First Brew

[quantocks]

Hi guys,

I just went and got a stick on thermometer, 1kg Coopers dextrose, 1.7kg Bitter Brigalow pack, 25litre pail with lid from Daves Home brew and an air lock and grommet, etc

it's one of these weird air locks, my old coopers was in one piece, this looks like 2 or 3 pieces? how does it work anyone know?

I need a place to store the pail also, would next to the hot water heater inside a cupboard be okay, or when we have showers would it bring the heat also? I felt in there a few times and it seems very normal temps ~20-25 degrees.

also with the 25 litre pail, should I mark a line where 15l, 20l, 25l is ? is 25l the absolute top? I need to figure out where to stop filling to

any help would be appreciated,

 

[matti]

Hi guys,

I just went and got a stick on thermometer, 1kg Coopers dextrose, 1.7kg Bitter Brigalow pack, 25litre pail with lid from Daves Home brew and an air lock and grommet, etc

it's one of these weird air locks, my old coopers was in one piece, this looks like 2 or 3 pieces? how does it work anyone know?

I need a place to store the pail also, would next to the hot water heater inside a cupboard be okay, or when we have showers would it bring the heat also? I felt in there a few times and it seems very normal temps ~20-25 degrees.

also with the 25 litre pail, should I mark a line where 15l, 20l, 25l is ? is 25l the absolute top? I need to figure out where to stop filling to

any help would be appreciated,

is it one of these?
fill water to level just under the inner tube.- put lid on.
personally not a favorite if mine. one piece airlock or glad wrap is the go....

 

[quantocks]

ah yep that's the one I got it from KMart today, it just looks weird compared to the coopers airlock I've had previously.

I'll wash all the equipment and give it a go later on tonight and see if it'll ferment in the cupboard, I might invest in a better airlock and take this one back as it's unopened.

 

[stevenk]

why they are prefectly good air lock ??

just diff set up ??

 

[Gavo]

I tend to like using this type of airlock when I have the fermenter in the house as they tend to be a but quieter and not bloop as often. Just personal choice I suppose. Still a good airlock and easier to clean gunk out of.

 

[jojai]

Definately mark the bucket, I would go 15L, then every L up. I do the same with my fermenters, even though they are marked. Amazing how far out they are. (I found that the marks are actually volume excluding deadspace under the tap. 23L mark on a coopers is 25L. )

That would explain why when I go to bottle I often end up pleasantly surprised that I get a few extra bottles compared to my calculations

 

[wyatt_girth]

I prefer the 2 piece airlock cos you can just seperate the pieces slightly when you want to draw a gravity sample. I sucked in a bit of water a couple of times using the other style and it's a pain in the date taking it out each time.

 

[Screwtop]

While your brew is producing a nice cloud of Co2 (fermenting) there is no need for an airlock to keep nasties out. Upon the brew slowing/stopping (lack of positive pressure) you need to keep nasties out. For ales this is the time to drop temp ( 1 - 4C) and use a good airlock to double protection from baddies.

Screwy

 

[quantocks]

washed and sterlizied my new pail, labelled it upto 20 litres. (using a measuring jug), so about to smash the first brew down and see how it goes. I don't *really* want to bottle, so before it finishes fermenting I might buy a keg.