Oh no! Airlock not bubbling, whatever shall I do?!

[theguy01205]

Being a new brewer and not knowing exactly what all the signs of fermentation are, the simple and not so reliable air lock is the only visible sign of activity coming from my Ale Pale. (Need to buy 6.5 gal. carboy for a primary) Not being able to see what is going on in there is maddening. Anyways just thought I would share my experience with any other newbies to brewing. I just brewed a smoked porter recipe kit from BB last night and in the kit was a different type of yeast than the other two kits i have made had in them. Needless to say I was in a bit of panic this morning when I awoke to my airlock not doing anything, then a full 24 hours passed and still no activity. Turns out even tho i had put the lid on my bucket tightly (i thought) there was a spot not completely sealed. As soon as i pressed down hard on it to seal it my airlock has taken off like a rocket, shooting vodka on the top of the lid. Lesson here.... dont freak out because of no bubbling in the airlock, its probably just a not so great seal somewhere else.

 

[homebrewdad]

Yeah, bucket are NOTORIOUS for not sealing properly. Escaping CO2 takes the path of least resistance (the bad seal) instead of the airlock.

 

[two_one_seven]

E Marquez, it is a common beginners mistake and does happen frequently. Between this and the time that yeast go through their logarithmic growth phase is faster then inexperience brewers may be used to.

The goal of this board is to be helpful and friendly to new brewers. Even the with the smiley face at the end of the 3rd comment it feels a tad mean spirited.

In short get the carboy and you will learn a lot from watching the fermentation progress.

 

[Frige]

I have buckets and while they bubbled away when new after 30 or so batches they hardly bubble anymore, just leaky seals I guess. And yeah I have tried to seal em, even beat on the lid with a rubber hammer to no avail. Oh well they still make good beer........

Oh and sometimes they even let me use powertools although they took away my rubber hammer. Sigh

 

[evrose]

In case you haven't read this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

 

[Tinhorn]

What is your issue? OP was trying to help other newbies and you need to be insulting ? Yes we all make newbies errors but in my mind the purpose of the forum is to educate not belittle folks

 

[E_Marquez]

What is your issue? OP was trying to help other newbies and you need to be insulting ? Yes we all make newbies errors but in my mind the purpose of the forum is to educate not belittle folks

Again, still.. Not belittling.. ..

Chalk it up to 2 dimensional no facial interaction internet forum communication..

Im on this end having fun and grinning, no mean spirited thoughts at all...


again, still to the OP...... ok according to the experts here, buckets leak a lot.. has not happened to me yet in all of 5 batches, but THEY say it's common ... and I don't have much experience.

See if you can reseal it...
Or just use a carboy next time I guess.

I'll likely do the same once I have a bucket not seal...
heck,, I can get 4 tall carboys in my fermentation chamber anyway,, vs 3 buckets..

My apologies to the OP if YOU took something I said poorly.. I thought the smileys fixed everything.

 

[Zuljin]

I haven't had to rubber mallet a lid in place, but that's a good idea.

 

[Tinhorn]

Again, still.. Not belittling.. ..

Chalk it up to 2 dimensional no facial interaction internet forum communication..

Im on this end having fun and grinning, no mean spirited thoughts at all...


again, still to the OP...... ok according to the experts here, buckest leak a lot.. has not happened to me yet in all of 5 batches, but THEY say it's common ...

See if you can reseal it...
Or just use a carboy next time I guess.

I'll likely do the same once I have a bucket not seal...
heck,, I can get 4 tall carboys in my fermentation chamber anyway,, vs 3 buckets..

You are right there is no tone with text but tone can be inferred !! I know it happens to me all the time !!
The rubber mallet and paint bucket opener are both your friend when using buckets unless ya have great knees and vise grip hands which I don't

Happy brewing all and please keep sharing your mistakes so hopefully I can avoid a few of them

I am probably 50 batches in but still learn from here

 

[ChefRex]

Sarcasm, Ya get it or ya dont, play nice

 

[Tinhorn]

Sarcasm, Ya get it or ya dont, play nice

Was that sarcasm ?

 

[jtratcliff]

If you want to see what's going on, replace the lid of your bucket with a piece of plexiglas. No need for a tight seal or an airlock....tougher to fit a blow off tube, though

 

[flars]

As soon as i pressed down hard on it to seal it my airlock has taken off like a rocket, shooting vodka on the top of the lid. QUOTE]

Seems like it could be to vigorous of a fermentation. What is the temperature of your wort?

 

[theguy01205]

Am I missing something here? I think I was incredibly clear that I got the bucket sealed ok thus airlock taking off. I simply was trying to relay the message from one new brewer to another to check the seal before opening their beer a bunch of times when nothing is actually wrong. Btw way to take a hatchet to a very simple post... Good on you, you 5 time bucket sealing pro. To answer your question flars I pitched yeast at 73 F and holding steady at 70 F which should drop down to around 68-67 F once fermentation slows down.

