Airlocks S Type VS 3 Piece Choosing The Right Airlock For HomeBrewing

If you know you are going to have a vigorous brew use a cap that has a stub in which you can attach a short piece of tubing and put the other end in a canning jar filled with sanitizer/water mix. Personally, I like watching the S-shape bubble and right now I am only making ciders which do not get too vigorous.

Thanks!

Have this "S" Yeast Pipe before ( Throw IT Away) - BUT this 3 Piece Yest Pipe is the Number UNO ! - THX and Keep UP!

Very new to this so this might be a silly question but, I bought 2, one gallon glass bottles that came with the S type…my question is, when in use, is the cap supposed to be on top of the S type during fermentation or remove it until fermentation is complete? Thanks in advance for any help!

Please excuse my ignorence. I am a very new home brewer. Until now i used to think that the 3 piece airlocks act like one way valve that prevent suckback. Is that wrong?

I have two buckets, fermenters, but since two of them don't fit in the fridge, one is with S and the other with two-piece. That solves the problem. It is interesting to observe the differences of both when fermentation is in progress

Beer brewer here.
Yes I do use the s type.
But for the first one or two days I simply put a t shirt over the fermenter

I have had the gas blow out all the liquid in a vigorous fermentation without foam touching the lid.

Thanks for the helpful video. I've just started brewing again after a long hiatus due to high supermarket prices . I have s locks but used to use the 3 piece and will now get some more for primary as I like them better 👍

I had a problem with the 2 piece airlock, there are hols on the top and 2 fruitfly’s let themselves fall into the chamber. Whith the s airlock i have never had this problem

A long hose into a glass of starsan is my preference. It reduces the chance of suck back at the end of fermentation or when cold crashing. Great video though.

Fantastic as always. I had never even considered any of this before. I also like the sound the S locks make haha Thank you :)

Like both, will try the secondary fermentation with the s-type airlock

I like the two piece type sold by BiggerJugs in the UK, theyre quiet and easy to clean, they also have a good diameter pipe through the middle for adding a blow off tube.

I'm big fan of PLAATO airlocks. Expensive, but it's worth every penny.

Not sure how the S type is any better in secondary than the 3 piece.
S type the liquid levels out, but the 3 piece has the float drop. Very marginal the difference that makes imho.

3 piece:
Very nearly as easy to quickly see the stage of fermentation.
Far easier to clean.
Far quieter in operation, mouse like compared to S type.
S type too sensitive to suck back (less noticeable if using temp control + pitching at non-kveik temps). Can't really move a plastic FV without the deformation causing pressure in both directions.
3 piece can fit a blow off tube in a pinch, but i use 10mm OD tubing that fits the same hole diameter as the airlocks anyway.

Blow off tubes are "safest". But take up space, larger equipment to clean and again are much louder.

Depends on the yeast / fermentation.
If you establish you consistantly don't need a blow-off tube, then 3 piece all the way imho.

I started with an S type, moved to blow-off. But 3 piece fixed all the downsides of the S without providing any bad.

All about head space to me, on my 30L Kegland bucket buddy I always stick to the S-Type, great to watch the activity and hear the noise

Cling film over a cut open keg for me.

Wife prefers the 3 piece.
Much quieter.

The 3-piece airlock is much more quieter than the s-shaped one. For my small flat that became the deciding factor. Apart from that I've been happy with both.

Both of these are crap. You need to monitor liquid level every day, oxygen slips through em easily, when fermentation is at its final state then liquid gets sucked back very often etc. II went back to old school hose-bottle method when fermenting my wines.

The 3 piece is great for making a blow off tube if you fermentation is too vigorous.

I find the 3 piece dries out faster.

I use a fermzilla so its either a ball lock blowoff tube into a jug of chemsan or a spunding valve. Used to use a 3 piece though when i used to use buckets.

I've only ever used the S type, as that's what my local store sold me. I haven't had any problems, but based on your insights, I think I'll order the 3 piece type, next time I make an order

Neither, a blow off tube with a 32oz bottle filled with starsan is superior

For 3 bucks if my s type gets dirty imma just buy a new one.

I have found that the three piece is easily to add a 3/8 blow tube to the inside of it.

I run a blow off into a big jug of sanitiser just because I can't fit my fermenter in my chest freezer with a airlock sticking up as lid won't shut completely.

I prefer the two piece "smart airlock" over the s-type. They are easier to clean but for some reason they are very difficult to get hold of these days.

The s shape is better because it makes a more satisfying blub blub blub as it goes.

Blowoff tube for vigorous fermentation, followed by a S type when it calms down but is not yet complete. I founds Oxiclean being able to get rid of everything I ever had stuck in it. Maybe I was just lucky,

If I have chance of blowoff 3 pc. If not s type. Wasn’t thinking and put an s on a fruited cider. Full of fruit and into the garage. Blow off after drat

With my fermenters I have plenty of head space and use S type airlocks always. I prefer the sound they make :-)

What's the max and min fill line in the 3 piece airlock?

S shape looks cheap but is the better option. I never had suck back with the S shape

Blow off tube system every time. Stopped using these things a couple of years ago.

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