Lid popped off carboy blow tube

[Iowa Brewer]

Hey all,

Doing my first big gravity beer
Got home from an evening out, and saw the lid on my big mouth bubbler popped up a smidgen and a tiny bit of wort spilled over the edge. And no bubbling in the Starsan jug.

I tightened the lid back and weighted it down, and the blow tube is bubbling nicely in the jug.

Is this a common occurrence? Do I need to worry about infection? Not much I can do now, but curious. I’m hoping the internal pressure was high enough that it didn’t allow her back into the carboy.

As always, thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Typically such blow-outs do not incur infection opportunities if only because everything is flowing outwards from what matters.
btw, from what I've seen BMB lids are not particularly effective as shipped, but I believe some HBT folks have come up with fixes...

Cheers!

 

[davidabcd]

Is there something undesirable about the 6.5 gallon, plastic FV? I know it's not made of glass but I haven't encountered a negative. I only do high ABVs and I have had zero issues--nothing through the airlock or anything else.

Having to fiddle with a product you paid good money for is kind of a drag. Yes, you can fix it, but it should come "fixed" when you buy it.

As an example, with our cat tower (72" high), I had to put 90# of weights on the base so the boys wouldn't bring it down when they went vertical. Not well thought out.

In any case, as said above, I agree that there's nothing to worry about a leak for such a short time.

 

[GoeHaarden]

Is this a common occurrence?

I have a few big mouth bubblers. One of my lids always works! The rest need some tweaking, but yes very common with these...

Somethings to try is the turn the gasket upside down. If that doesn't work, then try to cut the top ring of the gasket off. If that doesn't work, then you need to strap it down somehow. I use velcro straps from amazon to hold the lids in place when my krausen is trying to escape, and when I pressure transfer to kegs...

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Typically such blow-outs do not incur infection opportunities if only because everything is flowing outwards from what matters.
btw, from what I've seen BMB lids are not particularly effective as shipped, but I believe some HBT folks have come up with fixes...

Cheers!

Hey, thanks, day_trippr! I'll check out those fixes.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Is there something undesirable about the 6.5 gallon, plastic FV? I know it's not made of glass but I haven't encountered a negative. I only do high ABVs and I have had zero issues--nothing through the airlock or anything else.

Having to fiddle with a product you paid good money for is kind of a drag. Yes, you can fix it, but it should come "fixed" when you buy it.

As an example, with our cat tower (72" high), I had to put 90# of weights on the base so the boys wouldn't bring it down when they went vertical. Not well thought out.

In any case, as said above, I agree that there's nothing to worry about a leak for such a short time.

Cheers, davidabcd! Yes, it's highly frustrating that this is so poorly designed that threads on fixes are required.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

I have a few big mouth bubblers. One of my lids always works! The rest need some tweaking, but yes very common with these...

Somethings to try is the turn the gasket upside down. If that doesn't work, then try to cut the top ring of the gasket off. If that doesn't work, then you need to strap it down somehow. I use velcro straps from amazon to hold the lids in place when my krausen is trying to escape, and when I pressure transfer to kegs...

Same, here, GoeHaarden! I have two, and one of mine works just fine... the other is another story. Upside down and it doesn't fit well, so I'll try to cut off the top ring, as you suggest. Velcro is a good idea. Right now, I have a sting running across with 5lb weights on each end. Let's hope that helps! Cheers!

 

[RM-MN]

You may have the blowoff tube pushed down too far in the Starsan jug which then creates too much back pressure for the lid to hold. It should be just enough under the surface of the liquid that bugs can't fly up into the tube.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

You may have the blowoff tube pushed down too far in the Starsan jug which then creates too much back pressure for the lid to hold. It should be just enough under the surface of the liquid that bugs can't fly up into the tube.

Hey there, RM-MN!
Thanks for this! My intuition was just the opposite. I'll go adjust the tube, now.
Cheers!

 

[Iowa Brewer]

As a follow-up question, do I need to worry about kreutzen in the tube? I'm guessing now, as I sanitized the tube, inside and out, before hooking it up.

 

[RM-MN]

As long as the tube is hooked to the fermenter and has the other end submerged in liquid the krausen doesn't hurt. Most people will wait until the fermentation slows and then replace the blow off tube with an airlock. At that time you will want to clean the krausen from the tube because it now is a very good food for bacteria and molds.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

As long as the tube is hooked to the fermenter and has the other end submerged in liquid the krausen doesn't hurt. Most people will wait until the fermentation slows and then replace the blow off tube with an airlock. At that time you will want to clean the krausen from the tube because it now is a very good food for bacteria and molds.

Great. Thanks, RM-MN!