Pros: Blow-off? Spunding? Something else?

rdpacheco

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Does anyone here know what professional breweries use as their "airlock"? I cant imagine they have blow-off tubes sticking out of each massive tank. Are they all equipped with a spunding regulator or are they doing something else?
 
One of my local breweries actually has big stainless steel blow off tubes in buckets of starsan
 
They have honking big stainless steel blowoff tubes dunked into a five-gallon bucket of Star San. Or some smaller version, depending on the size of the fermentor.
 
Thanks for sharing all of that Chico, very cool!
 
Sierra Nevada recovers CO2 and has since 2005.

https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.co...k-out-sierra-nevadas-new-co2-recovery-system/

This little map is fun

http://www-origin.cdn.sierranevada.com/sustainability-map/chico/

It's quite interesting how much Ken invests in a sustainable brewery. He's an amazing guy. It's not unusual to run into him downtown...

https://sierranevada.com/about/
Do they have to purify it before re-use? I would image there is some sulfur, hop compounds and whatever else the fermentation produces.
 
Yes they purify it and deodorize it a d take the moisture out
 
They have honking big stainless steel blowoff tubes dunked into a five-gallon bucket of Star San. Or some smaller version, depending on the size of the fermentor.

Yep. And even the blowoffs blow off into the channels to the drain. Smuttynose had a huge mess when I was there a few years ago- krausen running down the buckets and down the floor to the floor drains.
 
They have honking big stainless steel blowoff tubes dunked into a five-gallon bucket of Star San. Or some smaller version, depending on the size of the fermentor.
It's crazy that its so low tech, compared to their other gear. Not that it has to be high tech, its just interesting
 
Some are high-tech, with CO2 capture and so forth. Most just do what we do: use a blow-off tube. At that scale, an airlock is not practical. And as Yooper says, it can get messy.
 
Some are high-tech, with CO2 capture and so forth. Most just do what we do: use a blow-off tube. At that scale, an airlock is not practical. And as Yooper says, it can get messy.
Yeah, I have a Unitank and i use a blow-off tube. It's just a crude part of my setup that I had assumed larger breweries would have solved for differently by now.
 
About the only way to avoid one at homebrew scale is to use a fermentor large enough to accomodate the krauesen. I do it that way, actually, with an airlock to let the carbon dioxide out.
 
Um I'm feeling a little left out here... I've never used a blow off tube:oops:. I feel brewing life may have robbed me of some unforseen pleasure or maybe not:D!
 
I want to see a giant air lock on a 900 bbl fermentation tank.

Glug Glug Glug
 

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