airlock

[melauger]

Quick question.. I didn't have and airlock in my tank for the first 15 hours or so because it broke that night and had to buy one the next morning. Is this a big deal?

 

[bcryan]

shoud be ok as long as no spiders crawled in there

 

[MalFet]

No. I haven't used an airlock in ages. Keep the hole covered so junk doesn't drop in the future (if you didn't this time).

 

[melauger]

Broke my airlock whole brewing and couldn't get one till the next day.. so my beer was sucking oxygen through that little hole for about often hours, is this a big deal?

 

[BBKing]

Assuming you had your brew in a decently "safe" place like a closet you should probably be alright. Next time this happens I would sanitize a piece of aluminum foil and stick it over the hole where your airlock would go. If its only going to be a few hours before you can get an airlock, go ahead and pitch the yeast, as the sooner you start fermenting, the better your chances of avoiding infection.

Funny you start this thread. SWMBO is rushing to the LHBS for me tomorrow (while I brew) to get me a new 3 piece airlock. I threw the old one away when I got a new plastic 7.9 gallon fermentor to replace my old 6.5 gallon that I used for almost 3 years. I plan on doing the whole "aluminum foil" deal myself should she not arrive in time.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

It most likely wasn't sucking oxygen. I'm assuming it went into the fermentation vessel slightly warmer than room temp, ~74-80 degrees, so the heat from that will push air out of the airlock port. Also, assuming you pitched a proper amount of healthy yeast, the CO2 they create will push air out as well. You'll be fine. Look up "open fermentation" some time

 

[melauger]

I have to say that the people on this website are the most helpful people in the world.. thanks so much I've been reading brew books and everything so I can help people out too lol

 

[melauger]

Ok thanks alot

 

[melauger]

Not to mention its 326 am were I am