Sucking the water out of the airlock?

spinnychick · Jun 12, 2011

I've got a beer kit (Canada brews, if I remember correctly) that is sucking the water out of the airlock into the carboy. It's due to be bottled within the next day or so, but I thought it was supposed to BLOW bubbles, not suck them. It was working fine, and I thought I had seen a couple of bubbles still coming up, but when I took a closer look early this evening, the bubble was rising through the center tube of the airlock and the tube was full of water, which was dripping into the carboy. Nearly all the water from the airlock had been sucked into the beer. I washed/sterilized the airlock and bung, set it back up again, and an hour later the airlock is empty again.

1. Is this normal?

2. WHY is this happening?

3. How badly contaminated is the beer likely to be from sucking in the first bunch of water? What should I watch for? Is it still safe to bottle and drink?

Vikki

rhythmsteve · Jun 13, 2011

I have this happen whenever i apply too much pressure to the outside of my fermenting container. is it possible its blowing out through the top?

Tom · Jun 13, 2011

1. Is this normal?

2. WHY is this happening?

3. How badly contaminated is the beer likely to be from sucking in the first bunch of water? What should I watch for? Is it still safe to bottle and drink?

1 yes can happen

2 most likely its change of temp or airpressure

3 Doubt its comtaminated.

Now more info please;
When did you start
Whan did you rack
Whats the starting gravity and what is it now

spinnychick · Jun 13, 2011

Tom said:
1 yes can happen

2 most likely its change of temp or airpressure

3 Doubt its comtaminated.

Now more info please;
When did you start
Whan did you rack
Whats the starting gravity and what is it now

Air pressure... that makes sense. The weather was steady from the time I racked it until yesterday, when we had scattered thunderstorms roll in. Never really thought of the pressure change. Is there a way around something like that happening in the future?

It was started May 29 in the morning and racked into a glass carboy June 3 in the evening. Instructions said to bottle 7-10 days later. Starting SG was 1.049/1.050, but on Saturday night it was 1.011-ish. Trying to read the tiny numbers on a hydrometer has reminded me that my eyes aren't as young as they used to be either. LOL

I'm not seeing any sign of bubbles moving in the beer itself, so I think it's pretty much petered out.

Thanks for the replies!

Vikki

Thanks for the assistance! Vikki

winemaker_3352 · Jun 13, 2011

Make sure you don't overfill the airlock. If you overfill it - the change in air pressure can cause the liquid to spill into the carboy.

Tom · Jun 13, 2011

ditto.
everything looks good so far

spinnychick · Jun 13, 2011

If anything the airlock was a bit underfilled the second time, but there's obviously enough water to fill the little float inside and start siphoning. no more than a tablespoon of water the second time, but it kind of defeats the purpose of an airlock. I'm going to shop around and see if I can't find another design that is less likely to do this, and in the meantime anything that isn't fiercely bubbling away gets a tube down into a jar of water. If we encounter the air pressure needed to push water uphill through 3-4 feet of tubing, I think beer will be the least of my worries. lol

This has got me wondering now... does air pressure affect the function of a hydrometer in the same way? Just curious.

Vikki

ibglowin · Jun 13, 2011

No, a hydrometer is just floating in an open atmosphere and will not rise or fall with the barometric pressure. With the airlock you have created a small closed off environment that locks out any new air coming into the system but the whole system will respond (rise and fall, expand and contract) to changes in air pressure, temperature, etc.

spinnychick · Jun 13, 2011

ibglowin said:
No, a hydrometer is just floating in an open atmosphere and will not rise or fall with the barometric pressure. With the airlock you have created a small closed off environment that locks out any new air coming into the system but the whole system will respond (rise and fall, expand and contract) to changes in air pressure, temperature, etc.

Thanks, that makes sense. I had never noticed the rubber ducky floating lower in the bathwater when it rains either. :slp

Vikki

Dugger · Jun 13, 2011

There's a fill line on your airlock (which sounds like a 3 piece one) so try not to fill beyond that. You may also want to try an s-type airlock instead.

grapeman · Jun 13, 2011

You can also fill the airlock with vodka and then when it gets sucked in, it just adds alcohol. It still needs changing every couple months because it also can become contaminated.

Sucking the water out of the airlock?

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