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Just realized my whole airlock setup was a total waste of money | Fermentation Station - Opinions Matter

Just realized my whole airlock setup was a total waste of money

I've been using those fancy three piece airlocks on my fermentation station for like two years now, convinced they were the only way to get a good seal. Spent maybe $40 on a whole set of them. Then last week, I was watching my buddy's kid do a science fair project with a balloon on a bottle, and it hit me. I could have just used a simple balloon with a pinprick in it for the whole time. I tested it on a batch of ginger beer, and it worked perfectly, maybe even better because you can see the balloon inflate. All that cash and storage space for those plastic pieces, and a 99 cent bag of balloons does the same job. Has anyone else gone back to a simpler method after overcomplicating things for ages?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan9156mo ago

Totally get that feeling. I went down a rabbit hole with special heat mats and temp controllers for my sourdough starter, trying to keep it at the perfect 75 degrees. Then I just stuck the jar on top of my fridge where the warm air collects. Works better than any gadget I bought. @palmer.jana is onto something about the whole industry. They sell us a problem we didn't really have. My starter is happy, my wallet is happier, and I got a whole drawer free now.

palmer.jana7mo ago

You know what really gets me? The whole home brew gear industry is built on making us feel dumb without the fancy stuff. I bet the guy who invented the three piece airlock is somewhere laughing his way to the bank, looking at my balloon setup. It's like they convinced us we needed a spaceship control panel to watch yeast fart. The balloon trick is so stupid simple it feels like cheating, but hey, if it works it works.

king.aaron5mo ago

That $35 three piece airlock saved me from having to scrub exploded krausen off my ceiling after a particularly aggressive Belgian ale, something your balloon setup can't promise me at 2am.