Mr P's Doc inspired drum fermenter airlock.

[Antaean]

Are you mounting the spigot above the settlement, or have a false bottom, in order to keep the solids from reaching the bottom of your vessel?


great idea on the ping pong ball air lock !!!

[Prairiepiss]

Mounting it above the yeast/grain bed. That way its stays moist with the left over wash. Ready for the next generation. So all I have to do is add new sugar and water. Or whatever makes up the next generation. With a recipe like UJSSM. All I have to do is add some sugar melted in backset.. Or panela rum just add some sugar melted in dunder and top off with water.

[Truckinbutch]

Hey Mr. P is there a certain type of glue for your spigot you used as far as food grade, or was there no glue on those? How did you get your hand on the inside to put the spigot on?

Edit: it looks like your lids unscrew. Do you know of any way to attach that spigot on a 1 piece barrel without hacking it up?

You could try welding a nipple in with a soldering iron . I have repaired barrels with punctures or cracks that way . Flat round tip to blend in filler material and build up a joint .

[ArcticTern]

could also add a balloon with a needle hole for secondary defense against bugs.

[Prairiepiss]

Hey Mr. P is there a certain type of glue for your spigot you used as far as food grade, or was there no glue on those? How did you get your hand on the inside to put the spigot on?

Edit: it looks like your lids unscrew. Do you know of any way to attach that spigot on a 1 piece barrel without hacking it up?

The bulkhead fittings I used had a gasket with it. I used it. It screws in with a jam nut on the inside. Not real sure how to add them to a non removable top drum? You could make up a long wrench to fit the jam nut. And feed it in through the bung hole. But they need to be tightened from the inside?

[Prairiepiss]

could also add a balloon with a needle hole for secondary defense against bugs.

No need to. I have two full of ferment that have been sitting for over 8 months. The bugs like to hang out by the airlocks. But haven't made it in yet. And both batches are still great. Just waiting on me to run them.

[Prairiepiss]

Somebody around here had cut the top off a 5 gallon bucket. Then cut a hole just big enough for the bucket top to fit into in the top of his drum. Then pushed it down in nice and tight. Then I think he welded it in? Could be wrong? But this gave him a removable top. I was going to do this. But then I same up with these removable top drums.

[BIGBIRD123]

For the one-piece barrels, you could take and cut off the top 2-3" of a 5 gal bucket about 3/8" below the last ring of the top. Then cut a hole the size of the edge of the bucket below the last ring to slip down into your barrel. Then you could use the PVC welder and weld the bottom ring to the barrel. Now you have a large hole and using the bucket snap-on lid, you have a way to access all of the barrel and seal it with the lid. I built several of these before when I was a Const. super. to store and mix compounds, welding clips etc we used on the job.

HTH

[Prairiepiss]

That's been done. There is a thread around somewhere. I was going to go the route. Then I found the removable top drums.

[Prairiepiss]

Not necessary. But very useful.

[Prairiepiss]

Most all drums use a standard 2" and or 3/4" bungs. Some are 1". But I can't say that I have ever seen any larger the 2". All the drum accessories are based on the 2" bung. Pumps, drain valves.

[the pure drop]

Very nice use of the ball valve idea. Why didn't I think of that. It sort of reminds me of a giant version of an inlet ball valve that some use in blow sticks on highland bagpipes. Very clever indeed. I like where you put your spigot also. I have a lead on a couple of blue barrels that were used to carry USD grade vegetable glycerine so I may give this a go. I don't have any problems with my ujsm or my sweet feed sugar washes catching harmful bacteria and infecting the mash, but I plan to start doing at in the foreseeable future and I know from making beer at that is a different animal all together. Would hate to waste all the time and effort carelessly to an unwanted bug that could waste it all. Thanks again.

[Prairiepiss]

Glad you liked it. And hope it works for you. I know I love them.

[Chroi]

pinball ball or other large steel ball bearing would give a considerable amount of positive pressure for those worried about outdoor ferments.

I ferment indoors so a rocks glass over the open hole is sufficient

[Merlin]

I found this of interest. Great idea.
Some may find this link useful. http://www.mcnichols.com/?pageCode=pipedims" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The standard racquetball shall be 2 1/4 inches in diameter; weigh approximately 1.4 ounces
1-1/2-inch ABS pipe, schedule 40. The inside diameter of this pipe is about 41 mm. Since the diameter of a ping-pong ball is about 40 mm, this leaves a little over 1 mm clearance for the ping-pong ball in the tube. But placing the ball in the tube and it letting it rest on a seat at the bottom of a reducer, would make a great airlock. placing some material around a hole or slit with a cap on top, would allow the ball to rise and the gas to escape and fall back below the exhaust. Additionally another thought is to have a T that the ball travels past to let exhaust cases escape and then add a HVAC drain pipe on the outlet side of the T with liquid in it. Just thinking out loud.

[Tabucowboy]

If you are worried about keep fruit flies out. I use a coffee filter on my kombucha, just put it over the ping pong ball with a rubber band.