Can't get True Brew lid to snap in place

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kgs

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
50
Reaction score
0
Location
Tallahassee
I have managed to survive my first few days as a homebrew n00b. I only opened the fermentation bucket once, tonight, to replace the o-ring I pushed into the bucket and retrieve some liquid for a hydrometer reading (of course, I sanitized everything very carefully and re-sanitized the lid, too), and gosh, I even saw krausen!

But... I can't get the True Brew lid to snap in place. It's a typical 6.5 gallon primary fermenting bucket. I think it's me, not the bucket. I've pushed, squeezed, sat on the top of the bucket and bounced up and down, and even tried squeezing the lid shut with a device that is supposed to help pry it open.

Maybe the answer is to move to glass or plastic carboys... anyone else have this problem? I'm small (under 5') (yes, I'm of age, more than twice over :p ) and though I do exercise I don't have strong arms.

In the meantime, the lid sits snugly, if not snapped in place, when I raise the handle. I assume there's a decent enough seal, but...
 
Generally speaking you don't 'need' a perfect seal. More or less the lid and airlock are set in place to make sure bad stuff doesn't get in. In theory your could just place a peice of plywood on top of the fermentor and all would be well. So don't worry.

Sadly I cannot offer any better advice. I use a 'Pale Ale' or a Coopers fermentor and not True Brew.




Good Luck
 
Don't worry about it. I have a bucket fermentor that the lid will not seal. I went to the trouble of taping the whole thing to create a seal. I just wanted to see the airlock doing its thing. Well, yeast ferments whether the airlock is clicking or not. There are some brave souls who do open bucket fermenting. I am not brave enough to try that yet. Never the less, my lab rat buddies tell me we live in a rain of mold, bacteia, yeast, virus, dust, small particle crap or you name it origin. So be it. Put the lid on. Set somehting heavy on it. Let it go.

Beer will occur.

Praise the yeast.

Let us pray.
In the name of the barley, the hops and the yeast.
Amen

Play ball!

Oops! hope I didn't step on any ecumenical toes there Revvy?
 
Never had that problem but I use Ale Pales. I have noticed that some are harder to open and close. I might try a rubber mallet to get it started but I would also be affraid of cracking it so... just drink a beer and forget about it.:drunk:
As long as its covered it should be fine.
 
I agree with the don't worry comments, but if you really want to fix it, there are two ways.
1. Give good thumps all around the rim of the lid with the heel of your hand. It's no good just pressing unless you have the weight to exert a great deal of pressure. This may work, but could also bruise your hand.
2. Visit your local hadware store, and invest in a dead blow mallet. You can then use that to thump the lid into place without any bruises.

In both cases, it is quite likely that you will have a lot of difficulty getting the lid off again when you need to.

All the lid really has to do is to prevent contaminants falling into the brew. It doesn't have to be completely airtight.

-a.
 
the lid to my ale pail is a bi-atch to get open and closed, so i feel your pain...what i do is focus on getting one piece of the lid all the way on and then just slide my palm with weight on it around the lid and will hear it go down into place, kinda like closing a ziplock bag...

at the very least, rdwhahb!
 
I have managed to survive my first few days as a homebrew n00b. I only opened the fermentation bucket once, tonight, to replace the o-ring I pushed into the bucket and retrieve some liquid for a hydrometer reading (of course, I sanitized everything very carefully and re-sanitized the lid, too), and gosh, I even saw krausen!

But... I can't get the True Brew lid to snap in place. It's a typical 6.5 gallon primary fermenting bucket. I think it's me, not the bucket. I've pushed, squeezed, sat on the top of the bucket and bounced up and down, and even tried squeezing the lid shut with a device that is supposed to help pry it open.

Maybe the answer is to move to glass or plastic carboys... anyone else have this problem? I'm small (under 5') (yes, I'm of age, more than twice over :p ) and though I do exercise I don't have strong arms.

In the meantime, the lid sits snugly, if not snapped in place, when I raise the handle. I assume there's a decent enough seal, but...

Woo Hoo! Finally, a member here who's smaller than I am! Welcome!!!! :mug:

Seriously, don't worry about the lid. Just put it down on there as tightly as you can, and then don't worry any more about it. It's fine. Nothing can crawl through it, so it's safe.
 
In the meantime, the lid sits snugly, if not snapped in place, when I raise the handle. I assume there's a decent enough seal, but...

I have a brand new true-brew 6.5 gallon bucket as well. The lid is very stiff and it's quite difficult to get on and off the bucket. In time, it will loosen up some, but I have found that wetting the seal a little helps...
 
I had the same trouble when I first got my kit; I thought it was just that I am sort of a weakling and couldn't snap it on. I tried all kinds of stuff before taking it into the LHBS i bought it from. They gave me the wrong lid :drunk: :mad:

It wasn't my fault after all, you may want to look into it.

That said, the right sized lid is still a PITA to get off but getting it on I don't think is really that hard.
 
Great answers, all. (I'm relieved no one suggested that I retrieve those exercise bands from the back of the hall closet and start working on my triceps.) I will try wetting the seal, after bottling I'll take to the LHBS and make sure it's the RIGHT lid (it probably is, I think they only sell one bucket, but they're close by), and most of all won't worry about it and will spend my waiting time planning my next batch.
 
Yeah, good info... I just picked up some really 3.5 gallon buckets and lids from the local bakery but some of the lids weren't passing a leak test. They just barely let a few drops out. Nice to know I can use them for my small batch stuff!
 
Try this. The outter edge of the lid should be divided into sections with thinnr plastic between the sections. Use some scissors or a knife to cut that seperating thin plastic down. So now there should be a bunch of flaps so to speak making the lid easier to pop on and off. Worked for me and I havethe same true brew bucket with blue lid. Just be sure not to cut too far down to contact where the o-ring sits. I'm not at home but if u need a visual ill post pics this evening. Made a significant difference for me.
 
Great answers, all. (I'm relieved no one suggested that I retrieve those exercise bands from the back of the hall closet and start working on my triceps.) I will try wetting the seal, after bottling I'll take to the LHBS and make sure it's the RIGHT lid (it probably is, I think they only sell one bucket, but they're close by), and most of all won't worry about it and will spend my waiting time planning my next batch.

Come on, Tiny, you can do it! :D

Seriously, though, some of these buckets can be a beeatch to open, and some are hard to close too. I recommend looking into what Tim suggested and see if you can cut the flaps looser. Sometimes they are only separated enough to get the job done, and I've had to cut some of mine to make them work easily.

Also, there isn't a need for air tight seal. Nearly all contamination is from stuff falling into your beer, not from tiny bits of air being drawn in somehow. You might not be able to rely on the airlock to determine fermentation, but you really shouldn't anyway, right Revyy?
 
Come on, Tiny, you can do it! :D

Seriously, though, some of these buckets can be a beeatch to open, and some are hard to close too. I recommend looking into what Tim suggested and see if you can cut the flaps looser. ...

;-)

Right now I think I'll leave it as-is, because if I destroy the lid then I am in a pickle. But I am considering racking to a secondary because the optimal bottling time may come while I'm at a week-long conference, and if that happens then I can sharpen my knives and go after my lid as soon as I rack. I think you are probably right though. I see the notches on the lid.
 
I had the same trouble when I first got my kit; I thought it was just that I am sort of a weakling and couldn't snap it on. I tried all kinds of stuff before taking it into the LHBS i bought it from. They gave me the wrong lid...

I took a closer look at the bucket and lid this morning, just in case. The bucket is a True Brew bucket, and the lid is by Plastican Inc. and has the numbers 40-0-7. Sound right?
 
Back
Top