Broken air lock

[DrifterFred]

so I broke my airlock last night...I've got a batch sitting in a carboy since 4/1, when to take a gravity reading and snapped the airlock...I sanatized a zipock bag and loosely tied it over the stopper and neck...how long, if at all, will this last me...I can't get another airlock until my ride home from work...so that will leave the current situation in place for about 18 hours...

 

[Geordan]

Don't stress too much -- more than once I've removed an airlock and fastened a sanitized sandwich bag over the carboy's mouth (only way they will fit in the fridge for cold crashing). The two main purposes of the airlock are to stop things from entering the vessel and to release the CO2 produced during fermentation; as your batch is over a week into its life, the rate at which CO2 is produced has slowed significantly, and your ziplock bag will stop crud from getting in.

In short, RDWHAHB -- it's all good!

 

[BamaRooster]

Don't stress too much -- more than once I've removed an airlock and fastened a sanitized sandwich bag over the carboy's mouth (only way they will fit in the fridge for cold crashing). The two main purposes of the airlock are to stop things from entering the vessel and to release the CO2 produced during fermentation; as your batch is over a week into its life, the rate at which CO2 is produced has slowed significantly, and your ziplock bag will stop crud from getting in.

In short, RDWHAHB -- it's all good!

+1 your good!

 

[DrifterFred]

thanks...had a bit of worry there...thought..anther week or so in the carboy a couple of weeks in bottles...open one up and junk...would have been really amd at miself...thanks