Fermentation fix?

[loki0990]

So I just put a 5 gallon carboy downstairs to ferment last night and when I came down in the morning it was bubbling up a storm... And right thought the airlock. There was beer in the actual airlock and it was fizzing out. This I assume is because of a lack of fizz-up room. Is there anything I can do at this point to fix it?

 

[phuff7129]

If you can get a 3 or 4 ft piece of 1" blowoff tubing and get a clean gallon water jug and fill it half full with sanitizer and replace your airlock with the tube and jug. Another option is to pull out your airlock and push your 5/16" tubing through the grommet in the bung and find a jug or large jar half full with sanitizer and you should be fine.

 

[loki0990]

I'm rather new to Home Brewing, what kind of sanitizer? Would star-San work?

 

[Gitmoe]

I'm rather new to Home Brewing, what kind of sanitizer? Would star-San work?

yes, star-san solution is exactly what you would use here if that's what you have. Other options would be an iodophor solution or really old school would be a sulfite solution...

 

[bethebrew]

Be sure to put your sanitizer container above your fermenter. Otherwise it could start siphoning if you put the sanitizer on the ground for instance.

OP do the right thing from now on for any ferment be sure to use a full sized blowoff tube. A while back I forgot that and put an airlock on a blackberry fruit secondary. What a mess!

 

[loki0990]

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[flars]

Be sure to put your sanitizer container above your fermenter. Otherwise it could start siphoning if you put the sanitizer on the ground for instance.

OP do the right thing from now on for any ferment be sure to use a full sized blowoff tube. A while back I forgot that and put an airlock on a blackberry fruit secondary. What a mess!

Isn't it easier to create the siphon action downhill rather than uphill?

 

[duboman]

Isn't it easier to create the siphon action downhill rather than uphill?

Agreed, the blow off vessel should be below, any suck back if the vessel is above would draw the siphon down into the primary

 

[bethebrew]

Agreed, the blow off vessel should be below, any suck back if the vessel is above would draw the siphon down into the primary

That's wrong. Don't go giving OP the wrong info with your smiley. You always put the sanitizer a little above the brew level. After you suck down a whole carboy with krausen going down hill you may begin to understand the concept of siphon in this case.

 

[duboman]

That's wrong. Don't go giving OP the wrong info with your smiley. You always put the sanitizer a little above the brew level. After you suck down a whole carboy with krausen going down hill you may begin to understand the concept of siphon in this case.

Sorry dude, no offense but after using a blow off rig on over 100 batches of beer I beg to differ with you.

When you rack from primary to your bottle bucket or keg with a siphon do you put your primary above of below the vessel you are going in to?

Perhaps it's semantics? My primary is on the floor of my chamber and so is the blow off vessel, the full level of beer is above the full level of the blow off.

When you siphon gas out of a tank do you put the gas can on the ground or the roof?

Go to a commercial brewery with 7 bbl or 3bbl set ups, all the blow off rigs go to a bucket sitting on the floor below the conical or hanging off a strut near the base.

 

[finsfan]

That's wrong. Don't go giving OP the wrong info with your smiley. You always put the sanitizer a little above the brew level. After you suck down a whole carboy with krausen going down hill you may begin to understand the concept of siphon in this case.

I will also have to disagree with this. It would be easier to suck the sanitizer into the primary if the sanitizer was higher than the brew because of gravity. Once the suction started, it would drain the whole jug of sanitizer into the brew. If its on the ground, it would take a heck of a lot more suction to get the sanitizer up and into the brew.

 

[kh54s10]

That's wrong. Don't go giving OP the wrong info with your smiley. You always put the sanitizer a little above the brew level. After you suck down a whole carboy with krausen going down hill you may begin to understand the concept of siphon in this case.

I also will go on record that you are wrong. You want the catch vessel on the blow off at least at the same level as the bottom of the fermenter or lower.

When you try to siphon gas out of a car do you put the gas can on the roof? No, you put it on the ground, below the gas tank.

You cannot siphon uphill, thus you want your sanitizer low so it will not suck back into the fermenter.

 

[zachattack]

I think he's talking about siphoning beer out through the blowoff, not the other way around? I don't see how that's possible unless your blowoff tube extends into the carboy to the beer level. I really don't see how it's possible to "suck down a whole carboy" regardless of the blowoff jug height, sorry bethebrew. I agree that the jug of sanitizer should be lower than the beer if possible.

