Daily 3 piece AIRLOCK SUCKBACK!

[BeerLord]

Hello!

hope theres someone on here who can explain why im getting a daily gradual suckback in my airlock.

ive read other forums saying this could be due to the temp being colder toward the centre of the FV.

ive givien the fv a gentle rock to hopefully get a more consistent temp but to no avail

its very slow but I still have to keep re attaching the airlock to stop the starsan creeping up and into the beer!

current temp is 20/21c

Cheers

[Nitro Jim]

Are you controlling the temperature or is your FV subject to ambient temperatures that drop at night?
If the latter, I would suggest that you are putting too much liquid in your airlock.

[BeerLord]

[quote="Nitro Jim"]Are you controlling the temperature or is your FV subject to ambient temperatures that drop at night?
If the latter, I would suggest that you are putting too much liquid in your airlock.[/quote]

im afraid I don't own a fridge so im leaving the FV at room temp. it fluccuates between 19/21 (FV), but ill except at night the room temp is prob a few degrees lower. should I consider the oil heater on low?

the fill level is half way so its not exceeding the recommended mark

[Jim]

I agree that the drop in temperature is likely to cause the liquid and air in the fermenter to contract and draw air in backwards through the airlock.

If you have the means to keep the room warm that's an option but personally I wouldn't leave an oil heater on unattended all night. A better solution would be a brewing/aquarium immersion heater in the fermenter, or even insulating it with a camping mat (can be bought fairly cheaply if you shop around).

Incidentally, a small amount of starsan in a large quantity of beer won't do any harm whatever.

[BeerLord]

I shall take both views into consideration, im just double checking now if theres a leak as ive never had this problem before (or at least not as constant)

Cheers

I swapped it over for a bubble type (s type?) so hoping by the time I get home the liquid ain't moved

[Fil]

a lil starsan wont have any detrimental effect on a brew, as long as the gravity reading you take are showing a gradual drop in gravity dont worry about it and the simplest solution is to break the seal of the lid to allow the FV to 'breathe'

airlocks are a bell n whistle for beer brewing, a loose fitting lid to keep airborn microlife from dropping into the wort is all thats needed

[tourer]

beerlord, i dropped the temperature on my last brew and monitered the blow off tube slowly sucking the starsan up the tube ( it's a long large tube) so no worries as the air will get sucked in before the starsan. As has already been said it's probably cooler temperature change.

[BeerLord]

beerlord, i dropped the temperature on my last brew and monitered the blow off tube slowly sucking the starsan up the tube ( it's a long large tube) so no worries as the air will get sucked in before the starsan. As has already been said it's probably cooler temperature change.

Cheers Tourer

i swapped the airlock over to a bubble type, seems to have no suck back with this one, suprised im not seeing any at all though. maybe a leak in the 3 piece

[BrannigansLove]

That's why I fill them with vodka. No issues if there is a little bit of suckback, just a tiny bump in ABV.

[IPA]

[quote][a loose fitting lid to keep airborn microlife from dropping into the wort is all thats needed quote]

First class advice but very few will listen.

[BrannigansLove]

[a loose fitting lid to keep airborn microlife from dropping into the wort is all thats needed quote]

First class advice but very few will listen.

I do this with saisons, but not with other beers for some reason. With holes in the tops of all my buckets I have to use a piece of sanitised foil over the hole.

[SteveMJ]

I agree that the drop in temperature is likely to cause the liquid and air in the fermenter to contract and draw air in backwards through the airlock.

If you have the means to keep the room warm that's an option but personally I wouldn't leave an oil heater on unattended all night. A better solution would be a brewing/aquarium immersion heater in the fermenter, or even insulating it with a camping mat (can be bought fairly cheaply if you shop around).

Incidentally, a small amount of starsan in a large quantity of beer won't do any harm whatever.

I use a 50W aquarium heater that I bought via eBay. The mains lead goes through a grommet to maintain the gastight seal - more eBay. I also wrap a layer of bubble wrap around the whole vessel and monitor temperature with a digital thermometer.

This works well until the hot summer ambient is about the ideal brew temp - our kitchen went up to 28C at the end of July

[BitterTed]

That's why I have stopped using an airlock. I sanitize some foil and put that over the opening on the carboy, no issues from this method and I have been doing it that way for a few years.