constant airlock emptying - help!

[JLem]

not sure what's going on, but I have had to refill my airlock three times in the past 2 hours. Can anyone help? Here are the details:

Began the brew a month ago - fermented with a Sacc. strain.
2 weeks ago I racked it to a glass carboy, added some cranberries and a vial of Brett.
Temperature is a constant 65°F
No apparent issues until tonight when I have had to refill the airlock 3 times.
(note: more details on the brew can be found here)

Given the amount of headspace, I would normally blame this on decreasing temps, but the max/min thermometer I have next to the carboy shows that the temps have been between 64.7°F and 65.4°F

What else could it be if it is not the temperature?

 

[Yooper]

Is the barometric pressure changing? As in, a storm coming or a big change in the weather?

 

[IffyG]

Big swings in barometric pressure?

 

[JLem]

hadn't thought of that - pressure is trending up, though I don't think things are changing that rapidly.

Any suggestions on what to do other than keep filling the airlock every hour? (I'm about to go to bed!).

 

[Yooper]

hadn't thought of that - pressure is trending up, though I don't think things are changing that rapidly.

Any suggestions on what to do other than keep filling the airlock every hour? (I'm about to go to bed!).

Take it off and cover it with sanitized foil? Or a closed carboy cap?

 

[a10t2]

Or just leave it. Contamination-wise, there's little difference between a full airlock and a dry one.

 

[JLem]

Or just leave it. Contamination-wise, there's little difference between a full airlock and a dry one.

I'm actually more concerned with the fact that oxygen is being pulled in. I'm going to go take one last look before bed and the airlock needs filling I'll cap it with a solid bung like Yoop suggested.

 

[barrooze]

Brett does need micro amounts of oxygen. So allowing some in might help build a pellicle. Fill it one more time, go to bed and see how it's going in the morning. Hopefully this bit of water stays, but if not, no biggie.
Would the greater concern be contamination from the water that's getting into the beer?

 

[Shooter]

You could also rig a blowoff. I know a lot of people think of a blowoff as something to use early in the fermentation cycle, but there's no reason you can't use one later on. I rarely use an airlock these days.

 

[Teromous]

I do the same thing shooter does. I just keep using a blowoff tube. It'll hold more water which should help you out.

 

[JLem]

Well, when I checked it for the last time last night it was in need of filling again. So I just sealed it up with a solid bung and went to bed. I replaced the airlock this morning but am at the in-laws now so no idea how it's doing. I wonder if it was a high pressure system coming through last night - the outside temp dropped and the clouds cleared away and today is dry and sunny.

Anyway, I like the blowoff tube idea. May have to try that if this happens again. FWIW I use vodka in the airlock so I'm not worried about contamination from it getting into the beer.

Thanks for all the quick replies an ideas.

 

[barrooze]

So what is that, four shots of vodka in the brew? That should help the final abv!

 

[just2brew]

What are you putting in the airlock. I tryed following the advise from the local homebrew shop once and used vodka. Only to find it evaporating and reguiring more maintenance then just water.

 

[Fid]

He said hes using vodka. I've always used vodka in the past and never had any issues... Seems like a strange problem.

+1 on the blowoff idea.
After having a beer nearly explode out of my fermenter while I wasn't home and having to coach my wife through rigging up a half assed blowoff tube over the phone with random siphoning hoses I had sitting around, I've tried to forgo the standard Airlocks whenever possible.... just less hassle overall and less concerns about coming home to a huge mess.

I've got a 1 gallon bucket filled halfway with star san that I put one end of my blowoff tubes into. Best part about it is that if you've got more than 1 beer fermenting you can just stick the other blowoff tubes in the same bucket no worries. And in your situation... I can't Imagine there being a big enough pressure difference that it'd be able to suck the liquid up a 3 foot tube and back into your beer.

 

[JLem]

What are you putting in the airlock. I tryed following the advise from the local homebrew shop once and used vodka. Only to find it evaporating and reguiring more maintenance then just water.

I've been using vodka in the airlock for all my brews and have never had an issue with evaporation. I like it because it is effective and because, in cases such as this, I don't worry about it being sucked into the brew.

I've got a 1 gallon bucket filled halfway with star san that I put one end of my blowoff tubes into. Best part about it is that if you've got more than 1 beer fermenting you can just stick the other blowoff tubes in the same bucket no worries. And in your situation... I can't Imagine there being a big enough pressure difference that it'd be able to suck the liquid up a 3 foot tube and back into your beer.

Never really thought of this - I have a 3 gallon carboy filled with star san sitting right there! If this suck-back continues to be an issue, I'll rig something up using this. Thanks!

 

[pd230soi]

um... a refill 3 times in one hour - did I read that right.

I lived in MA back in the 70s and 80s, its not that dry.

I would assume that somehow you have a leak in your airlock. I would sanitize another one or some tinfoil and cover up the carboy while looking around at it.

Thats dramatic suck-back if that really is the cause.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

This was the weekend of the SUPER MOON!! Gravitational pull changed :-/

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/16mar_supermoon/

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[Clann]

If you tire of filling the airlock, put a one piece airlock on it. If it wants to suck back it will just bubble in the other direction.

 

[JLem]

um... a refill 3 times in one hour - did I read that right.

I lived in MA back in the 70s and 80s, its not that dry.

I would assume that somehow you have a leak in your airlock. I would sanitize another one or some tinfoil and cover up the carboy while looking around at it.

Thats dramatic suck-back if that really is the cause.

Actually, 4 refills within a couple of hours. No, it didn't evaporate and no, there was no leak in the airlock. There was certainly some negative pressure pulling the liquid into the carboy. It has stopped and I am now concluding that it was the high pressure system that swept through the other night. No other explanation I can give unless the Brett were aerobically respiring at an alarming rate (yet not producing any CO2 in the process)

 

[wreals]

It has stopped and I am now concluding that it was the high pressure system that swept through the other night.

This is what I found as well. I go out to the shed and notice that all the EverClear* was gone from the airlock. I figured it out when I opened and closed my beer shed door, while I was in it and noticed the airlock burping.

*the only good use for EverClear in my opinion.

 

[BendBrewer]

Your EverClear is just evaporating.

* still no good use for the stuff

 

[Brewsday]

I read somewhere to use vodka in the airlock (and I do)...seems like the problem would be less troublesome if you did that!
BTW I do believe vodka "evaporates" more quickly than water...making measures like "2 bubbles per minute" even less meaningful over time.

 

[vmaxinid]

I've watched my fermenter suckup the rum in my 3 piece airlock.

I now use these, the air can flow in either direction.

 

[WillyNY]

The fresh fruit restated the fermentatin and it is trying ot expand. The weakest point being the water in the air lock.

 

[JLem]

The fresh fruit restated the fermentatin and it is trying ot expand. The weakest point being the water in the air lock.

I'm sorry but that make zero sense. I expect fermentation to be happening with the fruit and especially the Brett addition. But that would not cause the airlock to be sucked dry. If anything this would cause positive pressure pushing gas out through the airlock. With suck-back you have negative pressure in the vessel which is usually (always?) caused by contraction of the gasses in the headspace, which can be caused by a decreasing temperature and/or an increase in atmospheric pressure.