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Airlock, just wondering...

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Dunn1994

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Apr 28, 2014
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My cherry mead is now bulk ageing in its 2nd demijohn. The water in the airlock (s-type) normally all sits on the left when fermenting as the pressure inside is greater than the outside, but now it keeps swapping from left to right :') I was just curious as to what causes this?

Sam :)

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dansole

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May 26, 2014
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I have the same thing, I was thinking expansion and contraction due to the change in ambient temperature?
 
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Get_Wiggly

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Feb 4, 2014
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Temperature.

If fermentation has slowed or stopped then temperature is going to be the major contributor for change. When it is hot, the mead inside will evaporate and the gases will expand, pushing out. If it cools off, the opposite will happen, as the gases inside contract, thus pulling the water in the lock in the opposite direction.
 
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Dunn1994

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Apr 28, 2014
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I thought that, but the temperature doesn't really vary in the room they are in :') it just seems weird doesn't it? :)

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Get_Wiggly

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Feb 4, 2014
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The air pressure can also change.

I highly doubt, though, that your temperature doesn't vary in the room - even 3 degrees could shift the liquid in the airlock, I'm sure.
 
mannye

mannye

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What Wiggly said. I bet you a buck that your temps will vary as much as 5F from day to day and certainly from morning to night. What you've got there is a very large thermometer. I recommend carefully removing the airlock (so you don't get all that water sucked into your pretty mead) and replacing the water with vodka. That way if it gets sucked into the mead, it's just vodka and no harm done. Water can hold a host of nasty creatures in it. It's really more of a concern with beer, which goes bad if you look at it sideways, but it's a good hedge against contamination. Belt and suspenders I always say.
 
icedmetal

icedmetal

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Nov 16, 2009
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I think you guys must overfill your airlocks or something. The ones I buy mostly have a line on them that shows just how much water to put in them.

Experiment: fill the airlock to the line, then suck on it lightly. You will be able to suck the water out of it, but think about how much force/pressure that is, compared to what your ferment would do to the airlock.

Primary with fruit, and all bets are off though... lose the airlock entirely!
 
mannye

mannye

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icedmetal said:
I think you guys must overfill your airlocks or something. The ones I buy mostly have a line on them that shows just how much water to put in them.

Experiment: fill the airlock to the line, then suck on it lightly. You will be able to suck the water out of it, but think about how much force/pressure that is, compared to what your ferment would do to the airlock.

Primary with fruit, and all bets are off though... lose the airlock entirely!
Click to expand...

I'll tell ya right now... I don't care if you're UNDER that line... remove a bung or lid too quickly and shwooop! all that airlock juice is getting sucked out of there in the blink of an eye. This is especially true of bucket lids.
 
mannye

mannye

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Well no, just don't go yanking on anything. Haha. That sounded dirty. If you are careful when you remove stoppers or lids you won't have any problems. It's not really a big deal. It WILL happen to you so don't worry.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
mannye

mannye

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Is that it? Well then there you have it. I thought it was a huge thermometer. But yours sounds mo' bettah.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
Riverat

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Actually both are happening, that is expansion and contraction of the liquid and gas due to temperature changes as well as the pressure of the gas (air) outside going from positive to negative relative to the gas in the fermenter due to high and low pressure fronts moving across the region.
 
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