Grommets and the Noobs

Ok, I'm reading all over this site about noobs pushing the grommet on their bucket lid into the brew. I did the exact same thing first time. Not sure why this is so easy to do, but why don't they give you some sort of warning? I thought I was the only idiot to do this and felt like a fool until I took a beginners class a week later and was told they get 3-4 calls a week about what to do when the grommet falls through. It makes me laugh now when I think of myself trying to fish it out and reading about others doing the same.

I think it is just an inexperience thing. You want the airlock to make a tight seal, but you don't really know how hard to push or how far to push the airlock into the hole the very first time you do it. So, inevitably some people go too far and push the grommet into the fermenter.

Maybe there ought to be better-worded instructions, but I'm not sure what they would say. "push the airlock in, but not TOO far!"

Maybe what one might advise is to try putting the airlock into the hole before attaching the lid so as to avoid the whole fiasco.

weirdboy said:

Maybe what one might advise is to try putting the airlock into the hole before attaching the lid so as to avoid the whole fiasco.

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That really is key! Even now, years later, on brewing day I'm like Rainman muttering to myself "airlock on the lid, then the lid on the bucket. airlock on the lid, THEN the lid on the bucket".

My first post on this forum was a grommet into a bucket, too! But in my defense, star-san makes stuff slippery!

Funny cause in the class, they told us to throw away any instructions that came with the kit. I still read them, and there was nothing about the grommet falling through. I think it's just natural to put on the lid first and then top it off with the airlock. I've learned if you twist the airlock instead of pushing it, you can go as far as you like. But the airlock in and lid on after is definitely a great suggestion

On that note, I did the same thing on my first batch. I bottled the other night and forgot it was in there as I was cleaning the bucket after bottling. The grommet went right down the drain as I was cleaning. So my question is where can I get a new one and what size is it? I have a Brewer's Best kit if that matters.

heh, i've still got a 6.5 gal carboy i haven't bothered with in a few years. Haven't figured out how to get the stopper out of the bottom of it! and i've been too lazy to look it up!

WOW...are you guys like world class bodybuilders here. i never thought anyone would push so hard as to dislodge the grommet from the lid.

dfess1 said:

heh, i've still got a 6.5 gal carboy i haven't bothered with in a few years. Haven't figured out how to get the stopper out of the bottom of it! and i've been too lazy to look it up!

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Wow! now thats talent! i have never even thought the stopper would go the whole way into my carboy...how much homebrew had you had prior to trying to plug the carboy?

tsimo33 said:

On that note, I did the same thing on my first batch. So my question is where can I get a new one and what size is it? I have a Brewer's Best kit if that matters.

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I believe they are universal. My LHBS sells them for $.50. These are handy if you ever want to make your own fermenting pails. Drill, I believe, a 7/16" hole in the lid and shove one in.