Alternative Airlock Ideas

[meyersbrewingcompany]

Anyone have any ideas on alternative airlocks? The only option I have for temperature controlled fermentation for my next batch is my grandma’s old mini fridge and it doesn’t have room for an airlock at the top of my carboy [emoji26].

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

[Biscuits]

I've heard of people using a ballon with a pin hole in it...or saran wrap with a pin hole....none of these will keep oxygen completely out but will get the job done.

 

[Schwabizzle]

It looks like you might be able to trim the shelves off of the door and then your carboy could fit on the bottom shelf. Not sure of your particular dimensions, but this is what I did when I built my kegerator.

 

[Biscuits]

Very true, if you are able to mutilate that fridge without pissing off grammy, you could trim off the plastic part of the door and that carboy would almost certaintlyfit on the floor of that fridge with plenty of room for an airlock.

 

[Jayjay1976]

If you'd prefer not to modify the fridge, you could get a drilled stopper, not the solid kind but the more flexible kind, they cost about $1.

Then, take a length of standard 3/8" vinyl tubing from your lhbs, lube it up with a dip in star san, and jam it into the hole. The non-solid, flexible nature of this type of bung will let the center hole tilt toward the side and the flexible hose will be able to bend over and down the side of the fermenter into a blowoff jar on the shelf behind the fermenter. I used to use solid bungs but replaced all of them with these universal types because they have a much lower profile to fit in my lagering chamber. They also fit more securely into the lids on my fermonsters and are far less likely to pop out.

Another option is to find a 3/8" nylon elbow fitting at your local big orange or blue store that fits into the center hole to make an even cleaner bend, then connect the hose to that. Actually, the elbow would work even with a standard solid drilled stopper if that's what you already have.

 

[meyersbrewingcompany]

Thanks everyone! Y’all rock!