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Author Topic: Please help me with an equipment issue...  (Read 1224 times)

Offline Village Taphouse

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Please help me with an equipment issue...
« on: October 26, 2022, 05:15:59 pm »
Picture this:  Plastic fermenter with a standard plastic lid and grommet.  Airlock in the grommet but just the main piece, not the middle piece or lid.  Then I attach a piece of silicone tubing to that center post of the airlock and on the other end is a liquid QD which is connected to the keg and the CO2 from fermentation purges the keg.  Lately I have purchased plastic airlocks where that center post seems to be wider and I can't get the tubing over it without a struggle.  If I *DO* get it on there, it's so tight that when I pull the tubing off, the airlock might break.  I need a new way to send CO2 from the fermenter to the keg (which bleeds out through the IN port with tubing that goes to sanitizer) but on the day when I send the beer to the keg I take the tubing from the airlock and put it onto the spigot of the fermenter and let it flow into the keg in a closed loop.  I feel like the wider post on the airlock is the issue and I have ordered new airlocks online and also picked some up from my local supplier and they're all the same.  Any thoughts?  Cheers Beerheads. 
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Offline Megary

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2022, 05:33:49 pm »
What’s the point of the airlock?  Can’t you stick a barbed adapter/fitting right into the grommet of the lid?  One end in the lid, the other into the hose?  Not sure such a fitting exists, but it seems that getting rid of the airlock is where I’d start.

Good luck.

Offline chumley

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2022, 05:36:09 pm »
Can I ask, why are you doing this?

Offline Village Taphouse

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2022, 05:55:44 pm »
What’s the point of the airlock?  Can’t you stick a barbed adapter/fitting right into the grommet of the lid?  One end in the lid, the other into the hose?  Not sure such a fitting exists, but it seems that getting rid of the airlock is where I’d start.

Good luck.
I would totally do that if such a fitting existed.  I am willing to adopt any new thinking on this.
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Offline Village Taphouse

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2022, 05:58:58 pm »
Can I ask, why are you doing this?
Couple reasons.  I can purge the keg of O2 by sending all the CO2 from fermentation through the keg.  Then on the day when I transfer to a keg I can take the silicone tubing off the airlock and connect to the spigot and then connect a line from the IN port onto the airlock so that I can transfer the beer in a closed loop.  Less exposure to O2 because the keg is purged and also because the transfer loop is closed.  I feel like a new breed of airlocks came out where the center post is wider and my tubing no longer fits. 
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Offline Richard

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2022, 06:09:17 pm »
I do a similar thing. I purchased a bulkhead-mount ball lock gas post. The gas post is on one end with a threaded post on the other end. This goes through a hole in the fermenter lid with a nut on the inside that pulls down tight against an o-ring on the outside. Then I use a hose with ball lock gas QD to attach to that and a liquid QD to go onto the keg. You will probably have to enlarge the hole to fit the bulkhead mount, but that should be easy. You can use gas or liquid post, whichever you prefer.

https://www.amazon.com/Bulkhead-Assembly-Replacement-Homebrew-Dispenser/dp/B07CPT7YS2/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3HNHQCV3EZSOZ&keywords=ball+lock+post+bulkhead&qid=1666828974&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjgxIiwicXNhIjoiMS42NyIsInFzcCI6IjEuNTkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=ball+lock+post+bulkhead%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-5
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Offline BrewBama

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Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2022, 06:18:06 pm »
I do the same thing Richard suggests. I use this fitting from Bobby: https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/bulkheadblg.htm

I have a BrewBucket and modified it using this ref: https://brulosophy.com/2020/07/09/using-co2-from-fermentation-to-purge-serving-kegs-do-it-yourself/

Offline Village Taphouse

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2022, 06:27:22 pm »
Guys, thank you.  I will check out those links and see which ones fit my setup the best.  Cheers and thanks again.
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2022, 07:12:29 pm »
I use a 13 gallon Kegmenter for most batches, but some 5.5 gallon batches get a plastic fermenter.  All have gas in and liquid out pressure ferment.  They work great and i transfer under CO2 pressure.
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Offline Megary

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2022, 06:36:37 am »
What’s the point of the airlock?  Can’t you stick a barbed adapter/fitting right into the grommet of the lid?  One end in the lid, the other into the hose?  Not sure such a fitting exists, but it seems that getting rid of the airlock is where I’d start.

Good luck.
I would totally do that if such a fitting existed.  I am willing to adopt any new thinking on this.

Would either of these work?
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/splicebarb14x14.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/splicebarb14x38.htm

Offline Village Taphouse

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2022, 07:41:39 am »
I would totally do that if such a fitting existed.  I am willing to adopt any new thinking on this.

Would either of these work?
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/splicebarb14x14.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/splicebarb14x38.htm
[/quote]
Thanks for that.  I would try them just to see if they fit snugly into the grommet.  I also realize that there may be other options with a new fermenter but my fermentation fridge JUST BARELY holds my current plastic fermenter and I would hate to buy a new fermenter that required that I buy a new fridge too. 
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Offline goose

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2022, 09:48:53 am »
Another idea, Ken, depending on the ID of the tubing and the ID of the gromet, you can cut off a piece of a plastic racking cane, fit the hose to one end and put the other end through the grommet.  If you get a relatively tight seal on the fermenter lid, this will work.  You may have to change the grommet for one that makes a tighter seal.  It is cheaper than installing a bulkhead and if it fits tight, it should work.

That said, I do like the bulkhead idea as well.
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Offline Village Taphouse

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2022, 09:53:15 am »
Another idea, Ken, depending on the ID of the tubing and the ID of the gromet, you can cut off a piece of a plastic racking cane, fit the hose to one end and put the other end through the grommet.  If you get a relatively tight seal on the fermenter lid, this will work.  You may have to change the grommet for one that makes a tighter seal.  It is cheaper than installing a bulkhead and if it fits tight, it should work.

That said, I do like the bulkhead idea as well.
Hi Goose.  Thanks for that.  I actually may have a plastic bottling wand that I could cut and I also have a stainless racking cane that I bought that is REALLY LONG and I may be able to cut that was well and see if it fits into the grommet.  That might be the best scenario.  I'll look into it.  Cheers and thanks again.
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Offline Village Taphouse

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2022, 03:16:10 pm »
Turns out that the stainless racking cane and any plastic bottling wands I have DO fit through the grommet but they're loose and probably wouldn't keep out O2.  I may need to go to my local supplier and explain it to her and ask her to set me up with something. 
Ken from Chicago. 
A day without beer is like... just kidding, I have no idea.

Online reverseapachemaster

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Re: Please help me with an equipment issue...
« Reply #14 on: October 28, 2022, 10:10:28 am »
Does the tubing fit correctly on the stem of the airlock that goes into the grommet? If so, cut off the stem with a hacksaw and just use that piece. You may need to use a high grit sandpaper to smooth the cut and create a slightly rounded edge to make sliding the tube on a little easier.  You'll want to connect the hose to the stem before sticking it in the lid so you don't accidentally push it through into the wort/beer.
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