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Univeral Stopper won't stay put
I make a starter. I shake it up. I put on the universal stopper with an airlock. I turn my back. I turn around again and that stupid stopper popped right off! I fixed the problem by holding it in place with rubber bands. When I try the stopper with my carboy the same thing happens. My rubber bands aren't big enough for a carboy. After 20 minutes of pressing the stopper into the carboy it finally stays. Next time I think I'll buy one of those carboy caps instead, but if anyone knows how to keep the stopper on, that would be great.
When making a starter you don't need an airlock, the airlock doesn't allow for O2 uptake and just defeats the purpose of making a starter.....use a piece of foil or a foam airlock...... read this on making starters...... http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/MB_R … turing.php
PS dry your stopper off before putting it in the carboy......and make sure it's dry also....
dartgod wrote:
When making a starter you don't need an airlock, the airlock doesn't allow for O2 uptake and just defeats the purpose of making a starter.....use a piece of foil or a foam airlock...... read this on making starters...... http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/MB_R … turing.php
PS dry your stopper off before putting it in the carboy......and make sure it's dry also....
Unless his starter is on a stirplate there really won't be any O2 uptake, so I think an airlook would be safest.
That said. I use foil on my starters (I have a stir plate) and I think that its the easiest way to go if you have stopper troubles.
I'm not as worried about the starter as I am about the carboy. The stopper was dry but it still popped out, but after twenty minutes of holding the stopper down it finally stayed. I don't have a stir plate and I would like my propogation to be as pure as possible so I use an airlock. I'll just buy one of those carboy caps.
I can't remember the source for this tip, but I remember reading or hearing on a podcast that when making a starter that will be used within that day, simply putting tin foil over the top of the container is best. It creates a zero pressure environment, which is something that yeast prefer. Additionally, your main concern, as far as contamination goes, is to keep stuff from falling into the container. All the bugs and stuff don't climb, they fall and float much like dust.
Again, I am more concerned about the carboy.
Ok, carboy it is. Is this a problem with old equipment or new equipment?
What size is the carboy? What size is the stopper? There are some very subtle differences between stoppers. Is this one a hard plastic or softer plastic? I have some designed for a bucket, some for a carboy, and some for bottles/starter flasks. If you could take a picture and post it, that might help. The other thing would be to talk to your local home brew store and see what they recommend...if you bought from a local store.
One time I tried to use a carboy stopper on a bottle for a starter and since it was too big, I turned it upside down (so that the stopper would go over the bottle lip) and it worked fine as long as I held it in place for a few minutes first. Otherwise it would just pop right off. So are you putting the stopper over the lip of the carboy or into the neck of the carboy?
I'm sorry if any of this sounds stupid.
This was all brand new. The stopper is a universal one. The carboy is 5 gallons
As you can see it is staying in now. I think it might be the warm water in the sanitizer solution that might make it more flexible. The warmth could be the culprit because I dry the stopper off fairly well. The Stopper eventually stays after holding it down for 15 minutes or so, but I was a little alarmed because no place ever talks about this.
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