Silicone Blowoff Tube for Carboy

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Dlawrence529

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I was curious if anyone uses 1" silicone tubing for a blowoff tube in glass carboys? I can't seem to find any mention of it anywhere. I've been using 1" vinyl for my last 2 batches, but it always seems to knock over my container of sanitizer because it is pretty inflexible and wants to curl back to its original shape. It has been a frustrating end to my last 2 brew days.

I'd like to know if there is a reason I don't see any mention of large silicone blowoff tubes. Do they not fit snugly in the top of a carboy? Are they too expensive? It doesn't seem to be sold on the major brewing websites, but SS Brewtech has it https://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/tubing-silicone-food-grade-1-id
 
Not silicone but yes, I use a 1" plastic blow off tube when I ferment in carboys. Yes, they are a bit inflexible but if you get one long enough... I believe mine is 4ft?? then set it and forget it there should be no issue.
 
Not silicone but yes, I use a 1" plastic blow off tube when I ferment in carboys. Yes, they are a bit inflexible but if you get one long enough... I believe mine is 4ft?? then set it and forget it there should be no issue.

I think mine came as 5ft. I trimmed about a foot off after I replaced it with an airlock, but haven't tested it yet. My vinyl tube came stuffed in a small package and has a lot of kinks in it. It seems to always want to return to its kinked position. Then it drags my sanitizer container across the floor with it and knocks it over. I'd rather avoid using a huge sanitizer bucket or weighing down a small sanitizer container.
 
Do you primary ferment in the carboy, or are you transferring to carboy for secondary? If you use it as secondary, skip it, and just use your primary to finish fermentation. If you insist on a blowoff for the carboy, try morebeer liquid tubing. Cheap and very flexible: https://www.morebeer.com/products/high-temp-silicone-tubing-12-id.html

I have a 6.5 gallon carboy that I use for primary and secondary on most beers. I have a 5 gallon carboy I use for longer term secondary/aging. I currently use 1" vinyl tubing (similar to this https://www.morebeer.com/products/vinyl-tubing-1-id-114-od.html), but I was hoping to move to a more flexible 1" silicone tubing.
 
I use (cheap!) 1" ID/1-1/4" OD vinyl with a ~1 gallon catch vessel. If you heat them up as hot as your hot water can get them then position them as desired they tend to keep the resulting "set" when they cool down and stay that way for the next time you use them.

NEIPA_03.jpg


Cheers!
 
I use (cheap!) 1" ID/1-1/4" OD vinyl with a ~1 gallon catch vessel. If you heat them up as hot as your hot water can get them then position them as desired they tend to keep the resulting "set" when they cool down and stay that way for the next time you use them.

View attachment 605745

Cheers!

How did you like A38 vs 1318?
 
After splitting four neipa batches between a38 and 1318 and having noone note any differences I stopped ranching a38 and went all in on 1318. I swear they're the same strain...

Cheers!
 
After splitting four neipa batches between a38 and 1318 and having noone note any differences I stopped ranching a38 and went all in on 1318. I swear they're the same strain...

Cheers!

Interesting, I’ve never tried A38, but a buddy of mine swears he gets different profiles. I like 1318 a lot, so never had much reason to cheat on it.
 
Just an idea...
When I'm using vinyl tubing into a small container of sanitizer, I sometimes secure the container directly to the carboy with some packing tape.
That makes it really easy to move.

Edit: clarification.
 
Last edited:
I like the 1/2” silicone when I primary in a carboy too. Just shove the hose over the outside of the raised bit of the bung where an airlock would go. Then put the bung into the carboy and that secures the tubing by pinching it in place.
 
I was curious if anyone uses 1" silicone tubing for a blowoff tube in glass carboys? I can't seem to find any mention of it anywhere. I've been using 1" vinyl for my last 2 batches, but it always seems to knock over my container of sanitizer because it is pretty inflexible and wants to curl back to its original shape. It has been a frustrating end to my last 2 brew days.

I'd like to know if there is a reason I don't see any mention of large silicone blowoff tubes. Do they not fit snugly in the top of a carboy? Are they too expensive? It doesn't seem to be sold on the major brewing websites, but SS Brewtech has it https://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/tubing-silicone-food-grade-1-id
I've only actually had one time I needed a blowoff tube and thats the batch I have going right now. airlock was full of foam and yeast at 24 hrs so I removed the airlock and stuffed the 3/8" clear hose I use for my racking cane in the hole, tight fit , poured some star san around the joint just in case it leaked. Other end went into a jug 1/3 full of star san. Chugged away powerfully for 3 more days. It was actually fun to watch ...bloop bloop bloop ,then it would give a big steady bubblebubblebubble,then back to bloop bloop bloop.
 
Is that the 3/8" version, or the 1/2"? My original blow-off setup used some 1/2" Eldon James high temp tubing that I was given to test. It's similar to silicone tubing, but a little less pliable. It's also kind of a pain to clean in the event of a blow-off.

I ordered one of the 1/2" stainless blow-off tubes a few months back and loved it; works well, it's easy to clean with a tubing brush, and it can even be boiled to sanitize. I went with 1/2" because I thought the 3/8" option might be a little too restrictive. The only downside is the 1/2" ones can be a little tricky with universal bungs.

Shortly after picking up a 1/2" stainless blow-off to test, I stumbled across a used 1/2" Swagelok tubing bender (made for bending stainless tubing). I have a variety of fermenters (conical, glass carboy, Better Bottle, Brew Buckets) so I'm able to do custom bent stainless tubing to accommodate each.
 
I use (cheap!) 1" ID/1-1/4" OD vinyl with a ~1 gallon catch vessel. If you heat them up as hot as your hot water can get them then position them as desired they tend to keep the resulting "set" when they cool down and stay that way for the next time you use them.

This. Heat it, position it, cool it, you should good.
 
...My vinyl tube came stuffed in a small package and has a lot of kinks in it. It seems to always want to return to its kinked position...

You can use heat to get rid of that "shape memory".

I set up a simple form for the shape I wanted, just some heavy items placed on a workbench that would hold the tubing in the desired shape. I used a heat gun to evenly heat the tubing, then put it in the form and allowed it to cool. It has held the new shape.

The end of the tube wasn't quite big enough to do a tight fit into the cap of my fermenter. I heated the end of the tube, then inserted a tapered plug to stretch it. It has held its shape, and makes an airtight seal with the cap.
 
I use the bung and airlock but put a 3/8 id over the vent of the airlock, no cap obviously, then run to a quart mason jar of sanitizer
 
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