Carboy caps

Has anyone ever had an issue with carboy caps fitting correctly? In fear of needing a blowoff tube for my next batch, i bought an orange carboy cap for my 5 gal carboy. The guy at the lhbs said that it would fit. It does fit but i am not sure how tight it's supposed to be because i have never used one. It goes on easy and i can turn it around easy while its on. Is this okay?

Im sure during fermentation you would be ok but I dont think it should spin or fit loosely. I am not an expert when it comes to caps and carboys so I am unsure what size to recommend. If its in a pinch, I would throw some tape around it to to help seal it to the carboy until you can resolve the issue.

fwiw - My cap I use for my 6g carboy fits on my 5's but my cap for my 6.5g does not.

it's fine fitting relatively loosely like that. I wouldn't bulk age a big beer on it for an extended time on it (>1 or two months) but being a little loose isn't going to hurt anything.

My orange cap fits rather loosely as well, and it has never fallen off or been blown off, even when fermenting a high gravity cider.

Thanks for the input!. I think i will use the cap and switch to the airlock after the krausen starts to die down. The last porter i did.. fermenter almost blew. Thanks again!

There a recess in the cap that matches the form of the top of your carboy. Double wrap a strong rubberband around it.

I like using those heavy rubberbands that they use to hold lobster claws shut.

Zip ties work, too.

I can recommend AGAINST duct tape. Nasty. Never again.

SDJay said:

Zip ties work, too.

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Personally would not recommend this. There's another guy on here promoting hose clamps on a carboy cap. Equally as scary to me. The hole in the carboy cap is not that big and can get clogged with krausen. The cap having the ability to pop off under high pressure is your last line of defense against an exploding carboy.

I also wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle and a seatbelt when in a car. If that makes me a sissy, I'm fine with that.

Hey all, I had a similar issue with my carboy cap. I am currently brewing Unfiltered Apple juice that I bought from Whole foods Market, with some french Saison beer yeast. Am planning to brew it for next two-three weeks (any recommendations on the duration?)
So, the carboy cap was not fitting perfectly on the gallon carboys (from manufacturer) so I put an airlock in the standard 35mm caps and wrapped it tight with cling wrap. Thinking if I should put ziptie around the neck? or should it be fine just like that? Thanks in advance!