and i dont have the issue (because of the star san foaming i believe). But i am afraid of contamination with water since its not really a sanitizing solution. Am i just over thinking it? Or what liquid do you guys use? Thanks in advance.

Overthinking it. We all have (i still do).
Like most people here, I switched from an airlock to a blow off (this still makes me chuckle that it's called this. Ask anyone in the UK what a blow off is and you'll understand why (if you are still amused by toilet humour that is)) tube.
They're just easier to work with and once you have the tube submerged, then you're not getting anything in it to contaminate your wort anyway.
Mine goes into a 1 gallon carboy I got given in a very old brewing kit that someone thought I could brew (it was only about 10 years old ).
Then I just fill that halfway with water and enjoy the bubbling noises it makes when I go check on my fermenters.

But you don't really need anything more than water in the airlock. It will work fine.

If you're going to plan on cold crashing your beers, then I suggest saving yourself some hassle later and just buying some Cold Crash Guardians from brewhardware.com: https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ccguardianv3.htm

 

[Whisky River]

Overthinking it. We all have (i still do).
Like most people here, I switched from an airlock to a blow off (this still makes me chuckle that it's called this. Ask anyone in the UK what a blow off is and you'll understand why (if you are still amused by toilet humour that is)) tube.
They're just easier to work with and once you have the tube submerged, then you're not getting anything in it to contaminate your wort anyway.
Mine goes into a 1 gallon carboy I got given in a very old brewing kit that someone thought I could brew (it was only about 10 years old ).
Then I just fill that halfway with water and enjoy the bubbling noises it makes when I go check on my fermenters.

But you don't really need anything more than water in the airlock. It will work fine.

I think a lot of people do some version of the same thing but I would caution against using just plain water in a blow off jar. I can’t remember if bugs exist in Arizona but where I am they are plentiful and leaving a container of plain water out for two to three weeks will attract them all, as well as a lot of dust and detritus from the air. If ANY of that water gets sucked back into your fermenter, like during a particularly cold night (also not sure if those exist in AZ), that could easily contaminate your whole batch.

Using a container of starsan would at least mitigate the risk of contamination. But I have found it tends to eat the vinyl tubing a little bit so using a bit of stainless tubing in the submerged end of the tube can help.

(Or just see post #10)

 

[mac_1103]

Arizona is a big state. If you start in the right place and drive in the right direction, you can do find three or four completely different climates in a few hours.

 

[sixstring]

I think a lot of people do some version of the same thing but I would caution against using just plain water in a blow off jar. I can’t remember if bugs exist in Arizona but where I am they are plentiful and leaving a container of plain water out for two to three weeks will attract them all, as well as a lot of dust and detritus from the air. If ANY of that water gets sucked back into your fermenter, like during a particularly cold night (also not sure if those exist in AZ), that could easily contaminate your whole batch.

Using a container of starsan would at least mitigate the risk of contamination. But I have found it tends to eat the vinyl tubing a little bit so using a bit of stainless tubing in the submerged end of the tube can help.

(Or just see post #10)

The room I ferment in is pretty much the same temp all year round. Also I have cold crash guardians on for my blow off tubes, so there's no chance of any suck back, since it'll just suck the C02 from the bladder first. Another win for those things.

 

[sixstring]

Arizona is a big state. If you start in the right place and drive in the right direction, you can do find three or four completely different climates in a few hours.

And I'm stuck in the worst one. Would much prefer to be up in Prescott or Flagstaff, but no, instead I moved from a perfectly great climate in south eastern England to an oven that doesn't have an off switch