Bung and Blow

[landoa]

Never thought i'd have a thread with that title, but you get the idea ....

So, for my blowoff, i've got a bung with a hole. I only have one tube (3/8" I think) that came with the racking cane. Of course, I cant stick the tube in the hole because its too tight. (never thought i'd say that either) ... actually i can get it in there, but then its all folded up and nothing can get through.

i am brewing tomorrow morning and could

1. ferment my one gallon batch in the two one gallon carboys i have
2. somehow cut a bigger bung hole, but how?
3. bottle from the 5 gallon fermenter where i currently have an APA (fermented two weeks now, so i hope its ready... i havent checked gravity though) and use it tomorrow.
4. risk painting the ceiling with just one of the one gallon carboys.

What would you do?

 

[Tom Foolery]

Is it really crimped to the point that air won't pass through? Did you try it when wet? I ask because if is 3/8" tubing, that's how I do a blow off.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

what type of airlock do you have? a long long time ago i took a 3 piece air lock and stuck it on the bung and instead of filling with water and the other pieces i shoved a hose on it as a blow off 3/8? maybe the size, i dont recall. but it worked for me at the time. if you do this check the bottom of the airlock some of them have like a webbing at the tip that pushes in. i cut this off to make it more open.

edit: you cold also drill the bung

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

went back about 5 years in my photos to find a picture i had of my 'riggin' .. that might be 1/2 inch hose but i bet if you had the hose in some hot water 3/8 would stretch on there. and yes that closet has been "painted" a few times before this. haha

 

[grampamark]

The center tube inside a 3 piece airlock is 1/2” OD. I just checked one of mine and 1/2” ID tubing is a perfect fit.

 

[McKnuckle]

^Yup... that's what you do. Attach tube to a standard airlock stem, no modifications required.

 

[landoa]

Is it really crimped to the point that air won't pass through? Did you try it when wet? I ask because if is 3/8" tubing, that's how I do a blow off.

Yes and yes. Actually, its 14mm ... which is 5/9"

 

[landoa]

what type of airlock do you have? a long long time ago i took a 3 piece air lock and stuck it on the bung and instead of filling with water and the other pieces i shoved a hose on it as a blow off 3/8? maybe the size, i dont recall. but it worked for me at the time. if you do this check the bottom of the airlock some of them have like a webbing at the tip that pushes in. i cut this off to make it more open.

edit: you cold also drill the bung

i've got the crappy S kind, not the 3 piece. but, since i have an extra, i could saw off the end that fits in the bungle hole and put the 5/9" tube over it. it would be a bit loose, so i'd have to tighten it with a plastic slip tie.

for drilling, think i should use a bit for metal or wood ... not sure if i have something for plastic

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

thats pretty soft stuff. if your gonna drill it either one would work.

 

[landoa]

actually i found a funnel that fits nicely. i'm gonna sacrifice it and cut off the top so i can plug in the tube. or, i can stuff the tube in the funnel hole ... just hoping it will be tight enough so that it doesn't blow.

 

[Murrayatuptown]

actually i found a funnel that fits nicely. i'm gonna sacrifice it and cut off the top so i can plug in the tube. or, i can stuff the tube in the funnel hole ... just hoping it will be tight enough so that it doesn't blow.

View attachment 716226

I was given a pair of carboys & rubber stoppers I thought looked discolored. I bought a (silicone?) 6.5 gal carboy cap, not believing it was different from the 5-gal carboy...both have the same size ID...but yes, the OD of the 6.5 gal is larger and blue rubber cap fits it. Has two different size stems that point upward, with push-on caps.

Too many sizes and lengths of tubing while looking for a blowoff to milk jug line, so I took a 3-piece airlock apart and used the cup/rigid tube bottom part...I jammed the tapered rigid pipe into the large tube part of the carboy cap (which snaps over the top), capped the carboy cap's small exit tube, and jammed a large flexible tube over the inside tube of the 3-piece (now 1-piece) air(not)lock. That tube goes into a 1-gal plastic water bottle partially filled with water. No leaks (actually no blowoff, making me wonder how well it was sealed).
The beer fully fermented. I can't detach the tube from inside the adapter 3-piece, but it looked to me like it was reusable...so I left it attached permanently.

When I was getting ready to measure SG, I replaced the snap-over carboy cap-tube contraption with a water-filled conventional serpentine one in a rubber stopper for the few days of wine-thief sample-grabs.

The rubber carboy cap fit so well it was work to install and remove.