Better Bottle Blues

[njnear76]

I like my new better bottle. It is much better than the glass 6 gallon it replaced, but man the airlock suction problem is a pain.

I think I'm going to have to go blowoffs from now on. The suction thing happened 3 times already. Lucky for me it's vodka, but still. I would rather it not happen.

 

[springer]

I like my new better bottle. It is much better than the glass 6 gallon it replaced, but man the airlock suction problem is a pain.

I think I'm going to have to go blowoffs from now on. The suction thing happened 3 times already. Lucky for me it's vodka, but still. I would rather it not happen.

Are you moving the BB after its full? This will cause that problem. When I have to move a BB I take the airlock out and cover with some Saran wrap.

If you arent moving it I have nothin as I haven't experienced it without moving the BB.

 

[njnear76]

Are you moving the BB after its full? This will cause that problem. When I have to move a BB I take the airlock out and cover with some Saran wrap.

If you arent moving it I have nothin as I haven't experienced it without moving the BB.

Well, it was in a water bath. Initially I put too much water in and the better bottle was moving around too much. That was one suck.

The second time I tried pushing the airlock into the stopper a bit more, because I noticed the airlock was not as snug as it should be.

Hmmmm... maybe it was just twice. Perhaps I'm just anticipating another suckback. Heh.

I'm thinking of making a blowoff tube. Another user created one by simply putting a 1/2 ID tube over the airlock tube.

 

[springer]

Well ya anytime you play with the bb there is a chance of suckback because its plastic and gives. I would just remove the airlock when you adjust things on the BB

 

[TeleTwanger]

Suckback is really the only legitimate complaint with BB and it's so trivial. Just remove the airlock when moving, no big whoop.

 

[Bobby_M]

You can have suckback in a glass carboy also when the temp drops. A blowoff tube is just mandatory on the first 5 days of fermentation anyway. It's a no brainer. Anytime you think you'll be fine, you find the airlock and stopper on the floor.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

A blowoff tube is just mandatory on the first 5 days of fermentation anyway. It's a no brainer. Anytime you think you'll be fine, you find the airlock and stopper on the floor.

You know, I've never used a blowoff tube and so far I've never needed one. Could be because I use FermCap in the boil, and I don't brew huge beers or Hefes, or use other yeast strains known for explosive behavior.

I'm probably tempting fate by even posting this, and my next batch will end up on the floor of my chest freezer!

 

[njnear76]

You know, I've never used a blowoff tube and so far I've never needed one. Could be because I use FermCap in the boil, and I don't brew huge beers or Hefes, or use other yeast strains known for explosive behavior.

Fermcap helps out a lot. I used have blowoffs all the time before I started using it.

 

[joeunc]

I always use blowoff tubes in my Better Bottles until fermentation calms down and the bubbling goes to about 1 every 12-15 seconds. Then I use the better bottle dry tap air lock. Also I only use the better bottle stopper in top of mine no generic stoppers.
The ones made for always seem to fit snugger and accept they accept standard hose sizes, Just check the better bottle website.

I move mine with the black harness thing it sits and then clips around it (can't remember what it's called) and has handles on the side. Then there is no squeezing and very little shaking when moving it.

 

[njnear76]

Is it a big deal if I just keep the blowoff tube in?

I also don't feel like paying $15 for a better bottle bung. The universal or size 10 work just as good.

 

[joeunc]

blowoff is fine,,it just starts to smell after a while . But I have done many batches with blowoff tube all the way to bottling.

I have two of the better bottle stoppers so I can do oxygen free secondaty racking to my second Better Bottle if the beer needs it.







Primary-=-=- Belgian Grand Cru
Bottles=-=-=- AHS Double Chocolate Stout

 

[njnear76]

blowoff is fine,,it just starts to smell after a while . But I have done many batches with blowoff tube all the way to bottling.

To me... the smell of blowoff tubing is the smell of heaven.

 

[denimglen]

I find you get little to no suckback if you stick your hand under the BB on the bottom and very slightly pushing up the indented part to support it. Seems this is the part the has the most give. That's with a carboy cap with an 'S' airlock filled to the line.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

Also I only use the better bottle stopper in top of mine no generic stoppers.
The ones made for always seem to fit snugger and accept they accept standard hose sizes, Just check the better bottle website.

