Need advice on installing an airlock

Well, first of all, I live in the sticks in Japan and getting the equipment I needed to get started with my brewing has been a bit of an adventure. I got a nice, sturdy 30 liter fermentation bucket with a snap-seal lid. The only problem is there is no hole on the lid for the airlock I just purchased.

Have any of you put a hole in the lid yourself? Any advice or links to screenshots? I only have one lid and don't want to screw it up.

By the way, my first batch is already under my belt. The Japanese instructions I got did not mention an airlock so I just kept pressure on the lid so gas would escape but the lid would seal when pressure equalized. I was surprised at how well my blind brewing went but I want to employ the use of an airlock in the future.

Any help would be appreciated!

You can either drill a small hole and put a grommet in there or drill a large hole and use a drilled stopper. I prefer the small hole with a grommet. You might be able to find grommets in the hardware store in the electrical section.

Thanks Bobby_M. The airllock came with a rubber stopper but it has no grooves that could help to keep it in place. Maybe i should drill a hole in the lid, just a bit smaller than the rubber stopper, and then slice a groove in the rubber stopper myself?

If the stopper is tapered it won't really need grooves. Just drill a hole about the size of the midpoint of your stopper and jam the stopper in until it won't go any farther.

trencher said:

If the stopper is tapered it won't really need grooves. Just drill a hole about the size of the midpoint of your stopper and jam the stopper in until it won't go any farther.

Click to expand...

I had a feeling that might work. I was afraid to go at it until I got some solid advice. Thanks trencher!

between batches, should I pry the stopper back out for sterilizing? or just sterilize the exposed parts with the lid? I'm just thinking that removing and replacing will add to wear and tear.

???

Finish brewing my first batch last night… I also had to drill a hole in my lid. What I

did was I went down to my local hardware store and picked up a “5/8 wire

grommet”. In my opinion it is the best option, when you put the air lock through, it

will fit very snug and will be air tight. If you can’t find one I would use a #2

stopper… I don’t know what size stopper you have but anything around a #7

would be too big and look ugly but I guess it would do the job. And yes sanitize

everything, bucket lid, stopper/grommet, air lock… take it all apart and soak it,

including the rubber gasket on your lid (if you have one).

cheers