homebrewandbeer.com

Convinced me...Glad wrap is the way to go

No worries about what might get thru the airlock
.....and something to look at

Be Glad you did....

I'm curious about the Glad Wrap thing.

People suggest putting a pin hole in to let the CO2 out. Won't that (potentially) let bugs in? The whole point of an airlock is that it carefully lets the CO2 out without letting air/dust/bugs in.

T.

the positive pressure pretty much prevents that... secondly, i don't think a pinhole is even needed, it'll get out through the sides before it bursts the glad wrap i reckon.. just don't use the cheapo stuff

That's what i reckon too, a pinhole is microscopic but still it leaves an avenue.

I've just gone this way with no pinholes and the gas still gets out around the edges, the rubber band isn't extremely tight.

Just started doing this myself.
Currently have two brews going in my "NEW BREW FRIDGE"
Only using gladwrap and the "o"rings from the lids. No pinholes. Gas seems to escape ok without them.

Cheers

Tommy

Yup ......the rubber seal off the lid will let out any pressure dont bung a hole in the Glad.

The reason why a pinhole is OK is that germs (and dust) will not actively try to get around a whole lot of gladwrap in order to get to some wort. Definately not having a pinhole will make this pathway harder to travel, and so reduce the risk of infection.

What the glad wrap does not ensure is that air cannot get into the fermenter. Oxidation can cause beer to taste bad, and therefore an airlock serves three porposes:

- to keep germs out (minimises risk of infection)
- to let CO2 out (prevents pressure buildup)
- to keep air out (minimises risk of axidation)

the gladwrap will only guarentee (to a significant extent) the first two, but may aid a bit in keepingthe air out.


BTW I use bubbler airlocks, they seem to work for me.

I like your thinking Blandy.
Since having a brew fridge some of my beers have been known to sit around for over a month. I like the idea of them being in an airtight enviroment.

Was thinking bout this just the other day, as the glad started to settle i had to pull it taut again and the mind began to tick.
Something to ponder.

Dont really understand how air can get in if you have the Glad rubber banded down properly????

There is always a pressure dome in mine even in secondary as i add a bit of dex to give it some c02

It slowly escapes - there is still air trapped inside but the air will take the path of least resistance, which means it will create a gap in your seal due to pressure.

The first few paragraphs of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_pressure

are relevant. The most important statement in my opinion is:

"Gases will always flow from a region of higher partial pressure to one of lower pressure; the larger this difference, the faster the flow."

This is a direct outcome of one of the Gas Laws (which we obey in my household). I'll leave it to you to decide which one...

I reckon that for the periods of time we leave our beers sitting under cling film, the amount of oxygen finding its way into the fermenter via the film is likely to be quite small indeed. (I reject preemptively any notion that a measurable amount of oxygen is going to find its way into the fermenter via the rubber seal - at least measurable using equipment available in an average household.)

Dont forget that most of the plastics that fermentors are made of are not impermiable to gas, and further, neither is water really (in air lock), albit much more slowly than glad wrap.

But all that is really required is the seperation of dust and bugs from wort, the CO2 blank, and constant positive pressure from fermentation, alone reduces the oxygen around wort much more effectively than lids and air locks.

Thought i'd resurect this instead of making a new topic.

How does gladwrap and a 30L fermenter handle the krasen of a big stout?
Any issues as i haven't made a stout yet but am keen to try one.

Glad wrap is the go ..

Rysa wrote:Thought i'd resurect this instead of making a new topic.

How does gladwrap and a 30L fermenter handle the krasen of a big stout?
Any issues as i haven't made a stout yet but am keen to try one.

It's much better than an airlock. I've done toucan brews with an airlock where I've had froth blowing out of the airlock and making a right mess. When I tried the next one with the glad wrap, the krausen came to just under the gladwrap and it had a nice convex curve on it but it didn't come off and I didn't get any mess.

Gladwrap is definitely the way to go.

I disagree.

But I will not argue against success, Keep up the good work

Dogger

I didn't get any spill from my RIS, and that was the biggest krausener I've had to date.

And someone said not to use cheap gladwrap. I disagree. Coles branded gladwrap is the best I've used, as it doesn't stick to itself, and it's a bit thicker.

Groovy, thanks.