Have I just made a bottle bomb?

[AlexChelt]

So I had a nightmare last night and discovered an overflow, meaning i needed to quickly make a blowoff bubbler. Anyway, problem solved it's all made -
see here: https://imgur.com/a/izfH4

I just got into work though, and thought something rather distressing: "****, have I just made a ticking time-bomb in my living room?" as the bottle I used is glass! The lid is on loosely, screwed about 90 degrees once just so the thread is engaged on the cap. The hole in the lid obviously isn't airtight (made it with a knife) but it's pretty small and there's not a huge amount of room in it. Is there much chance that the pressure from fermentation could make this thing explode? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but the thought of blowing my girlfriend to pieces and coming home to a corpse isn't that appealing!

 

[Drewed]

You don't need the lid at all. Just make sure the end of the tube is under the fluid in the blow off bottle.

Anyway, you most likely would blow the bung out of the carboy before you blow a bottle.

 

[AlexChelt]

You don't need the lid at all. Just make sure the end of the tube is under the fluid in the blow off bottle.

Anyway, you most likely would blow the bung out of the carboy before you blow a bottle.

Cool! I'll not take the lid off but i'll make the hole wider just for piece of mind. no sanitiser left now after so much fiddling about so I think this is the best option

 

[kh54s10]

My guess is that it is more likely that you will come to a mess rather than a blown up bottle. If it does plug, your bung will probably blow out and then flow down the sides of the carboy. If you get a lot of blow off the bottle will overflow.

The microbes that might infect your brew cannot fly up the tube so you are safe, you could use water alone or vodka as a sanitizer.

I use a margarine tub in the bottom of a stock pot or bucket with just enough sanitizer to keep the end of the tube submerged. That way if there is any suck back it is only a half cup or so rather than a gallon that others report.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Do yourself a favor and get a big rubbermaid tub or something to keep your fermentors in - in case of the inevitable leaks and spills. Beer/cider/wine stains carpet pretty readily. You can also store your brew gear in them when not in use.

 

[hammy1983]

^ especially with all that electrical sitting below it.