Tap left open on the fermenter

[manson81]

Ok guys, be honest now, how many of you have cleaned the fermenter, put it back together and accidentally left the tap open before pouring boiling wort into it as I've just done!?!?

Reckon I lost 300ml of wort (before mixing with water...).

Worst thing is, I reckon I've done it 3 times now over the last couple of years! Even double checked it tonight and still managed to leave it open! It looked closed...

Lucky SWMBO is at her xmas party tonight and didn't witness the mess I made.

 

[bum]

Boiling wort?

Never.

 

[manson81]

Haha ok, any wort in general.

 

[manson81]

Mine wasn't boiling, was a 6L boil which had been cooling for about 15 mins.

 

[hoppy2B]

I do it all the time. I did it last time I filled the ferment vessel.

 

[Green-Lobster]

Racking a cider to secondry .wandered of, lost about 9 litres to the shed floor before i wandered back . was the first of 3 barrels and it happened to be the one with the best fresh juice mix . It turned out the best cider of the 3 barrels. I still lament it every time i have a bottle .Thank the gods i only have a dozen left. Knowing the sheer waste of my mistake . The crazy thoughts that run through my head ,regarding how i may salvage the folly were truely desperate. Chasing 9 litres of green cider around a shed floor through a straw would not have ended well.
Chalked it up to a sacrifce for the wort gods . Kept brewing and hope my therapist can work me through it.

 

[Truman42]

Boiling wort..never. Starsan...Just about everytime.

 

[ianh]

I mark/paint the top of the tap in the closed position so a quick eyeball tells me its on or off. Reduces the number of times it occurs.

 

[TheWiggman]

I did this last week transferring to the boiler before sparging. I had to run inside and put the kids to bed and didn't think to check the tap. IRATE. Lost a good portion, but ruined the brew later anyway die to an equipment issue. I swear I heard God laughing at me.
I regularly do it when I clean which overflows to the kitchen floor. Just another breadcrumb that is left about the place when I brew.

 

[wbosher]

Yep, still do sometimes, not boiling wort though.

 

[GuyQLD]

Only done it once. 2 nights ago.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Guilty

You are not a brewer until you have left the tap open

 

[pedleyr]

Yeah I've done it a couple of times, also with a cube I was transferring to once.

I was half pissed and barefoot, which with a pot of boiling wort can really only have positive results. I didn't get massive burns or anything but my foot was very tender for a couple of days.

I don't usually have a tap on my cubes any more, and when I do I'm extra cautious now. Also brew with shoes. Sober half the time.

 

[NewtownClown]

Once was enough. Quick learner

 

[mkstalen]

Yep, a couple of times at least.

 

[superstock]

I mark/paint the top of the tap in the closed position so a quick eyeball tells me its on or off. Reduces the number of times it occurs.

Me too.

Did it.once....damn that stuff is sticky.

 

[hoppy2B]

Oh look, I'm doing it now.

 

[tallie]

About 4 or 5 years ago, I started taking my taps apart after every batch (see http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/10484-cleaning-fermenter-taps/). The parts are then stored separately and only put back together right before filling. I assemble the tap in the position where the handle is perpendicular to the outlet. In this position, it's obvious from looking at it that it is closed. When it is parallel, it could either be open or closed, and you'd need to have a closer look.

Since I've started doing this, I have never had problems with inadvertently having the tap open when filling.

 

[verysupple]

Yep, I've done it with chilled wort. Not fun. I can only imagine hot wort is even worse.

 

[big78sam]

I've done it a few times. Recently I managed to catch the tap of a full fermenter on my pants and it snapped in half. The lid wasn't screwed on either so couldn't tip the fermenter to elevate the tap. Lost about 7 litres of wort all over the kitchen.