Water sucked back into fermenter!

[lovebrewin]

Has anyone had the airlock water suck back into the fermenter when taking a gravity reading???
I cracked the tap on my fermenter to pour brew into tube to do gravity and a little bit of water sucked back in due to the negative pressure when the tap opened!!!
Infection?????
Water in airlock was boiled

 

[stvo]

Your fermenting bucket has a spigot?? Most people use starsan or vodka in their airlock so cooties can't thrive, get yourself a wine thief so you can open your fermenting vessel and pull a sample then close it right back up. If your water was boiled you should be ok.

 

[lovebrewin]

Yeh mate my fermenter sure does have a spigot... I think the starsan is a good idea hey might give that a crack next time!! Hope it's ok from being infected.
P.S what's with the cooties part man?

 

[stvo]

You should be good, the process is very forgivable.... "cooties" it's a grade school or middle school thing we used to say here in the states, kind of like you had something (infected) shesh kids?!?

 

[Calichusetts]

Not that big of a deal. I had two batches in a row where I was cold crashing and got suck back, one of them was from a blow off tube and it put a decent amount of star san into the beer. Luckily, it settled on top of the beer and I just racked from under it. About to taste the first batch where this happened later this week. I do the sanitized tinfoil now when crashing.

 

[masskrug]

Yes, it happens. I always use Starsan or vodka.

 

[Nagorg]

Had StarSan suck back through a blow off tube when I had the bright idea of cold crashing. Almost pitched the beer but bottled it anyway after reading of others doing the same thing. I was still afraid I might get bottle bombs or at least gushers...

None of that happened and the beer was great!

 

[ACbrewer]

When pulling my gravity readings, I remove the airlock for that. That way the suck back action doesn't take place. There is no reason you can't use a bottling bucket for fermenting, well there are some, but none such that it is a "you should never do it" sort of thing. I mean using a dirty striring device in cold wort? that is a "never do" but a lot of things - like glass v plastic are personal preferences.

Anyhow, use sanatizer or vodka from now on. You can get pressure changes with weather that will result in airlock fluid getting into you brew.

 

[Franco]

Has anyone had the airlock water suck back into the fermenter when taking a gravity reading???
I cracked the tap on my fermenter to pour brew into tube to do gravity and a little bit of water sucked back in due to the negative pressure when the tap opened!!!
Infection?????
Water in airlock boiled

This happens all the time in plastic bucket primaries. I usually yank the airlock before opening the lid, since even that pressure change can suck water back in. That being said, I've never had a problem with the little bit of water that gets in, but I started using star-san in my airlocks after the first time.

It also sounds like you're trying to ferment your beer in your bottling bucket - that's the bucket with the spigot. Be careful doing that in the future, since that spigot is a great space for the nasties to hide. On beer that's already fermented it's not such a big deal, but it can harbor infections that might take hold before your yeast does.

 

[lovebrewin]

Thanks for the feedback guys!!! Much appreciated. I have a few things to try out by the looks of it. lol

 

[unionrdr]

Ok you guys,not all kits come with plain buckets & only one with a spigot. Fermenting buckets can also be ordered with spigots on them. The Cooper's fermenters all have always had spigots on them. It isn't wrong,it will not fill up with trub,& rabid pirahna won't servive in them. Both my fermenters have spigots & I prefer them that way. Leting gravity do it's thing works better that all the siphons in the world,ime. I used that damn autosiphon once & it filled full of bubbles & wouldn't stop. I put it away & haven't touched it since.
And opening the spigot before removing the airlock cap & center piece will drain the airlock. Simple physics.

 

[Francus]

I personally would not use Star San in the airlock. It's a cleaning chemical and I don't care what they say I don't want it in my beer. I use vodka. Worst thing that happens is if some gets in your beer has a tad more alcohol in it.

With vodka you do need to add more to the airlock from time to time. The boiling point is lower than that of water so it evaporates quicker. But again, much better to add more to the airlock from time to time than worry about off flavors from an unwanted chemical addition.