Plaato V2 Valve introduces oxygen?

[awdwill]

Bought a Plaato Valve V2 (yellow circle) for $15 from Northern Brewer to use during cold crashing, to attempt to avoid suck-back…
Sure, there wasn’t suck-back at all during the process.
Sure, the fermenter didn’t cave in, as it otherwise would with a sealed lid.
But, darn it, doesn’t this setup completely defeat the purpose of an airlock (red arrow), allowing oxygen (green arrow) to freely go into the fermenter!!? Did I just pay $ for a device to make stale beer? Huge buyer’s remorse. Please tell me if my concern is validated… thanks, Friends!

Did a quick search and can’t find any post about this on this site.

 

[Minbari]

Add a mylar balloon filed with co2 to the "suckback" valve.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Yes, that valve is not good for your beer. The introduction of oxygen at that point in your beer’s life is undeniably bad.

I have used the Mylar balloon technique with reasonable success. I used the orange carboy cap, I placed an airlock on the big port and taped a mylar balloon on the other. As the fermentation started, the ballon would fill. Once the ballon was full and inflated, the airlock would begin venting. When the beer was finished fermenting, I would crash cool the beer with the inflated balloon still attached. As the beer cooled the balloon would deflate, most times it would completely collapse. Part of the co2 was compensating for the reduced volume of beer caused by cooling, I think the rest was absorbed into solution. It worked, but what a pain in the ass. The orange caps sometimes leak around their base, so I taped them to the carboy with electrical tape.

Since then I have moved on to fermenters that can be pressurized, much easier.

 

[Megary]

I “cold crash” by kegging my beer, putting it in the fridge and letting it gradually carbonate for a week.

 

[Mark Farrall]

I “cold crash” by kegging my beer, putting it in the fridge and letting it gradually carbonate for a week.

↑ Simplest and easiest way to cold crash. Only becomes a challenge when you need to stop floaties getting in to the keg and you don't have any filtering options.

Half my fermenters I use the mylar balloon trick (I've got a nice silicone bung with two holes that can be open or closed as needed) the other half can take pressure and I just close them off a few days before terminal. Or if I forget get them a dose of CO2 on crashing.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Yup that sux you need Co2 at the valve input
Isn't the plato an air lock counter type gizmo to let you know when airlock activity is ceasing.

 

[Minbari]

Yup that sux you need Co2 at the valve input
Isn't the plato an air lock counter type gizmo to let you know when airlock activity is ceasing.

This isn't that. They make that device as well

 

[awdwill]

Thank you all! I love learning from fellow homebrewers, and I definitely will consider (1) using the mylar balloon method, fixing it onto the pressure-equalizing (read: oxygen-permitting) side-valve of this dumb device if my plan is to bottle-condition the brew, and also (2) skip the whole trouble and simply use my keg to carbonate, beer-condition, and cold crash in one step!
Really learned a lot! Thank you guys!

FYI, I bought this valve after watching the following youtube video by Plaato, but in retrospect I should have known better...

 

[GFHomebrew]

Plaato V the great beer oxidizer

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

this is popular
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ccguardianv3.htm

 

[Mark Farrall]

I suppose the device stops you sucking back a small amount of sanitiser if you're using a s shaped airlock or a large amount of sanitiser if you're using a blow off. So it does have some use.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

trust me I've had half a jar for star sans sucked back into my fermenter just from draining from the bottom of a fermenter, everyone has done that at least once, I now have a new solution to my rig, I have this which basically does the same thing as the bladder, as the liquid is draining the air is expelled to the container you add to the right

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

That Plaato device only allows air in when there is a vacuum created by cold crashing. So it would prevent sanitizer to be pulled in from the airlock. It also would reduce the amount of air allowed in as the valve would only be open when negative pressure exists in the fermenter. It would close once pressure has equalized. However, I don't see that being enough of a benefit to buy one.

 

[west1m]

That Plaato device only allows air in when there is a vacuum created by cold crashing. So it would prevent sanitizer to be pulled in from the airlock. It also would reduce the amount of air allowed in as the valve would only be open when negative pressure exists in the fermenter. It would close once pressure has equalized. However, I don't see that being enough of a benefit to buy one.

It is actually quite a bit of air. I use a one gallon zip lock bag instead of the Mylar balloon and it will pull back at least 3/4s of the bag of CO2. Starting from puffy full.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

It is actually quite a bit of air. I use a one gallon zip lock bag instead of the Mylar balloon and it will pull back at least 3/4s of the bag of CO2. Starting from puffy full.

Thanks for bursting my balloon @west1m!