Does the amount of sanitized water in your airlock affect the Co2 pressure in your carboy to release gas effectively?
I was staring at my carboy and thinking about the environment inside the carboy. I was wondering if the water pressure inside the airlock inhibits the equal release of Co2 inside the carboy ensuring proper yeast health and fermentability. Especially towards the end of fermentation when the yeast have to finish out high gravity beers.
1 PSI is equal to 27.7 inches of water. Say the airlock has a 1 inch head of water, that is 0.036 PSI. As said above, negligible.
The only real function that the liquid in the airlock has is to keep outside air from getting into that sterile head space. Therefore, the positive inside pressure from the developing CO2 helps to keep the liquid in place (not sucked in from changes in pressure inside vs. outside), thus the outside air that could be laden with wild yeast, airborne bacteria, etc. is blocked. That is the only function that exists for this liquid as relates to ensuring proper yeast health and fermentability. Your brewing skills and sanitation efforts control those things more than anything else.
