FV Air Lock "boil over" trap

[AlanHarper]

I saw someone had a "boil over" of their air-lock that made a mess of their worktop and, although that hasn't happened to me I had an idea that may prevent it happening.
The idea is to use the air-lock within another container - in this case a cut down plastic milk bottle so that will trap any spill over.
The pictures below explain the procedure quite well but essentially the plastic cap has a hole made in it to match the diameter of the air-lock - it has to be a tight fit. The air-lock will be pushed into the cap so that eventually the cap can be screwed back into the milk carton. The milk carton is cut open to give you access to the air-lock so it can be filled with water as usual.
The whole thing is pushed onto the FV - either a DJ or a beer FV as in the pics.

 

[cushyno]

Good idea. Cheap and cheerful solution to a common messy problem. It's given me a few ideas for next time. Thanks.

 

[LeeH]

Won’t you just end up with a bottle of inverted liquid?

I use the blow off tube method in a large jug, it’s normally below the FV but I could find the long hose and the jug!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I love invention but like Lee I use a blow off tube.

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-make-a-blow-off-tube.48970/

.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
In a brewfridge (controlled, clean environment) you could try leaving the lid off the FV. There'd be no overflow into the airlock - no airlock

 

[LeeH]

No but you could have an overflow into the bottom of your fridge.

 

[Bigcol49]

No but you could have an overflow into the bottom of your fridge.

Hi!
Doubtful - the large surface area of the FV would make an overspill unlikely.
If it's that bad there's too much wort in the FV.
Stand the FV on a tray - it's a belt and braces solution.

 

[AlanHarper]

View attachment 16086 Won’t you just end up with a bottle of inverted liquid?

I use the blow off tube method in a large jug, it’s normally below the FV but I could find the long hose and the jug!

Hi Lee, Yes you could get a filled bottle - Lift off the bottle, put finger over the hole in the FV, empty bottle, replace it.

All options are possible.

It's just an idea...

 

[AdeDunn]

I used to use a blow off tube. Now I just use a giant airlock....



Oh, and an FV with enough head space that the krausen never reaches the airlock in the first place... lol

 

[BarnBrian]

I run my blow off tube into an empty coffee jar. Two holes in the lid, one for hose and one for air lock. My reason for doing this instead of just blow off tube in bottle is to avoid sucking up the contents of bottle when I drain trub or yeast. I've done this several times