Blowoff tube connector for 12mm hole

[Matthopperman]

G'day,

I had to setup an emergency blowoff tube due to some very active krausen yesterday, but now I'm looking into something a little more permanent. I currently have a hole and grommet suited for your standard S shaped and three piece airlocks and would rather not drill anything else. The hole is 12mm for the grommet, and I'm not sure what the size of the hole is with the rubber, but obviously it's perfect to snugly fit the airlock. Can someone point me towards a joiner bit or something similar which would connect a silicon hose at one end (10mm internal diameter) and then fit air tight into the hole?

Thanks

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

Good question Matt, I'm interested to see what people come up wiht for this

 

[dkril]

Probably a bulkhead fitting of some sort.

https://www.kegland.com.au/duotight-8mm-5-16-female-bulkhead-with-locknut.html
https://www.kegland.com.au/duotight-9-5mm-3-8-female-bulkhead-with-locknut.html
https://www.kegland.com.au/duotight...ocking-nut-suitable-for-60cm-thermowells.html
https://www.kegland.com.au/monotight-6-5mm-1-4-female-bulkhead-with-locknut.html
https://www.kegland.com.au/ball-lock-post-with-1-4-inch-bulkhead-assembly-liquid.html

 

[Matthopperman]

Those would be a decent option, but they wouldn't fit the current airlock hole I have by the looks of it (so I couldn't switch between blow off tube or airlock), plus they might not fit the tubing I have which is thick silicon. I was thinking of something more like this where the tube slips over it and the other end would fit snug into the grommet:

But I was thinking there was something purpose-made that people use in these instances.

 

[golfandbrew]

If you've got a three piece air lock use it and put your tube over the centre part of the three piece.

 

[S.E]

I'm not sure what the size of the hole is with the rubber

Leave the rubber grommet in place and cut 3cm of the bottom end of your air lock, then extend that with a length of pvc or silicone tube to make a blow off.

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

If you've got a three piece air lock use it and put your tube over the centre part of the three piece.

I've tried this and the outlet is a little too small and gets blocked

 

[S.E]

I've tried this and the outlet is a little too small and gets blocked

Very strange, the outlet will be wider so shouldn’t be too small. If your airlock wasn’t getting blocked in the first place cutting the top off and replacing it with a tube shouldn’t cause it to block up. It should make it less likely to block up as the tube is wider and less restrictive than the airlock S bend.

I have been doing this for between 10-15 years and never had a blockage. Krausen just runs into a glass of water below the fermenter so is easy to clean up from the bottom of the fridge rather than from the top and all down the fermenter as can happen with a short airlock.

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

I probably should enlarge the hole in the airlock

 

[S.E]

I probably should enlarge the hole in the airlock

Cutting the bottom end off could help I suppose but I have never needed to. I still have the domed tip with a tiny hole.

 

[golfandbrew]

Maybe you need a bigger fermenter.