Hints on whats wrong?

[deuc224]

Hey guys and gals, so Im brewing on a new system and a bunch of things went wrong. But wort is in the fermenter(day 3), have it hooked up to a blow off tube and not a single bubble, ive read it can take some days to take off so I opened it and saw krausen, closed it quickly and am letting it go. Day 3 and still no a single bubble, also i dumped some trub and smelled the sample, smells wonder, but again, it smells like alcohol, its really prominent, very upfront. About to check the gravity reading and see where its at or if it even moved but any help on why the blow off port isnt moving at all? Thanks guys.

 

[doug293cz]

What type of vessel are you using for a fermenter? Plastic buckets are notorious for poor sealing of the lid, and will often leak enough that no bubbles are seen in the airlock.

If you have krausen and smell alcohol, then your fermentation is probably going just fine. A drop in the SG is a definitive indicator that fermentation has occurred.

Brew on

 

[deuc224]

Hey Doug, thanks for lookin in. Im using a grainfather fermenter. I missed my my SG by 5 points and it started at 1.0467 and just checked and its at 1.0298, which means it working! But curious as to why it isnt bubbling, that really bothers me for some reason. Also sorry for the extra numbers on the gravity reading, had to convert it online cuz my refractometer only reads in brix.

 

[Advance]

Its more than likely the lid seal on the fermenter. I have a couple grainfather conical fermenters and I too have once experienced what you are experiencing. When you install the lid on the fermenter make sure it is centered. I do this by placing the lid on top of the fermenter body and moving it back and forth between the opposing clamps. There is about a 0.25" of movement between each pair of clamps. Get the lid centered as best as you can. While holding downward pressure on the lid, swing the four hooks for the clamps into position. Now press down on the lid with both hands located at opposing clamps (180 degrees from one another). Use the large muscle at the base of your thumbs to apply downward pressure on the lid while simultaneously activating the latch on each clamp with the opposite sides of your hands. Repeat this for the other set of clamps. If this does not fix the problem, be sure to make sure that your blow off tube connection is leak free before removing the lid to inspect the sealing gasket for tears or ripples. If ripples exists, reinstall the gasket wet after soaking it in a sanitizer.

 

[deuc224]

Its more than likely the lid seal on the fermenter. I have a couple grainfather conical fermenters and I too have once experienced what you are experiencing. When you install the lid on the fermenter make sure it is centered. I do this by placing the lid on top of the fermenter body and moving it back and forth between the opposing clamps. There is about a 0.25" of movement between each pair of clamps. Get the lid centered as best as you can. While holding downward pressure on the lid, swing the four hooks for the clamps into position. Now press down on the lid with both hands located at opposing clamps (180 degrees from one another). Use the large muscle at the base of your thumbs to apply downward pressure on the lid while simultaneously activating the latch on each clamp with the opposite sides of your hands. Repeat this for the other set of clamps. If this does not fix the problem, be sure to make sure that your blow off tube connection is leak free before removing the lid to inspect the sealing gasket for tears or ripples. If ripples exists, reinstall the gasket wet after soaking it in a sanitizer.

Mother of all mothers!!!!!!!!!!!! Ididnt wanna open it but i think its best if i do it and do exactly what you said. Ill inspect everything and resanitize everything again. Thank you so much for that nugget of info.

 

[Jag75]

Not sure if it will work on your FV but it works on my cf5 . As I tighten the lid down air from the fermenter gets pushed out through the blow off tube . I figured that's a good sign the lid is on correctly and the seal is good .

 

[deuc224]

Thanks Jag, its day 5 and still no bubbles and ive switched out tubes and all. Im gonna add some keg tube to the seal next time just to cover all my bases. I have a week left on this one and i think im gonna call it a bust i guess.

 

[Jag75]

Not sure if I'd call it a bust . Can you hook up co2 on it ? If so pressure it up then unhook and spray around the lid to see if you can spot the leak . Have you looked inside at all? . I'd check the gravity again with a hydrometer.

 

[deuc224]

Im gonna order a spikes gas manifold to put some gas on it .

 

[Gruel]

If it's fermenting, it's fermenting, whether you see bubbles or not. Let it be, and leave fixing the gas seal for the next batch.

 

[deuc224]

So rule #1, check that all TC connections are tightened. Found out that i didnt tighten the blowoff/thermowell fitting at the top of the fermenter hat. Tightened it up and what do you know, bubbles. My fermentation stopped and i think that this was a major part. Pitched another packet and its going again. Fingers crossed.

 

[Ramirez077]

Its more than likely the lid seal on the fermenter. I have a couple grainfather conical fermenters and I too have once experienced what you are experiencing. When you install the lid on the fermenter make sure it is centered. I do this by placing the lid on top of the fermenter body and moving it back and forth between the opposing clamps. There is about a 0.25" of movement between each pair of clamps. Get the lid centered as best as you can. While holding downward pressure on the lid, swing the four hooks for the clamps into position. Now press down on the lid with both hands located at opposing clamps (180 degrees from one another). Use the large muscle at the base of your thumbs to apply downward pressure on the lid while simultaneously activating the latch on each clamp with the opposite sides of your hands. Repeat this for the other set of clamps. If this does not fix the problem, be sure to make sure that your blow off tube connection is leak free before removing the lid to inspect the sealing gasket for tears or ripples. If ripples exists, reinstall the gasket wet after soaking it in a sanitizer.

Hello Advance, I was reading this thread becasue I too get a leak around my Grainfather Conical Lid. Not during fermentation but when doing a pressure transfer to a keg. My C02 is usually around 1-3psi but this is according to my regulator at the tank so it could be off. Either way I get hissing around the lid while doing the transfer which is quite annoying. I'm going to try your method of securing the lid which I hope works as my other attempts have failed (adding weights to the lid, placing small but thick strip of cardboard between the lid and the clamps to increase downward pressure, etc..). Just wanted to say thanks for tip and to see if anyone else had this issue.