I would never open "the system" to look in it or smell or or whatever ...
I had a happy sterilized spray fest just to change from the BO tube the sanitized airlock
Biggest concern I had there was just whether or not there's anough CO2 production in the stout to expel the oxygen from the change-over ... it's very low activity in the fermenter, perhaps from having been pitched into sub-optimal-temp wort ..
I'm definitely planning to get into the lifecycle of yeast etc ... in fact, a fully competent stir plate is the 1st next thing I added ...
My interest in this regard extends beyond beer, to other fermented food and drink items, though, too, certainly ...
Later on this week, I plan to figure out if I can fit two levels of 4x gallon jugs in the Cool Brewer unit ... that would definitely be helpful ... I'd need only to construct something non-porous, shaped like a spindle, that can support 4x full jugs, and preferably where the top disc can be separated from the pole support ...
I don't think it's a good idea to plop a frozen two-liter between the 4x jugs, because it's certainly to setup a cold spot on each of the 4x jugs where there's direct contact ...
I think I might look into some velcro straps for the lid, to see if I can't strap-in the two-liter bottle to the top ...
All things to look into w/ time ... that, or I'll just order the chest freezer sooner than later and get on w/ it ...