Random thought for the day

The only time I'm comfortable using a piece of sanitized foil is for a yeast starter. I figure the density of the yeast means it will out compete anything that gets in under the foil. I think I would be comfortable using a dry airlock during active fermentation because there is always a flow out of the fermentation vessel. Once fermentation activity subsides I would be right back to being uncomfortable again.
 
BOB357 said:
Fermentation went wild on one of the 2 beers I did on my double brew day, this past Saturday. The S type airlock had all of the Starsan solution blown out of it in 24 hours. I refilled it and it was dry again in a couple of hours; As I contemplated refilling it again, I asked myself, "WHY". Why are we comfortable using a piece of sanitized foil in place of an airlock, whether for a starter or a fermentation, but insist on using liquid in airlocks? Dunno about anyone else, but I'm using dry airlocks until I find a reason not to.

Thoughts?
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Are you talking for the whole fermentation or just the beginning (active part)?

Has anyone ever used the Breathable silicone bungs? They seem like they would be great, just not sure there are enough different sizes to fit all fermenters.
 
Megary said:
Are you talking for the whole fermentation or just the beginning (active part)?

Has anyone ever used the Breathable silicone bungs? They seem like they would be great, just not sure there are enough different sizes to fit all fermenters.
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Yes, the entire fermentation. Unless the baddies have learned to climb on their own, how would they get into the beer?
 
BOB357 said:
Yes, the entire fermentation. Unless the baddies have learned to climb on their own, how would they get into the beer?
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I agree that it should be ok to run a airlock without any solution.
My only fear would be fermentation flys especially in summer. They are attracted to sugars of all types especially beer hence why all my taps have rubber nipples on them to keep them pesky ferm flys out I'm sure as heck you wouldn't want what their spitting on your beer lol.
Also before them plugs I had a dodgey pour out one of my taps guess what?
A bloody spider had made its home up in there the little drunken ba@tard!:p

So that's my 2c not in my brew house my friend I live in the subtropics insects like to camakazi into my beer.
Heck one session I had I sware in had the worst luck somehow every beer of the day a bloody fly would end up swimming In my beer!!
And that was a 11am kick off.
Two lessons 1 drink quicker and 2 insects just love beer;).

But life in the desert may provide a bug free enviroment.
Put it this way I'd atleast leave some cloth over the opening to stop any crawling flying introoders.
 
Trialben said:
I agree that it should be ok to run a airlock without any solution.
My only fear would be fermentation flys especially in summer. They are attracted to sugars of all types especially beer hence why all my taps have rubber nipples on them to keep them pesky ferm flys out I'm sure as heck you wouldn't want what their spitting on your beer lol.
Also before them plugs I had a dodgey pour out one of my taps guess what?
A bloody spider had made its home up in there the little drunken ba@tard!:p

So that's my 2c not in my brew house my friend I live in the subtropics insects like to camakazi into my beer.
Heck one session I had I sware in had the worst luck somehow every beer of the day a bloody fly would end up swimming In my beer!!
And that was a 11am kick off.
Two lessons 1 drink quicker and 2 insects just love beer;).

But life in the desert may provide a bug free enviroment.
Put it this way I'd atleast leave some cloth over the opening to stop any crawling flying introoders.
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I see your point. It helps that I brew indoors and it's rare to see insects in our house, with the exception of a few fruit flies when bringing in fresh produce from the garden. I haven't seen any insects in my airlock since I started brewing indoors, but understand your vulnerability when doing everything outdoors.
 
BOB357 said:
I see your point. It helps that I brew indoors and it's rare to see insects in our house, with the exception of a few fruit flies when bringing in fresh produce from the garden. I haven't seen any insects in my airlock since I started brewing indoors, but understand your vulnerability when doing everything outdoors.
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Has the S style air locks got a little cap on them.
I used to use senior style with that perforated plastic caps .
I rekon this alone would keep out any bugs.
I know the Lambic brewers only open ferment their batches in the cooler time of year where overall day temp is under 15c.
 
Yea, the S style has a cap. The cap can have small holes like the 3 piece airlock, or be held off of the airlock to leave a gap about the same width as the diameter of the holes.
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BOB357 said:
Why do you refill it? That's the question. Do you think the liquid protects your beer?
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Do you buy collision insurance on your car? I leave most fermentations in primary for 2 weeks. I figure it is pushing out co2 for 5 to 10 days. Putting a bit of starsan in after a few days to let air flow one way or another is cheap easy insurance. I have probably spent more on collison insurance over time than i have for cars.Really nessecary, maybe not. A roll of the dice? Yup. Just trying to keep the odds in my favor.
 
I do carry collision insurance. We are human and, sooner or later, will do something that causes damage to our vehicle(s). We react and make choices, not always the right ones. Bacteria don't react and don't make choices. Conventional wisdom and science say they aren't capable of climbing either.

Not disagreeing with your logic, Just trying to stimulate thought on the subject. Do you think bacteria can make the 2 U-turns necessary to navigate an airlock, and end up in your beer? Common belief says they are blown, fall or are otherwise propelled, so they could fall into the airlock, even through the small hokes in the top. Would they be able to then crawl upwards in a sheltered and virtually still environment? If they could do this, the last leg of their journey would be falling into the beer. So the question is whether or not they can climb on their own. I'm betting they can't.
 
Yes it can, and it makes no difference whether or not you have liquid in the airlock, does it?
 
Does liquid in the airlock prevent suck-back?
 
I sat in on a hombrew demo once just for kicks and to see if I'd learn anything new about hombrewing.
It was the Coppers rep at a local liquor store showing us how to make a coopers kit and kilo batch with their new fermentor it doesn't have a hole for an airlock the lid just sits on loosly he said heck you don't even need the lid you could just apply some cling wrap over the top poke a hole in it with a pin and call it done.
Just adding this to the discussion.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...BMAB6BAgBEAU&usg=AOvVaw3GGXl6SyUAatJkL55IZVk8
 
My point exactly. It seems like the only thing you'd be missing with a dry airlock is the entertainment value of watching CO2 bubbles.
 
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