Airlock seal disaster!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

TheFurstyFerret

Active Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
26
Reaction score
4
Afternoon all.

I've been reading loads on here and watching youtube videos before I actually took the plunge.

Well today I did - literally!

Bought basic brewing apparatus last week and a Coopers IPA extract kit today.

Sanitized everything carefully and went to work.

Dissolved the 500g spray malt and 800g dextrose in water, then added the extract.

Poured into the fermenter, made up to 5g (not the 23L as in the instructions), took the hydrometer reading (1.042), pitched the yeast and put the lid on.

Lastly, the simple step of placing the airlock on. Aha - as I pushed it the rubber seal went into the wort! I quickly got the lid off and all I could think of was the sanitized spoon. I couldn't feel it so I rolled the sleeve up and went in elbow deep!

Got it out, washed hands, reattached the seal and put the airlock on before I put the fermenter lid on.

Just goes to show that no matter how much research you do - there will always be a mistake!

My hands have never been cleaner so I hope I didn't infect the wort!

Cheers!
 
Lol. Ur not the first. No point in worrying about it now. Sit back and wait...it may turn out just fine.
 
I am having airlock problems as well. I am experiencing suck back and the water from the airlock is going into the fermenter. I didn't use a star san solution or vodka in there, just plain water. I hope I dont get an infection from it.
 
I have a friend who's husband once dropped some equipment in to the brew. I think they blamed it on too much finished beer mixed with the brewing process (if you catch my drift). they called that batch Right Arm Red. :)
 
I am having airlock problems as well. I am experiencing suck back and the water from the airlock is going into the fermenter. I didn't use a star san solution or vodka in there, just plain water. I hope I dont get an infection from it.

Your beer is getting colder, so the pressure differential is sucking air in...definately put some starsan solution or something in there and keep an eye on it that it doesnt dry out your airlock.
 
Cutting a 6 gallon batch down to 5G with an OG of 1.042 sounds a little low. Should've been at that number with 6 gallons. Maybe you didn't get the wort & top off water mixed enough? Pretty common problem.
 
Put the air lock on before you put the lid on... No more grommet fishing!
 
Those grommets will dry out and crack with time and use.
Next time you are at the brew shop or ordering online, pick up a few extra to have on hand (they're cheap). If you push one in again, just sanitize and install a new one. You can fish the swimmer out later.
 
Thanks all.

Made more than 1 noob error then!

Wish I'd sanitized my arm!

Good idea with extra rubber seals.

I was thinking the OG was low for the gallon reduction in water. As the yeast is top to bottom working I wonder if I'd better just let it ferment for an extra week or just open it up and just give it a good stir?
 
Thanks all.

Made more than 1 noob error then!

Wish I'd sanitized my arm!

Good idea with extra rubber seals.

I was thinking the OG was low for the gallon reduction in water. As the yeast is top to bottom working I wonder if I'd better just let it ferment for an extra week or just open it up and just give it a good stir?

Don't even think of stirring that fermenting beer. The yeast will mix it up just fine and if you stir it you would oxidize the beer.
 
As I was dumping my LME in last weekend I dropped the milk cap seal ring into my wort (with all the tape on the cap i didn't understand why it was there anyway)....luckily it was only in there for about 30sec before i fished it out.
 
As I was dumping my LME in last weekend I dropped the milk cap seal ring into my wort (with all the tape on the cap i didn't understand why it was there anyway)....luckily it was only in there for about 30sec before i fished it out.

:off: Btw just pointing out another simple mistake!
 
thaworm69 said:
As I was dumping my LME in last weekend I dropped the milk cap seal ring into my wort (with all the tape on the cap i didn't understand why it was there anyway)....luckily it was only in there for about 30sec before i fished it out.

Of course, if you were adding your LME during the boil, or while the wort was still very hot, there's no reason to be worried about sanitation.
 
good stuff... while setting up to chill my first extract boil, hooked up new chiller to garden hose, turned water on and everything is going great. was watching the flow of spent water looked back and my chiller is spewing water straight into bucket from a small pinhole leak in copper near the top. plugged with my finger and just hope no contamination. so far so good, racked to secondary and looks real clean and smells perfect.
 
Lol... I would think most people have dropped something in the wort... I have extra grommets now just because of that... its that thought process just before you shove your arm up to the elbow into the wort .....that really goes like....... crap... what do I do now,,...where's the star San,........
 
Back
Top