Blowoff Jug Empty?!

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hayabusa

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Check me on something.....


The mason jar that was full of Starsan, and my blowoff tube was in is now empty. It didn't evaporate overnight in a sealed chamber and I changed the Starsan out yesterday... I am fermenting in a cornie... any chance of negative pressure pulling it into the cornie? I can't imagine that would be possible but the solution is missing.... no mess in the chamber, no holes in the glass.

?
 
Yes it is possible. I don't know the tech. terms for it but from what I understand a differance in temp. or pressure could cause a suction. I've read that most would not worry about the starsan in the beer a mason jar should not do that much damage.
 
a monkey snuck into your house - kicked over your starsan jar; cleaned up the mess, and put the mason jar back upright.
 
a monkey snuck into your house - kicked over your starsan jar; cleaned up the mess, and put the mason jar back upright.


f-kin monkies....

chamber stays at 62F constant - wasn't temperature. Weird. I'm not to worried about it...... cest la vie.
 
If your mason jar is higher than your fermenter then gravity can also do the damndest things. Most likely though it was fermenting and then stopped, pressure dropped and sucked it into the fermenter.
 
If your mason jar is higher than your fermenter then gravity can also do the damndest things. Most likely though it was fermenting and then stopped, pressure dropped and sucked it into the fermenter.

its not, its on the floor... I know it has to be something but the obvious doesn't fit the situation... I like the monkey... blame the damned monkeys.
 
What is the ID of your tubing? I always use a big bore blowoff tube (at least 1" ID) to prevent things like this
 
well my guess is that if you put a 1/2" dia tubing into water and suck on it, its not that hard. If you put a 1" dia tubing into water and suck on it it would be a lot more difficult to move the water.

:mug:

-Nick
 
f-kin monkies....

chamber stays at 62F constant - wasn't temperature. Weird. I'm not to worried about it...... cest la vie.

Was the liquid 62 when it went into the chamber? If not, that's what happened, suckback. If it was, check for monkey tracks.
 
It's been in the chamber for 15 days, I've just been to last to pull the tube and slap some tinfoil down. Fermentation was pretty much complete and the yeasties were just cleaning up house at this point... so yep - it was all to temp.

I'm going to keg it today. I found this picture online so I am going to use it and call this batch Bad-Monkey-Brown

bad_monkey_300.gif
 
I don't put any solution into my blow-off container. The loop of 1" tubing will keep out bacteria and wild yeast and there isn't any back pressure on your fermentor which can inhibit healthy yeast growth/fermentation.

GT
 
I don't put any solution into my blow-off container. The loop of 1" tubing will keep out bacteria and wild yeast and there isn't any back pressure on your fermentor which can inhibit healthy yeast growth/fermentation.

GT

It will keep out wild yeast and bacteria, but not bugs (literal bugs). Fruit flies, etc. can and do carry wild yeasts and bacteria. I wouldn't recommend your method.
 
Plus diameter matters (to the earlier comment) in that you can fit a whole lot more liquid in a 1" ID tube than a 1/2" ID tube. Assuming a blowoff tube of 4 feet, the volume of a 1" ID tube is 37.7 square inches. The volume of a 1/2" ID tube of the same length is 9.4 square inches (aka a heckuva lot more volume). Go with the bigger blowoff tube, 1.25" OD fits right into the neck of a carboy.
 
well my guess is that if you put a 1/2" dia tubing into water and suck on it, its not that hard. If you put a 1" dia tubing into water and suck on it it would be a lot more difficult to move the water.:mug:

-Nick

Actually this isn't true. Static pressure head is only dependent on the density of the fluid and has no relationship to the diameter of the tubing. Water exerts 0.433 psi per vertical foot of head. Equal suction on hoses of different diameters will cause the water to rise to equal levels. It's simply the weight of the water column due to the force of gravity.

A larger diameter blow off tube is less likely to become plugged with debris which can cause major problems under the right circumstances. The suck back experienced is due to a change in temperature. The beer can commonly ferment at several degrees above ambient then cool down as the ferment subsides. This few degrees is sometimes enough to suck back liquid in the air lock or blow off jar.
 
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