 

[bethebrew]

I think he's talking about siphoning beer out through the blowoff, not the other way around? I don't see how that's possible unless your blowoff tube extends into the carboy to the beer level. I really don't see how it's possible to "suck down a whole carboy" regardless of the blowoff jug height, sorry bethebrew. I agree that the jug of sanitizer should be lower than the beer if possible.

Yes, I am referring to the possibility of siphoning off your carboy of beer down into the sanitizer, and not the other way around. This based on a full carboy and a vigorous ferment. The flow of krausen seems to go out away from a carboy. Not saying it's likely to happen, but I think it could. I've seen folks almost fill their carboy completely on here.

I'm not saying put the sanitizer jug high up, just slightly higher liquid level than in the carboy.

 

[duboman]

Yes, I am referring to the possibility of siphoning off your carboy of beer down into the sanitizer, and not the other way around. This based on a full carboy and a vigorous ferment. The flow of krausen seems to go out away from a carboy. Not saying it's likely to happen, but I think it could. I've seen folks almost fill their carboy completely on here. I'm not saying put the sanitizer jug high up, just slightly higher liquid level than in the carboy.

this is a possibility but IMO when this occurs it's usually do to the excessive pressure of the co2 pushing out and not the siphon action. Even if the blow off vessel were a bit higher, if outward pressure is strong enough it will still push enough to defy gravity to a point

The concern of placement then is an issue as once the pressure decreases in the vessel you can then create a vacuum and siphon back into the carboy

 

[MindenMan]

I haven't seen anybody use this method; I may have invented it.
On the sanitizer end of the blow off tube, it needs a vent. As an example, if you use a 1 gallon milk jug, and you fill it 3/4 full, let's say there is 7' of tubing into the sanitizer. Drill a significant size hole (try 1/2") through the tubing at 5' from the bottom end. What this does, instead of possibly emptying the whole blow off container from suck back, the liquid level will drop exposing the hole and the vacuum will be broken. Since there is still liquid in the blow off hose, the air coming in bubbles through the sanitizer, but it won't suck into the fermenter.
Cool, huh?

 

[TrickyDick]

this is a possibility but IMO when this occurs it's usually do to the excessive pressure of the co2 pushing out and not the siphon action. Even if the blow off vessel were a bit higher, if outward pressure is strong enough it will still push enough to defy gravity to a point The concern of placement then is an issue as once the pressure decreases in the vessel you can then create a vacuum and siphon back into the carboy

During fermentation, the co released increases pressure in the carboy. The excess pressure escapes the airlock, either with a blow off tube and a water seal with just a few inches of water, or a typical airlock. So there is never going to be a vacuum in the carboy when pressure equilibrates with the local atmospheric pressure.

It should not matter where you position your blow off vessel. It will not siphon, unless you light a fire under the carboy and start boiling the beer, and even then I would doubt it. The heat generated from fermentation would not be enough to produce a vacuum when it cools, because of the small differential in temperature, large mass of liquid, and relative slow rate of temp change during the cool of phase. Also when using a standard blowoff tube in a carboy neck for instance, there is no way you're going to get a siphon going.

TD

 

[duboman]

This makes sense, thanks. I will question the suck back though that is experienced when a plastic vessel is crashed cold that occurs and has been experienced by myself and other brewers as well. IMO, if the blow off vessel is at a higher elevation this could cause blow off material to be siphoned back into the primary where gravity resistance would be lower than if the blow off vessel is lower.

This is probably just picking nits though....

 

[TrickyDick]

This makes sense, thanks. I will question the suck back though that is experienced when a plastic vessel is crashed cold that occurs and has been experienced by myself and other brewers as well. IMO, if the blow off vessel is at a higher elevation this could cause blow off material to be siphoned back into the primary where gravity resistance would be lower than if the blow off vessel is lower. This is probably just picking nits though....

That could be, and would stand to reason, when crash cooling a large volume of liquid in a sealed vessel,it will create a vacuum, so it makes sense it could suck fluid through a blow off tube. I would advise using as little water in the blow off vessel as possible: make the tube hang into the blow off vessel until it touches the bottom, and use a relatively large caliber hose if possible and a small volume of fluid in the blow off vessel. If there is sufficient vacuum to pull the entire of volume of liquid in the blow off vessel into the tube, without ascending to the top of the tube where it bends into the carboy, the. The siphon should be lost, just like when you're racking beer out of a carboy. In this instance, its possible you could suck contaminated air into the carboy I suppose however. Then there is always the double water seal method....

I must have missed the part about the crash cooling earlier.

TD

 

[13ONK]

The key is to use the crazy straw approach and use lots of tubing with many loops.

:fro:

Example: