Thoughts on this blow-off setup

[Shwagger]

This is from a 2017 BYO magazine. Not sure what you'd call it and if it's been post before. Either way, I'm interested in this setup over using a balloon or an IV bag. But I'd rather use a more substantial vessel with a metal top or something I can rely on the seal. Thoughts?

 

[fluketamer]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/suck-back-from-blowoff.642598/

 

[Shwagger]

View attachment 871897
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/suck-back-from-blowoff.642598/

You're awesome. That's exactly what I had in mind

 

[day_trippr]

Avoid using the highly O2 permeable silicone tubing as shown in that BYO article...

Cheers!

 

[Deadalus]

Are you going to build it yourself? Norcal Brewing sells a lot of canning style fittings and specialized canning lids.

The one thing I would be concerned about is canning lids aren't supposed to be used as resealing lids, at least once they've been reopened after canning. The band is meant to hold the lid in position while canning. Steam escapes however when canning, filling the headspace. The heat softens the sealant and cooling sucks the lid down.

I buy separate plastic lids for resealing. I've drilled them before and added grommets and airlocks. They crack easy when drilling I've found.

 

[Shwagger]

Are you going to build it yourself? Norcal Brewing sells a lot of canning style fittings and specialized canning lids.

The one thing I would be concerned about is canning lids aren't supposed to be used as resealing lids, at least once they've been reopened after canning. The band is meant to hold the lid in position while canning. Steam escapes however when canning, filling the headspace. The heat softens the sealant and cooling sucks the lid down.

I buy separate plastic lids for resealing. I've drilled them before and added grommets and airlocks. They crack easy when drilling I've found.

I saw the NorCal one and probably will go with that. I use their triclover mason jars lids for my conical to catch yeast and such and it's well made.

The bands can be bought at Ace pretty easily around here. I'm sure I have a box of them somewhere

 

[Deadalus]

Anywhere canning jars are sold the bands can usually be had. Looking at those Norcal ones, there's a gasket. If you were to build one, I'd bet that would be better vs the regular canning lid. Probably available somewhere but I've never looked for one. I have fermentation lids that include a thin gasket. They seal well.

 

[Deadalus]

Norcal sells canning gaskets but the ones I see listed are silicone. The ones on my fermentation lids are also silicone.

 

[Shwagger]

Same ones on the triclover fitting I think

 

[Deadalus]

Same ones on the triclover fitting I think

For a TC connection you can get the black ones which aren't silicone but it did look like all the canning lid gaskets were that grayish silicone. Might be able to find the correct material elsewhere but searching gaskets can be tedious!

 

[Ramjet]

I 3d printed these lids for the Mason jars and just put together the other day

 

[Snuffy]

View attachment 871897
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/suck-back-from-blowoff.642598/

in this setup... does the right jar not push fluid into the left jar?

 

[fluketamer]

in this setup... does the right jar not push fluid into the left jar?

i think thats the point.

fermentation will push the liquid into the left jar by displacing it with co2. then when and if you get any suckback it goes into the left jar and not into you fermenter. i think,

 

[Ramjet]

It would. The way to set it up is fill the jar with the air lock about half way with star san. The c02 from the fermenter goes into the first jar, gets pushed into the second jar and the air lock will bubble. When cold crashing if there is suck back it will go from jar with the air lock back into the first jar but not back into the fermenter. You can test this by just blowing into a hose connected to the first jar. Nor cal has a video showing this. I didn't want to pay 50 bucks so I tried the 3d printed version. I bought silicone gaskets from Amazon to help seal it. The version in this thread should work.

 

[MaxStout]

I use this one. Works great, no suckback when cold crashing.

 

[sbro]

@Ramjet​

Did your printed lids seal good on the jars? What gasket did you use?
I would be interested in printing a couple lids if it works that well.

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

I like this concept, beats sticking a tube in a bottle of vodka.. I'm going to build me one that will handle 3 fermenters tomorrow.

 

[Shwagger]

It would. The way to set it up is fill the jar with the air lock about half way with star san. The c02 from the fermenter goes into the first jar, gets pushed into the second jar and the air lock will bubble. When cold crashing if there is suck back it will go from jar with the air lock back into the first jar but not back into the fermenter. You can test this by just blowing into a hose connected to the first jar. Nor cal has a video showing this. I didn't want to pay 50 bucks so I tried the 3d printed version. I bought silicone gaskets from Amazon to help seal it. The version in this thread should work.

Would reversing that work as well?, jar with the blowoff tube has no liquid, and it pushes CO2 into the 2nd jar with liquid and that jar bubbles?

 

[hottpeper13]

If the jars are sealed and there's an air lock, why does there need to be any liquid in either jar? If there is yeast blow off and everything is sanitized couldn't it be repitched?

 

[sbro]

With no liquid in the jars, suck back (when the fermenter cools) would catch the liquid from the airlock then air would enter and mix all the way through to your beer.
Having the liquid in the jar with the airlock keeps co2 and air separate when suck back occurs preventing the beer from oxidizing.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I use this one. Works great, no suckback when cold crashing.

