Too high pressure in airlock?

[anddav87]

Hi there

This is my first time brewing and have followed the instructions to the letter. I came home from work today, and beer had sputtered up the airlock and out onto the lid. I cleaned the top of the lid, cleaned the airlock and refilled it with water but this keeps occuring every couple of hours or so.

Any suggestions as to what I can do to stop this? Obviously the fermenting is going really well, but how do I decrease the pressure to stop this happening?

I have lifted the lid a couple of times to release some of the pressure, now I have looked on here I am not sure if I have put the brew at risk of infection being exposed to air?

Any info would be gratefully received!

Thank you!

Andy

 

[tasq]

You need to install a blow off tube... Credits go to Revvy for the direction / pics.

"Quickly pull it out and clean and re sanitize it, then rig up an airlock blowoff tube...take your bottling wand, put a small slit in it...Heat it for a few minutes in hot water to soften, then do this."

 

[anddav87]

Hey

Thanks for the advice. Unfort too late for this tonight I will have to go and buy one tomorrow I have a normal S type air lock.

Any advice for leaving it overnight, or just leave it to leak through the air lock? I read the lid of the tub can blow off if the pressure builds up too much?

Thanks

 

[billvon]

. . .and beer had sputtered up the airlock and out onto the lid.

Not that unusual. You're just having a vigorous fermentation and some krausen is getting blown out the top. The pressure isn't the problem; the volume of CO2 is.

The time pressure will get to _be_ a problem is if the airlock gets so full of gunk that it seals itself off. Then the pressure will rise and you could see a real blowout, blowing off the airlock and/or the lid.

Some solutions:

1) Blowoff tube. A tube from the top of the fermentor to a bucket of water.

2) Put the airlock stopper in loosely. If pressure rises it will just get knocked out without much drama, and with that much CO2 coming out it won't affect the beer much.

 

[anddav87]

Cheers for your replies guys, will leave it be for tonight with the stopper on loosely and get a blow off tube tomorrow morning.

Thanks again

Andy

 

[buzzkill]

if you can cool it down,it will slow down. whats the temp and yeast?

 

[tasq]

Keep it cooler, and crack the lid a touch if need be. You should get a blow off on there asap but it will be fine for the night.