Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

So I put down my first plum wash yesterday, and as yet no bubbles in the airlock :handgestures-thumbdown: I'm pretty sure this is down to a poor seal on the 220lt ex olive barrel I used as a fermenter and not a result of a failed mash and yeast supply :-B
The lid is a two part arrangement consisting of the main lid that sits in the barrel with a overhanging lip held down by a screw on collar. I asked to place selling them if there was some kind of o-ring to go in the middle and they assure me there never was, perhaps they use some machine to really screw these buggers down beyond what I'm capable of. :think:
In any case I was thinking about making some kind of seal to help things along, the easiest and cheapest solution to hand I reckon is putting a little vegetable oil in the lip (to stop it sticking) of the lid and running out a nice circular loop of sally's all clear or whatever similar product I have to hand, wait for it to set and bobs your uncle one perfect sized o-ring :pray:
What do you reckon?

In case anyone's interested my mash was 20 odd Kg of plums, 80 odd lt of water, 16kg sugar and 110g of EC1118 yeast. Never made a fruit wash before so it could have gone pear shaped, or is it plum shaped 8-}
Merry Christmas lads, enjoy :wave:

These days I don't use anything as an airlock. Just a cover to keep the vinegar flies out.

res wrote:In case anyone's interested my mash was 20 odd Kg of plums, 80 odd lt of water, 16kg sugar and 110g of EC1118 yeast. Never made a fruit wash before so it could have gone pear shaped, or is it plum shaped 8-}
Merry Christmas lads, enjoy :wave:

You might want to let Mac know.......
.............
He seems to enjoy a good plum wash/rum/brandy/anything :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :teasing-tease:

DBV

dogbreath vodka wrote:These days I don't use anything as an airlock. Just a cover to keep the vinegar flies out.

res wrote:In case anyone's interested my mash was 20 odd Kg of plums, 80 odd lt of water, 16kg sugar and 110g of EC1118 yeast. Never made a fruit wash before so it could have gone pear shaped, or is it plum shaped 8-}
Merry Christmas lads, enjoy :wave:

You might want to let Mac know.......
.............
He seems to enjoy a good plum wash/rum/brandy/anything :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :teasing-tease:

DBV

Funny :-p :violence-stickwhack: Hasn't he suffered enough ~x( :laughing-rolling:

glad wrap and rubber band/ elecy tape works for me

Wouldnt bother, it's useless :laughing-rolling:

I have one of the 70L olive barrels and it came with a flat rubber seal that is removable from the main lid section that you described. I suspect that your barrel once had one similar.
It does require considerable force to create an airtight seal even with the rubber seal in place though.

Are you intending to create this silicone seal in place while your wash ferments?
If so you would need to leave your airlock out to avoid pushing the seal out. Also be careful which sealant you choose, most of them are not even suitable for use on food prep surfaces, so I would be reluctant to use one for this purpose.

Bootross wrote:I have one of the 70L olive barrels and it came with a flat rubber seal that is removable from the main lid section that you described. I suspect that your barrel once had one similar.
It does require considerable force to create an airtight seal even with the rubber seal in place though.

Are you intending to create this silicone seal in place while your wash ferments?
If so you would need to leave your airlock out to avoid pushing the seal out. Also be careful which sealant you choose, most of them are not even suitable for use on food prep surfaces, so I would be reluctant to use one for this purpose.

I was a little worried about non food grade nature of these things :sad: How about this? A length of glad wrap laid flat, strip of silicone up the middle then roll it into a snake and bung it in! :handgestures-thumbupleft: Or maybe just glad wrap wadded in the rim? 8-}

home_brewer wrote:glad wrap and rubber band/ elecy tape works for me

Do you bother with the airlock, or just let it sort of leak somehow? :think:

MacStill wrote:Wouldnt bother, it's useless :laughing-rolling:

IMG_1456.JPG

Shame Mac :violence-smack: Where's that famous can do attude, or am I just plum out of luck :smile: :-D :D :laughing-rolling:

Perhaps you could use the seal from a 25L fermenter and stretch it over the lid :think:

Bootross wrote:Perhaps you could use the seal from a 25L fermenter and stretch it over the lid :think:

Don't have one :crying-blue: And this barrel in something like 35-40cm across x_x

Res the gladwrap will work fine. I've had the same problem at times
Grab a roll of the stuff drag it through your hand and make a gladwrap rope
Stuff that into the groove where the o ring fits

SBB wrote:Res the gladwrap will work fine. I've had the same problem at times
Grab a roll of the stuff drag it through your hand and make a gladwrap rope
Stuff that into the groove where the o ring fits

Cheers mate, sounds like a winner :handgestures-thumbupleft: Really all I'll have time for Christmas day anyhow :laughing-rolling: So what do say santa airtight fermenter for Christmas :D

Put a large plastic bag over the top of fermenter if worried about insects.

res wrote:

home_brewer wrote:glad wrap and rubber band/ elecy tape works for me

Do you bother with the airlock, or just let it sort of leak somehow? :think:

The CO2 slowly makes it out but maintains a good seal :handgestures-thumbupleft:

The co2 will find it way out i have been useing glad wrap for my beer for years

I rarely use airtight seals on my fermenters anymore.

If I'm doing a sugar wash that takes a couple of weeks, I will use the sealable ones with an airlock. But if running most of my other washes, they are vigorous 4-5 day ferments, so I just cover them loosely. There's usually too much co2, and a seal with airlock will just blow the water out the airlock...

Cheers for all the feedback lads, expecially during this busy time. In the end i justI wadded up two layers of glad wrap and tucked it into the rim of the lid and screwed the collar down, she was bubbling within minutes :handgestures-thumbupleft:
merry Christmas :happy-partydance: