# Senior Airlock



## DrewCarey82 (28/9/05)

G'day guys brought a brigalow fermentation lock, its like a round cylinder in two parts, sought of looks like a pencil sharpener how does i fill it up?


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## Steve (28/9/05)

take the top bit off and put water in the bottom bit without pouring the water down the inner tube and put the top bit back on.


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## Jez (28/9/05)

take the top part out & fill the bottom part around the tube. put the top back on. done


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## Jez (28/9/05)

you must have just beat me steve


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## HalfWit (25/3/14)

Hey peoples, my senior airlock is to big for the hole in one of my fermenter lid. What is the best way to enlarge the hole?


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## jaypes (25/3/14)

Throw the whole thing away, use some gladwrap and the big o-ring from the lid to seal like a big rubber band

Most of the brewers on here use this method


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## HalfWit (25/3/14)

I like the blop blop blop sound, very therapeutic.


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## superstock (25/3/14)

Get a tradition S type airlock


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## bradsbrew (25/3/14)

HalfWit said:


> Hey peoples, my senior airlock is to big for the hole in one of my fermenter lid. What is the best way to enlarge the hole?


Measure the airlock with a micrometer, then using a blow torch heat the lid, when softened insert a hole spreader and rotate until the size of the hole accomodates the airlock whilst allowing room for the grommet. Easy!

Or you could just choose the drill bit that is a bit thicker than the airlock and drill it out.


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## NewtownClown (25/3/14)

bradsbrew said:


> Measure the airlock with a micrometer, then using a blow torch heat the lid, when softened insert a hole spreader and rotate until the size of the hole accomodates the airlock whilst allowing room for the grommet. Easy!
> 
> Or you could just choose the drill bit that is a bit thicker than the airlock and drill it out.


You second suggestion seems to simple for it to work...


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## HalfWit (25/3/14)

superstock the senior airlocks are much better than the S type. You can move the fermentor around and take gravity samples without having to loosen the overly tightened lid.

Thanks bradbrew, the drill bit sounds like the go. I used a round file for my other lid and it left a very jagged edge.


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## djar007 (25/3/14)

Careful the drill doesn't grab on and crack the lid.


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## pcmfisher (25/3/14)

jaypes said:


> Throw the whole thing away, use some gladwrap and the big o-ring from the lid to seal like a big rubber band
> 
> Most of the brewers on here use this method


Most?


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## Bribie G (25/3/14)

Poll, anyone?

If I were to use airlocks again I'd use the two part one. As stated you can move the fermenter and it doesn't suck a solution of fruit flies, dust and bacteria back into the beer.


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## jaypes (25/3/14)

pcmfisher said:


> Most?


Just the experienced ones


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## Camo6 (25/3/14)

Whilst still using a lid I switched to the two piece airlocks as they were easier to clean and didn't draw any liquid back into the fermenter. I never enlarged the holes in the lid just lubed em up and gave it a good twist. They only needed to poke in 5mm to get a good seal. 'S' traps are for shitters. Two piece FTW.


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## Bribie G (25/3/14)

Airlocks were developed for home wine making, where the brew had to be kept under lock for months. Home beer brewing was an "offshoot" of wine making and in the early days there was no sound tradition of beer making at home so the emerging craft borrowed a lot of concepts from winemaking. Particularly noticeable in the USA who love carboys, that are really oversized demijohns.

Winemaking was immensely popular in the UK where, because of high taxation and no domestic wine industry at that time, hundreds of wine "circles" came into existence. Their guru was CJJ Dennis who then wrote a book "home brewed beers and stouts" which was a real gateway for most serious home brewers into the craft. I'm old enough to have owned a copy of that. So as the home beer brewing craft emerged and blossomed from the 1960s onwards, many of the winemaking traditions were regarded as a "given", including airlocks. Edit: not unlike the requirement that early cars had to have a socket to hold a whip.

I don't ferment in open vessels as in traditional UK and Czech breweries as I'm wary of airborne subtropical stuff in my geographical region, but find clingwrap to be a good halfway house that also lets me look in on the progress of the brew.

Further edit: interestingly when HB in the UK reached such a critical mass that it became economically viable for companies such as EDME and Tom Caxton to introduce home brew tinned kits, they had a big rethink and provided a big poly bag to line your garbage bin with and you fermented in that, with a twisty tie to allow gas to seep out. Great system, used it myself, but then as the HB industry ramped up still further with purpose made snap lock lidded bucket fermenters, the airlock came back in again. In Australia the preferred fermenter was the cream barrel style and again, drill a hole and fit an airlock.

Then cameth clingwrap B)


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## Phoney (25/3/14)

I simply stick a 20 cent coin (pre-sprayed with starsan) over the hole in the lid. Using this method I havent had an infection in 5+ years. YMMV.


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## Camo6 (25/3/14)

Which side up? Does it matter? Will this method work with a NZ 20c piece or will it be rejected as per usual?


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## pcmfisher (26/3/14)

jaypes said:


> Just the experienced ones


Yes, of course. How silly of me


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## Batz (26/3/14)

Camo6 said:


> Will this method work with a NZ 20c piece or will it be rejected as per usual?


It would rust.


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## jaypes (26/3/14)

pcmfisher said:


> Yes, of course. How silly of me


Ahh well you have learnt something


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## Tricky Dicky (20/1/19)

anyone know the length of these senior locks I'm trying maximise space in my fermentation fridge so I can also keg a keg in.?


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## altone (21/1/19)

Tricky Dicky said:


> anyone know the length of these senior locks I'm trying maximise space in my fermentation fridge so I can also keg a keg in.?


If it's the same as the one I have:
Overall is 9.5cm
The actual body part is about 7cm (the big bit that sticks up above the lid)


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## alwayssummer (23/2/19)

djar007 said:


> Careful the drill doesn't grab on and crack the lid.


You can use a step bit (safest) or a spade bit (riskier) to avoid the problem of the bit grabbing and cracking the lid. But after reading this thread I think I'm brewing my next batch under cling wrap.


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