Do you know who sells the kits?
thx
Quick before dinner project. Realized I had everything I needed. (I remembered seeing this a while back.) Thanks for the idea!
EDIT Note: a Forstner bit drills a Mason jar lid very cleanly!
It’s pretty cool to put the liquid in the right jar and when fermentation starts the liquid is pushed to the left jar.
Thanks, I think I have just enough vinyl tube wet to make another “dip.” But why not just leave the right jar as a “buffer” for any blown off material and have the left as a sort of double airlock? I was thinking that way the Star San stays clean until crashing.
I can’t see a reason not to.
Cool. Thanks again for the “plan and parts list!” Pictures worth, well, lots of words.
Improved – simplified, more airtight, and metal-free – version using plastic lids and grommets:
I would beg to differ on them being more airtight. I specifically use the plastic ones for yeast storage because I will dent/collapse metal lids, but the plastic does not. If I shake my yeast up in those with plastic lids I can hear it hiss out co2 as well.
It’s not the seal of the lid that was the problem, it’s the connections. It is impossible to get a clean hole and a good seal with washers on a metal mason lid (I’ve tried many versions over the years,) and worse with the version I copied above using lamp nipples, the tubing does not seal like on a barb. I tested this with some pressure and it’s definitely an improvement. No hiss. If you want to improve it further (I may before actually using this) an o ring inside the lid would be an option. Or I could spend quite a few grand on a pressure fermentation system I suppose.
Is this really necessary, or is it just one more fun-but-pricey-gadget looking for a problem that has a simpler solution? For the advertised $49.99 price, I could almost buy enough malt for two more brews!
I’ve been using cheap vodka for years for 5.5 gal fermentations with no obvious problems.
But hey, it’s your money.
Cheers either way!
They charge $50, I made mine for about $4.
Rods and nuts were dirt cheap. I had the o-rings, plastic tubing, jars and air lock on hand. Easy peasy
Robert, I’ll be curious to see if once you have your Speidel 30L if you think you’ll still need this. The airlocks are huge, and if properly filled I don’t see how they could suck back. Mine never do.
My plan is not to use the Speidel airlock. (They do look like a great design though.) I’m getting the gas in/PRV accessory, and I plan to use the jar rig attached with a gas QD as my airlock. (I’m open to other options for an airlock using the gas post, but I’ve got this tinkered together, just need to add a flare nut.) I’ve never been concerned with LIQUID suckback, but now that I’ve got this thingy ironed out, I won’t worry as much about AIR getting sucked in when crashing. Sort of a CO2 buffer. And I won’t have to open the fermenter at all to change accessories to do a closed transfer, or take a sample, or anything. Totally closed system from pitching to serving, and since I quit filtering I’ll have as close as I can get to no cold side O2 exposure. ‘Cause I got plenty o’ hot side O2. Repeat mantra: all beer is oxidized…
PS Nor cal rocks. Order shipped within a couple of hours of placing it. Will have it for next batch.
Sorry. But I’m another nay-sayer. Homebrewers like me like gadgets, but something like this is really superfluous.
Blow off tubes only need to go under the surface of the water/starsan/vodka etc that they are placed in. By assuring that there is only enough volume of water to fill the tube 2/3 of the way up to the top, the vacuum will always be broken before the liquid gets sucked all he way back into the beer.
But, if it makes you happy to fiddle and deal with more gear in your fridge, then go nuts!
I (fortunately) don’t have to deal with this issue, anymore. Anytime I cool my conical, I put on a lb or two of CO2.
Mylo
Actually, that is a great idea, and I could do that on the Speidel. Thanks for the idea.
Nor cal says they’ve run 30lbs into a Speidel, I wouldn’t go more than 5. You’ll see how they gallon out… I imagine 30 could make a pretty big bang if it fails
But 1 or 2 sounds smart. I’ll have to figure out what the negative pressure of cooling ~2gal by 30°F or so would be, you just need to counter that. After that, 5lb should be more than enough for a transfer.
EDIT Tire guy says rule of thumb is 1psi/10°F
Fact that they balloon out is a good thing, safety margin, glass won’t do that. Just at LHBS, they told me about a customer who was recently doing a closed transfer from a carboy. The racking cane clogged so he decided to clear it by putting on a couple extra psi. Turned his back and heard the bang. Now has lots of stitches in his back (and no beer.)