What do you put in your bubblers?

[Ciderhead]

I have been using Starsan but it keeps needing a top up as it bubbles off or evaporates.
I read somewher about vodka? what a waste 
Anybody got ant clever ideas or practices they use?

[Shane Phelan]

I also use starsan. Do you have the little red cap on your airlock?
It doesn't evaporate on me when I have it on. This would be over a period of 3 weeks.

[RichC]

I use tequila

[Rats]

Gin/vodka

[Ciderhead]

Mine do have a little red lid but on active ferments evap off.

Sunflower oil Tube? is that sterile?

Just can stand wasting booze, but looking at responses off down to lidl for their cheapest 40%er so

[Spud395]

Whats wrong with water lads, I've never had a problem when using it

[newToBrew]

i would've thought water was fine too ?  usially use star san but only coz I have it mixed &  to hand when brewing - only had evap issues once - on last brew - all the others seemed fine  - @2weeks in primary & 2 weeks or more in secondary ( coz I can get lazy ) 
never used those red caps - think I lost them at the start

[LordEoin]

I've always used water too.
Wouldn't spirits just add to evaporation?

I just tasted a grapejuice wine i started about 10 months ago, constantly under water filled airlock, and it's fine.
If it can last 10 months on water, I doubt there's any fear of a 2 week brew.

But then again, all my bubblers have red caps...

[Will_D]

Its water for me.

You should always keep an eye on your lock and any ner' do wells found swimming should be flushed out!

The biggest risk is when you pick up a plastic container without removing the lock and then you usually suck the liquid into your vessel

Been there done it :-/

Will

[DEMPSEY]

When I read about gin,vodka and sunflower oil,I taught ye were joking . Water is all I ever used.

[Ciderhead]

Interesting to read numbers using only water
I have been doing a bit of reading up of this very complicated subject. You need some kind or steriliser/sanitiser alcohol to keep nasty bacteria away. Not sure about Jamie Oliver and his Sunflower Oil
I have concluded that water with a campden talet in the top is yer only man on cost and convenience.
When the bubbler gets going the campden dissolves into bubbler and everything is sterile.

[Cathal O D]

Ive always used the vodka/gin thats left over after a party. I invite people over to drink the latest brew and someone alvays brings a bottle of something from lidl. We never drink it all caus the beer seems to work well.

[Will_D]

Hmm.

The airlock is designed to let CO2 vent off to atmosphere. The liquid in the lock is NOT a problem when blowing off CO2.

The problem comes when fermenttion slows down and there is a big airspace in the fermenter and then there is a big temperature drop.

Then the pressure inside the vessel drops and air is sucked back into the fermenter. So a bit of SO2 is probably recommended.

Beware of violent suck-back - like when you pick up a plastice vessel - then you will not only suck in air, the whole liquid contents will be sucked into the vessel.

Now for a story:

I used to go sea fishing in Manchester (ok we went to where the sea was - usually Scotland or Devon/Cornwall ) and an Italian joined the club.

Next trip with Luigii we got talking about wine making.

In Italy the first vigorous fermentation is carried out in FVs using nothing more than a piece of muslin, or cloth, to stop the insects. They then go into carboy type vessels and guess what they use for the airlock?

3mm of olive oil poured into the neck of the carboy!

Makes you wonder about our equipment/cleanliness fetish

Oh! and BTW the bottle of wine we shared in Cornwall was lovely.

Will

[Ciderhead]

Will I was going to suggest that was a fishy story and then I read this

Very little data are available on the microbiological safety of edible oils including olive oil. Most of the food safety literature regarding olive oils has been published within the past few years. No outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to olive oil have been reported. There have been no surveys that have assessed the presence of foodborne pathogens in olive oils; surveys that included a determination of general bacterial populations found levels from below the limit of detection (1 to 2 log CFU/ml) to 3 log CFU/ml.
Olive oils (virgin and extra virgin) are unique among the edible oils in that they contain small amounts of water in the form of tiny droplets; the pH of the water phase has been reported as generally less than pH 5. Microorganisms have been shown by microscopic evaluation to be present in this water phase but the physical size of the droplets generally constrains microbial numbers. Antimicrobials effective against a broad range of microorganisms including some foodborne pathogens have been shown to be present in extra  virgin olive oils. The published studies to date are limited in the number of strains of pathogens assessed, and, in some cases, details in the methods and specifics of the olive oils were lacking. The antimicrobial components, generally ascribed to the soluble phenolic components, can vary in composition and amount for a wide range of reasons including olive variety, production practices, maturity, extraction methods, storage conditions and time. Based on the currently available literature, foodborne pathogens are not likely to occur in extra virgin or virgin olive oils. However, good manufacturing practices and other prerequisite programs that keep all microorganisms at low levels should be followed in the production of olive oil.

[Spud395]

For more vigorous brews I use a 50-50 sand cement mix.

You're leaving yourself open to spider cracking at that ratio, I'd either up 50% of the aggregate size to a 10mm or back off to 66/33!