Brilliant item! Never seen anything like that before, sort of like an expansion tank on a water system. Really cool!!

 

[MaxStout]

Brilliant item! Never seen anything like that before, sort of like an expansion tank on a water system. Really cool!!

And much cheaper than the one with jars.

I bought the larger capacity version. About $20 from Bobby.

 

[Shwagger]

I had one like that for a bit. It works. Bobby is sold out though.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

You could stay with the dark side .

Keep it dirty my friend.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

You could stay with the dark side .

Keep it dirty my friend.View attachment 872131

Same setup as mine but less of the mess!

 

[Ramjet]

@Ramjet​

Did your printed lids seal good on the jars? What gasket did you use?
I would be interested in printing a couple lids if it works that well.

I haven't used them on a beer yet. I used some keg lube to help seal. I submerged them in water and blew air to test them no leaks. You might not need the gaskets. Here is the link for the gaskets
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9J69BDJ?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details&th=1
Any questions you can message me. I got the 3d print file from a thread on here. After printing my first ones I changed the hole size smaller to fit the bungs I used to fit a little snugger

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

Same setup as mine but less of the mess!

Same here, I use vodka in mine, just in case, some things that gas only happened once in the last 5 years.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Same setup as mine but less of the mess!

The mess is from an Imperial Red Ale dumped on a Nottingham yeast cake. I didn't want to waste a 5gal starter.

 

[mac_1103]

Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong, but I worry about air getting in with a mason jar setup. Pressure has to equalize, so when CO2 goes from the first jar to the fermenter and sanitizer goes from the second jar to the first, something has to come into the second jar through the airlock. And that something is room air that will mix with the contents of the headspace of the second jar and diffuse into (and out of) the liquid (that is now in both jars).

Anyway, I too prefer the cold crash guardian, even if my logic above is off.

 

[Ramjet]

I would use a cold crash guardian, but I don't have alot of room in Mt fermentation chamber

 

[mac_1103]

I would use a cold crash guardian, but I don't have alot of room in Mt fermentation chamber

Any way to route the blow off to the outside of the chamber?

 

[Ramjet]

Any way to route the blow off to the outside of the chamber?

Not without drilling a hole. I use a small dorm fridge as the fermentation chamber. In the past I've used a vacuum sealer bag filled with c02. It worked OK. For less than 10 dollars I thought I'd try the mason jar set up. This way I can set it up from the beginning of fermentation. Time will tell. The cold crash guardian looks like great product if I had the room I would use it, always try to give Bobby some business

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

This hobby means something different to everyone, I like drinking beer and I like making stuff..
So here's my contribution to the thread, I bought a couple of resealable jars on Amazon, being a mechanic and a machinist as well as a marine mechanic, I have slot of supplies, I dug around my supplies and came up with some 1/2 x 1/4 FPT bulkheads some 1/4 X 5/16 "MNPT , and a 1/4" x 2" MNPT nipple, I installed the air lock in a grommet. Before and after, the jars came with decorative wood that I removed so I could get a positive seal with the rubber gaskets..now to make a few more.

 

[Shwagger]

This hobby means something different to everyone, I like drinking beer and I like making stuff..
So here's my contribution to the thread, I bought a couple of resealable jars on Amazon, being a mechanic and a machinist as well as a marine mechanic, I have slot of supplies, I dug around my supplies and came up with some 1/2 x 1/4 FPT bulkheads some 1/4 X 5/16 "MNPT , and a 1/4" x 2" MNPT nipple, I installed the air lock in a grommet. Before and after, the jars came with decorative wood that I removed so I could get a positive seal with the rubber gaskets..now to make a few more.

Kind of what I was originally thinking of doing. I like SS for anything and everything is why I decided on the NorCal one. But this looks really nice!

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

Kind of what I was originally thinking of doing. I like SS for anything and everything is why I decided on the NorCal one. But this looks really nice!

Stainless has its place, anything that lives in wort or beer needs to / should be stainless, but stainless pipe fittings can be tempermental, they also gall and dont easily seal all the time, especially if you get imported fittings.
, for something this simple and outside, that will need to be disassembled and cleaned periodically, bronze and brass will be less prone to headaches, it's just not as pretty- sometimes less is more.
I just finished plumbing, a 3 D additive machine at work last Thursday, all the Argon pipes were done in stainless- I'm still mad at it!

 

[Deadalus]

Stainless has its place, anything that lives in wort or beer needs to / should be stainless, but stainless pipe fittings can be tempermental, they also gall and dont easily seal all the time, especially if you get imported fittings.
, for something this simple and outside, that will need to be disassembled and cleaned periodically, bronze and brass will be less prone to headaches, it's just not as pretty- sometimes less is more.
I just finished plumbing, a 3 D additive machine at work last Thursday, all the Argon pipes were done in stainless- I'm still mad at it!

I like it, it is kind of steampunk looking. Throw an old pressure gauge on it for grins!