 

[midfielder5]

Deleted quote

I have at least 6 different buckets and each seal differently. Some have no internal O ring, some are real hard to snap closed, some I can't open or close without a tool, and every other permutation in between. Each bucket is different. I would guess that you are using the same one for all of your experience (5 batches) but there are more bucket types.

 

[Frige]

If you have a fermentation chamber try to drop it down to 61. It keeps the bananas out of your beer.

 

[theguy01205]

Unfortunately no chamber just an a/c controlled room. Coolest it gets is about 66 F. My first batch was an Irish stout at the same temp and it came out great, didn't last for even a week everyone had to have some lol

 

[E_Marquez]

I have at least 6 different buckets and each seal differently. Some have no internal O ring, some are real hard to snap closed, some I can't open or close without a tool, and every other permutation in between. Each bucket is different. I would guess that you are using the same one for all of your experience (5 batches) but there are more bucket types.

To the OP, not intended to derail, but no your post was not clear,, you stated you did not get the bucket sealed at first,, that was what i was responding to..

To midfielder... not, not all the same.... three different buckets from two manufacturers... until this thread (and the site search I did after) I did not know there was such a concern and suggested failure rate of bucket sealing/.. So I did learn something here.. I'll pay more attention to the lid sealing as I snap it in place. 5 batches and no leaks may have just been dumb luck on my part... I'd prefer to have good results due to knowledge and proper procedure..
So to the OP, thanks for posting... Nothing I posted may have help you,, but something you and others posted did enrich my brewing knowledge.

 

[ShaineT]

Unfortunately no chamber just an a/c controlled room. Coolest it gets is about 66 F. My first batch was an Irish stout at the same temp and it came out great, didn't last for even a week everyone had to have some lol

With a rope-tote or other container filled with water and a closely directed fan the temperature can be dropped by as much as 10 degrees depending on your ambient humidity.

Don't forget that breweries are using large stainless fermenters most of which don't have windows for peering in only manholes for cleaning. They go by SG measurements to gauge activity.

 

[theguy01205]

My first two batches I had no trouble with what so ever. This last batch i did had a different type of yeast with it that i hadn't used before. My other two batches started bubbling within 8 hours or so a did so for a good 36 hours.So the cause for alarm here was different yeast, not so much my bucket sealing procedure. I was worried the yeast hadn't started doing anything, however upon inspection of my bucket i could really smell the wort coming thru the lid in one spot. The lid was already completely "snapped" down, i had to press on it pretty hard to get a good seal,which was what got my airlock finally bubbling.

 

[two_one_seven]

Looks like you are in the market for a carboy....... I don't trust myself to operate a lid or a powertool for that matter. I can make the "bleep" out of beer though.

 

[ShaineT]

Looks like you are in the market for a carboy....... I don't trust myself to operate a lid or a powertool for that matter. I can make the "bleep" out of beer though.

Heh However you are qualified to move a full glass carboy around without breaking and cutting off a finger

 

[theguy01205]

I definitely think a glass carboy is going to my my next investment. I want to take the dive into kegging as well Then its on to all grain!

 

[JeepDiver]

I definitely think a glass carboy is going to my my next investment. I want to take the dive into kegging as well Then its on to all grain!

Might want to read all the I dropped my carboy and cut the **** out of myself threads before deciding that

 

[two_one_seven]

Heh However you are qualified to move a full glass carboy around without breaking and cutting off a finger

Nope, I use better bottles.......can't take any chances!

 

[ChefRex]

I think this is deviating from the OP's original thought

 

[theguy01205]

yes this thread had jumped all over the place, lol However in the thought of the sometimes elusive bubbling airlock, it seems the humble plastic bucket may be at fault. Using a glass carboy with a rubber bung sounds like a much better sealed unit. I have a 5 gallon glass carboy i plan on using for secondary and I have to think with just a bit of care and common sense dropping and shattering these things can be avoided, although accidents do and will happen. Btw just cracked open a 3 day old bottle of BB Scottish ale, nearly completely carbonated with a very nice thick off white head, beautiful ruby color, and "green" but wonderful malty goodness with a slight hoppy finish. Gona give it a full two weeks then transfer it to the beer fridge. :-D

 

[freddyj]

I just got done fermenting my first brew. Never saw any airlock activity. Just sayin.

 

[NuttyProf21]

Heck you could try open fermentation. I do my English style beers by just setting the lid on the fermenter. Helps develop that true English flavor.

 

[Steve3730]

just bottled my first beer yesterday and had the same problem with the airlock. never seen a single bubble. however peaking through the airlock hole i seen nothing but foam telling me something was happening.