BeerBorg

My problem is, with two 5 gallon buckets I only have room for a quart jar. I need a blow off tube for my blow off jar.

That's if you keep 'em in the fridge. For me, only lagers require that. The rest of them just sit on a shelf in the basement. This time of year, it stays in the low-mid 60s down there, which is the Happy Zone for ales. Plenty of room for a blow-off jar.

have you tried a quart milk jug?

Inkleg wrote:My problem is, with two 5 gallon buckets I only have room for a quart jar. I need a blow off tube for my blow off jar.

Would a 2-liter soda bottle fit?

FedoraDave wrote:Yeah, I think I'm going to do the same thing and use boiled water in my blow-off bottle, rather than Star San. It seems a shame to let that potential gold mine of yeast go to waste.

i have to release my inner noob here. got 2 questions. one about the above, 1 about inkleg's problem.

if the blow off is in an open container(boiled water not withstanding) won't nasties get in? (not in the brew, in the blow off.)

why is inkleg's overflowing so bad? i get over flow all the time in my lbks at 2.5 gal. but only once in my ale pails, forcing the decision to change to a 2 piece airlock(easier to clean).

Jim, the blow-off bottle wouldn't be completely open to the air; it would have a loose covering over it, such as sanitized foil or the cap of the bottle resting on it, rather than screwed on tight. Both methods allow venting, and they're similar to the LBK lid, which has vents built into the threading. The things that would infect a beer would fall in from above, rather than climb in from below, so coving the top, however loosely, would prevent entry.

As far as Inkleg's situation, I think he just doesn't have room for a larger blow-off bottle, so it keeps overflowing. The suggestions made by Dag and russki seem to indicate a larger-volume, but thinner, bottle.

Thanks for getting my brain to kick in guys. I took the crisper drawers out and the compressor hump in the back takes up space. When I get a chance, I'll see if things will fit height wise with them in there or if I can build a shelf (well duh....smacks forehead) or look into a taller container.
As for the picture. That's a little over 6 gallons of 1.067 wort pitched on half an 05 yeast cake, it's gonna get messy.

FedoraDave wrote:Jim, the blow-off bottle wouldn't be completely open to the air; it would have a loose covering over it, such as sanitized foil or the cap of the bottle resting on it, rather than screwed on tight. Both methods allow venting, and they're similar to the LBK lid, which has vents built into the threading. The things that would infect a beer would fall in from above, rather than climb in from below, so coving the top, however loosely, would prevent entry.

As far as Inkleg's situation, I think he just doesn't have room for a larger blow-off bottle, so it keeps overflowing. The suggestions made by Dag and russki seem to indicate a larger-volume, but thinner, bottle.

i just re-read the thread...i don't know how i missed the loose covering.

inkleg: ok, so the same reason my lbk batches over flow .