Closing the barn door? Do I need blowoff now?

[bearymore]

Well, my IPA exploded. I have 5 gallons in a 6 gallon plastic bucket. OG was 1.061. Last night, some time between 1 AM and 6 AM, the airlock clogged up and the top of the fermenter blew off. This morning I sanitized the lid and airlock and replaced them. So far, after a few hours, the airlock is bubbling but there is no sign of krausen entering the airlock.

What I intend to do for the next brew is to make a blowoff tube out of a stopper and some plastic tubing. Since the homebrew store is closed, I can't get a stopper now. Should I go to the hardware store and get some 1.25" vinyl tubing now to shove through the hole in the top of the fermenter or am I safe to continue with the airlock? The krausen seems to be sitting about half way between the five gallon mark and the top of the fermenter.

 

[Revvy]

If you are using a 3 piece..do this.

You have to find a piece of long hose that will fit in the center pipe of your airlock...I had to do it in a pinch and found the the hose I had for my bottling wand almost fit....I put a small slit in it, then I soaked it in hot water for a few minutes to Soften and slid it around the tube...

I also found it is a good idea to cut, saw or break off the little criss crossing piece of plastic at the bottom of the airlock. It worked great! I used a plastic gallon applejuice jug and sanitized water to submerge the hose in.

 

[Redweasel]

Had the same problem and just got a length of 3/8" diameter siphon tubing and ran it from the hole my airlock was to a jar of cheap vodka and it has worked fine.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

If you are using a 3 piece..do this.

I do this. Works fine and like he said, make sure the little cris cross part on the bootom of the air lock (on some air locks) is cut off.

 

[FlyGuy]

I avoid blow-offs now by using Fermcap/Foam Control. Blow-off tubes (especially the big one) can be a PITA to clean, and I always worried they were a potential source of infection. With foam control, I am back to using standard 3-piece airlocks that are super easy to use and clean.

 

[RoaringBrewer]

I use a 1" + piece (might even be 1 1/2" - it fits snug in the carboy mouth without a stopper) of blowoff tube on my 6.5g carboy when needed. It's big eough and short enough (maybe 3'), that I can clean it up with a bottle brush (that I never use anyway) or a carboy brush might even fit through it although I haven't tried it...

Normally a 3-piece airlock suffices though... luckily I caught this latest batch or I would have had a mess on my hands. Came home when the first bit of krausen was entering the airlock... Majorrrr krausen on this one considering I had a 1.5g worth of headspace!

 

[Revvy]

I do this. Works fine and like he said, make sure the little cris cross part on the bootom of the air lock (on some air locks) is cut off.

Do you know if that criss-cross serves any real purpose? I have one dedicated blowoff tube airlock (one that I lost the white top) which I sawed off the criss cross...I've been wondering if I should just cut them off all the rest of mine as well.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

No real purpose. My old one don't have it the new ones do. I cut them off. I forgot about it on my latest brew with a new airlock and the bung popped off like a gunshot whilst I was typing on the laptop.