Stuck Grainfather Conical Fermenter

[BrewbieVet3]

Hello all. I just brewed my first batch using a Grainfather conical fermenter and glycol chiller. The manual suggested draining yeast every 2-3 days. Today was day 2, I tried to drain yeast and it was stuck. I don’t have a CO2 tank, and ended up using a long stainless steel rod I disinfected to dislodge the blockage. Anyone else have any creative solutions for the stuck valve? I’ve seen blowing CO2 and using a rubber mallet on the sides. Rubber mallet didn’t work for me, didn’t have CO2, but rod got the job done.

 

[Weasel710]

I honestly don't dump because of this reason. I am about to purchase a cap to allow me to hook up CO2 to the top, but mostly worried about O2 intake.