Airlocks VS pressure relief valves

[Georgedgerton]

Whenever I do a small batch brew to trial something, decanting from a demijohn by siphon tube of some other way drives me round the twist; while it may be fine for some it always cause me grief. By accident I stumbled across a company (Newera Brewing) that sell a 2 gal conical fermenter (BrewDeamon) with a tap positioned a little above the the bottom. At $29 on special I thought this is worth a try. I don't have it as yet, but I noticed it has a pressure relief valve in place of an airlock port. Not sure if I am overly worried or not but I don't like the "potential" for bugs to find their way in. Perhaps I may be ably to remove the valve and replace with a vent tube going into a bottle of sanitiser. Too worried about this or not?

 

[duncbrewer]

WHat a bargain and it comes with a beer or cider kit and jacket. Could just use the beer kit for making starter and you'd be in profit.
Looks like it will take an airlock, the valve it mentions is probably like the valve on some brew in a bag kits which is silicone with a little slit in it. When the pressure builds up it vents out. Don't think it would be a problem. I'd buy one if they were on sale in NZ at that price, would also be good for making starters in as well esp the one gallon one.
The US site has quite a lot about these little fermenters and some mods for it to do closed transfer injecting CO2 as you go.

 

[JDW81]

If it's the one they've got on their website then i'm sure it's fine to use (looks like it's specifically designed for brewing).

I haven't used an airlock in a fermenter for years, just cover it with glad wrap and keep the temperature controlled.

As for your "bugs", whether you like it on not, your beer will have some bugs other than yeast in it (irrespective of your sanitising regimen. It is almost impossible to completely sterilise gear, particularly on a HB scale. They never take hold as the yeast is the dominant organism.

 

[Georgedgerton]

If it's the one they've got on their website then i'm sure it's fine to use (looks like it's specifically designed for brewing).

I haven't used an airlock in a fermenter for years, just cover it with glad wrap and keep the temperature controlled.

As for your "bugs", whether you like it on not, your beer will have some bugs other than yeast in it (irrespective of your sanitising regimen. It is almost impossible to completely sterilise gear, particularly on a HB scale. They never take hold as the yeast is the dominant organism.

Probably overthinking it too much, and thanks for the input from Duc and yourself

 

[JDW81]

It's the homebrew way, over think and over engineer everything!

Gotta keep ourselves occupied in these crazy times.

 

[Bob65]

That brew demon thing looks pretty good. Had to get myself one.

 

[duncbrewer]

I did read somewhere about they recommend not cleaning it with a certain product as it makes it brittle , search the US forum for that info or contact the manufacuter if it's not in the instructions.

 

[Coalminer]

Whenever I do a small batch brew to trial something, decanting from a demijohn by siphon tube of some other way drives me round the twist; while it may be fine for some it always cause me grief. By accident I stumbled across a company (Newera Brewing) that sell a 2 gal conical fermenter (BrewDeamon) with a tap positioned a little above the the bottom. At $29 on special I thought this is worth a try. I don't have it as yet, but I noticed it has a pressure relief valve in place of an airlock port. Not sure if I am overly worried or not but I don't like the "potential" for bugs to find their way in. Perhaps I may be ably to remove the valve and replace with a vent tube going into a bottle of sanitiser. Too worried about this or not?

On the same site they have a standard airlock kit to replace the relief valve for $2:95 ea
Brew Demon Airlock Upgrade - Newera Brewing

 

[Georgedgerton]

I did read somewhere about they recommend not cleaning it with a certain product as it makes it brittle , search the US forum for that info or contact the manufacuter if it's not in the instructions.

Good work, you're right about cleaning them. It appears you cant use any acid based sanitisers on them such as StarSan. I haven't received them as yet, so still waiting to see what the instructions say, but I am guessing you would have to use something like one of the hydrogen peroxide sanitisers.

 

[MHB]

Be a bit careful with them to.
Things like Peroxitane have quite a lot of acid (Acetic) in them.
Just a spray with some ethanol (70%) would be a good no rinse sanitiser after cleaning. Worth trying the alcohol on an unobtrusive spot, before spraying it everywhere.
Mark

 

[duncbrewer]

They have a recommendation I just can't remember what it is. Brain fade.

 

[BrewLizard]

Damn, these are tempting – especially the smaller 1 gallon ones.

So far, I've done experimental split batches in 2 L milk bottles and rigged up a siphon tube and pushed the beer out with CO2, but it's leaky and messy. Having a small fermenter with a tap would be awesome. Might buy a few of them.

 

[Georgedgerton]

They have a recommendation I just can't remember what it is. Brain fade.

Tell me about it, and doesn't get any better as you get older

 

[mynameisrodney]

Instructions are here, it says to use their own no-rinse sanitiser, which I cant find the active ingredient of.

EDIT: FAQ says its hydrogen peroxide.

 

[Georgedgerton]

Instructions are here, it says to use their own no-rinse sanitiser, which I cant find the active ingredient of.

EDIT: FAQ says its hydrogen peroxide.

I also see they sell Idophor on their site as well

 

[MHB]

Again with the acid, Idophor is Iodine and Phosphoric acid, probably more than StarSan.
Mark

 

[duncbrewer]

This has some info.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/anyone-use-the-3-gallon-brewdemon-conical.637774/#post-9082830