CO2 leaking around fermenter lid?

I got to thinking about my batch of apfelwein I have going. It mixed everything up in an ale pail, lidded it and put on my airlock on Wednesday. Thursday evening I had bubbles in the airlock, not a lot but some. Friday it was still. This morning, still no bubbling. I'm not really worrying yet, but I got to thinking...

When I started assembling the batch, I didn't realize that I didn't have the proper sized stopper for the fermenter I wanted to use, so I used a different one that doesn't have a gasket on the lid. It's just a tight fitting (I thought) plastic lid that snaps on the bucket. Could it be that the lid isn't quite making a seal and the CO2 is leaking between the lid and bucket?

It would make sense that after 24 hours it could be fermenting hard enough to build up pressure to escape through the airlock, but then after settling down it's just leaking around the lid.

Very possible.
An hydrometer stops the guessing,

I was going to do that, but didn't think I should mess with it just yet. The general rule I've learned from reading the forum is "Stop, back away, don't mess with it and let the yeast work." Although, I was considering going ahead and transferring it to a fermenter I know will seal properly. I have a properly sized bung now. (man that sounds bad when I read it...)

I think I figured it out. The lid IS leaking. I went and checked it out when I got home tonight and it isn't sealing up. I'll transfer it to another fermenter tomorrow after work.

You are better off leaving it in the fermenter. A leak is not going to hurt anything but transfering it while it is fermenting might.

+1 just leave it.

Hmmm... maybe I can just wrap some plastic wrap around the outside to get a seal then. Just to keep it from taking in O2 when the CO2 pressure dies down.

This is the only thing that I don't like about fermenting in buckets. I have well over a dozen lids, but only 2 or 3 that give an air tight seal. The ones with the o-ring seem to work the best for me.

The other issue that I run into is that I can't get the lid off without disturbing the bucket and kicking up some of the trub/yeast back into suspension.

I'm going to dig up an old thread here.

I think I'm seeing the same issue with my bucket, which started (looking back) on about my 4th batch. That batch had blow-off activity for about 12 hours, but that was it. After the blow-off tube had stopped, I pulled the lid to take a gravity reading and the beer still had krausen. I gently stirred the beer, put the lid on, and sure enough, it started bubbling again for a couple more days (probably because I got a better seal). FG was right on.

The batch after that, I still hadn't caught on, but saw the same trend with the blow-off activity. I pulled the lid and of course the beer was still fermenting. FG was good on that one as well. I STILL didn't catch on. I even posted a topic thinking my fermentations were "sluggish" (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/new-masher-sluggish-fermentations-127976/).

Now I have my 6th batch in the bucket after 48 hours and I finally figured it out. This time, I'm not going to worry and just check the gravity after 6-7 days. If it's good, I'll wait a couple more and go to secondary. If not, I'll just wait. After this batch, I'm ditching the pail and going with a carboy. Just wanted to get my experience out there.

I just stopped worrying about it. I've been using the same fermenter for every batch and never get a bubble and everything comes out great. I just consider it an extra bit of insurance against a blowoff accident. If there's more places for the pressure to escape then I don't have to worry so much about an airlock getting clogged.