I use standard orange carboy caps, they fit perfectly. I generally don't fill the airlock until I've placed the fermenter into my chest freezer. Should I have to move it with the airlock full, I just remove the white cap from the secondary port of the carboy cap and replace it when I'm done.

If you just think it through, suckback with better bottles is a non-issue.

 

[knarfks]

Move it in a milk crate, then there are no problems. I use it because getting one in and out of a chest freezer is a pain anyway.

 

[TeleTwanger]

I also don't feel like paying $15 for a better bottle bung. The universal or size 10 work just as good.

$15 is silly. I payed $22 for the BB and $1.79 for the stopper.

 

[njnear76]

I'm curious about the medium silicone vented stoppers. This seems ideal for a better bottle after primary fermentation dies down. You can get one for 5 bucks at more beer. I don't much about them though. Anyone have experience?

 

[rico567]

I just use the #10 generic stopper in my 5 gal. Better Bottle. OTOH, I do nothing but secondaries in a carboy. All my primary fermentation is done in the plastic bucket ("Ale Pail"). It all works for me.

 

[missing link]

using the S shaped bubbler airlock allows air to pass in either direction without sucking fluid into the bottle and no need to remove the airlock during movement.

 

[njnear76]

using the S shaped bubbler airlock allows air to pass in either direction without sucking fluid into the bottle and no need to remove the airlock during movement.

Cool. I was thinking about trying an S airlock. I think I might stick with the blowoff tube (1/2 inch ID over the airlock tube) the whole ferment for this batch.

How often do you have to add vodka to an S airlock?
Mike

 

[missing link]

I use star san, I have to add a little every couple of days during active fermentation but then almost never once it slows down.

Linc

 

[gxm]

+1 to using Star San in an S-lock after the blowoff period. I get zero suck back and haven't needed to add fluid in 1+ month time frames.

 

[denimglen]

using the S shaped bubbler airlock allows air to pass in either direction without sucking fluid into the bottle and no need to remove the airlock during movement.

Some S-locks allow suckback, mine does. Might have something to do with the length of the verticals though.

 

[BarleyWater]

I only use the S-locks now. The hard plastic on the 3 piece can crack, the S is softer plastic. You can get suckback in the S type airlock, but is not as big a problem as a 3 piece, and they don't seem to pop off the way the 3 piece ones do when a blowoff starts, just flows right through onto the floor, creating a mess, but not as big of one.

 

[njnear76]

A lot of people claim that S airlocks are a pain if they get gunked up by blowoff.

I would think that a soak in oxyclean would clean it up. Am I wrong? Maybe I'll purchase some S locks in the future.

 

[GearBeer]

I had a blowoff a little while ago with a S-airlock in place. Honestly, it was fine to clean. I did get to it right away, but I just soaked it for a couple hours, sprayed it out and cleaned it.

Whether or not a S-airlock permits suckback or not is a function of the volume of fluid in it. Basically, the mass of the fluid counteracts the variation in pressure. If you have too much fluid in the air lock the fluid will get pulled up too far before the airlock allows suckback.

 

[Rhoobarb]

A lot of people claim that S airlocks are a pain if they get gunked up by blowoff. ... I would think that a soak in oxyclean would clean it up. Am I wrong? Maybe I'll purchase some S locks in the future.

You'd think right! I just had this happen on a ten gallon batch last week. One carboy had a 3-pc., the other an S-style. Both were full o' blow-off gunk. I soaked them both in a bowl of hot tap water and Oxyclean for ~15 mins. That and a small amount of work with a tiny bottle brush and they were both good as new.

 

[G-E-R-M-A-N]

You can have suckback in a glass carboy also when the temp drops. A blowoff tube is just mandatory on the first 5 days of fermentation anyway. It's a no brainer. Anytime you think you'll be fine, you find the airlock and stopper on the floor.

Yup! Learned that when i crash cooled my heff the other day. It sucked back starsan Yum!