Do balloons burst?

[Buffers brewery]

I've done one brew now where I've been able to utilize the CO2 from fermentation to fill a King Keg and a couple of foil balloons. It so happened that I was on hand to monitor the inflation of the balloons and could disconnect them when they were full. I was wondering what would happen if the balloons were full and I wasn't there to unplug them? Would they burst? What do other CO2 balloonists do about this?

 

[aamcle]

A DA valve would save the day or put a bit of silicon tube in the assembly, the tube needs to be cut through on one side in the direction of its long axis. Pressure will open the split to let gas out but if you have done it right the springines of the tube will cause it to close. You would need to experiment to see how long the cut needs to be and how thick the tube wall should be.


ATb

 

[Buffers brewery]

Thanks for that suggestion @aamcle .
I was also hoping to hear from other brewloon users like @DocAnna @Coffin Dodger @Spratt and @JockyBrewer who I know are brewloonists. Do you fit and forget your brewloons cos they don't burst when they're full or do you monitor them closely so you can disconnect them as soon as they're full and connect another? Or something else? Or am I over-thinking this..... won't be the first time

 

[DocAnna]

Thanks for that suggestion @aamcle .
I was also hoping to hear from other brewloon users like @DocAnna @Coffin Dodger @Spratt and @JockyBrewer who I know are brewloonists. Do you fit and forget your brewloons cos they don't burst when they're full or do you monitor them closely so you can disconnect them as soon as they're full and connect another? Or something else? Or am I over-thinking this..... won't be the first time

So far I've taken the balloons off, capped them with tape and kept for if needing more than one for the cold crash - however I've only needed one full balloon so far at a time and will probably not bother collecting more than two again. The seal is pretty good between balloon and tube so I'd be a bit nervous about leaving it since they do get pretty tight and that pressure would have to go somewhere!

Anna

 

[Buffers brewery]

Thanks @DocAnna . I've found that 1 brewloonful is more than enough for a cold crash cycle. However, I've decided to discard the first brewloonful as it will contain a fair bit of air from the FV headspace. Like you I don't fit and forget.

 

[CD]

Thanks for that suggestion @aamcle .
I was also hoping to hear from other brewloon users like @DocAnna @Coffin Dodger @Spratt and @JockyBrewer who I know are brewloonists. Do you fit and forget your brewloons cos they don't burst when they're full or do you monitor them closely so you can disconnect them as soon as they're full and connect another? Or something else? Or am I over-thinking this..... won't be the first time

I only collect the CO2 produced after I have vented a PB down to atmospheric pressure, which if the beer is working properly is enough to replenish the volume of beer drawn off for about three gallons, after which a few squirts from an S30 cylinder provides the rest.

A really lively beer might half-fill an 18”diameter Noddy foil balloon overnight, but I never had any problem with one bursting.

 

[Buffers brewery]

A really lively beer might half-fill an 18”diameter Noddy foil balloon overnight, but I never had any problem with one bursting.

That's interesting. My most recent brew (my first attempt at brewlooning) managed to fill a brewloon in a little over half an hour!

 

[JockyBrewer]

I avoid this problem by not filling the balloon from fermentation. I empty it out completely, then fill it a bit from my CO2 tank and attach it just before cold crashing.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I avoid this problem by not filling the balloon from fermentation. I empty it out completely, then fill it a bit from my CO2 tank and attach it just before cold crashing.

Makes sense

 

[Buffers brewery]

I feel a Buffers brewery gadget coming on

 

[CD]

I take it you are collecting the CO2 produced during primary fermentation by connecting a balloon to a closed fermenting vessel, am I right? What you are going to do with it now you have collected it I’ve no idea!

The only use I have for carbon dioxide is as something to keep oxygen and air-borne bacteria / wild yeast from spoiling my beer in a part-used PB.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Yes, I'm collecting direct from a sealed fermentation bucket.
My last brew I first filled a balloon then switched the gas feed to my pressure barrel that has been sanitised and completely filled with water. The gas displaces the water into a bucket and leaves the pressure barrel full of CO2. The feed is then switched back to a balloon that is used for cold crash. Once the second balloon is full excess gas is switched to a bubbler.
When fermentation and cold crash are complete the beer can be transferred from fermentation bucket to the CO2 filled pressure barrel so minimising the exposure of the precious beer to air (oxygen). The CO2 displaced from the barrel is returned to the top of the sealed fermentation bucket.
The gas from the first balloon is discarded as it will contain a lot of air from the headspace of the fermentation bucket.

 

[Spratt]

I have always removed my balloon at night time and replaced with an empty one, just in case. I have had one of mine go very tight indeed, but it still didn't burst. I rather think it was just allowing the pressure to build up inside the Fermzilla, rather than burst the balloon

I'm still having a problem getting the CO2 out of my balloons. I suspect that when I push my 6mm JG tube into the valve and through into the body of the balloon it gets a smear of the adhesive that normally seals the valve, across the mouth of the tube. Though if that's the case I'm not sure why the pressure from the fermenter is enough to push that smear aside but when I squeeze the balloon I still can't get the gas to come out. It doesn't happen every time though, so all a bit of a mystery.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I have always removed my balloon at night time and replaced with an empty one, just in case. I have had one of mine go very tight indeed, but it still didn't burst. I rather think it was just allowing the pressure to build up inside the Fermzilla, rather than burst the balloon

I'm still having a problem getting the CO2 out of my balloons. I suspect that when I push my 6mm JG tube into the valve and through into the body of the balloon it gets a smear of the adhesive that normally seals the valve, across the mouth of the tube. Though if that's the case I'm not sure why the pressure from the fermenter is enough to push that smear aside but when I squeeze the balloon I still can't get the gas to come out. It doesn't happen every time though, so all a bit of a mystery.

I had a similar problem with my first attempts at making a brewloon. I ended up cutting the balloon neck just after the valve where the channel narrows. The neck can be opened wide and the tube fitted without going near the valve flap.

 

[CD]

I think Buffer is worrying far too much about the small amount of air left in a freshly filled PB / Cask or whatever. I have been on many brewery tours, and watched the way they fill their casks, and nobody bothers to purge all the air out with CO2 before filling them.

If filling several PB’s at a time, as I do, and find the last one is only part filled – say 4 gallons in a 5 gallon PB – it is obviously sensible to squirt some CO2 in to replace the air, but otherwise don’t bother.

 

[Buffers brewery]

You're probably right @Coffin Dodger . Overthinking things is one of my character traits
Having said that I started collecting CO2 from the fermenter to recycle during cold crashing. Like you, I was giving my pressure barrels a squirt of gas after filling them to flush the headspace of approximately 1 gallon. After reading other threads on flushing corny Kegs with CO2 before filling, I hit on the idea of using the fermentation gas to purge my pressure barrels in the same way. After all, the gas is "free" and could be put to good use.

 

[CD]

And good fun too Buffer!

 

[Ashman]

Latex balloons. There was a brewer using some I recall (for brewing). No idea if the allow Co2 through. But maybe not a great look on the fermenter though?

 

[Buffers brewery]

Yes there was. But I recall he was using it as a bladder inside a pressure barrel instead of using CO2 to pressurise. Don't know how it turned out.

 

[jof]

Latex balloons

Thought I'd been diverted to a different kind of forum then....