true brew bucket not airtight

Anyone else use buckets like these? I have a 6.5 gallon true brew bucket thats fermenting but is letting out air through the sides of the lid and not bubbling through the top. Its really annoying. Anyone have this same problem or a fix. Also, can this cause problems down the road?

For my first brew I did not put the airlock on right, and it did not bubble because (I presume) the CO2 was leaking out of the bucket. That batch endedu p being infected but I am almost certain it was because I did not properly sanitize my bottles (I washed them with a brush in soap in water - duh).

Someone more knowledgeable probably should also chime in, but I don't think your batch is threatened because the resulting CO2 above the batch protects the batch from incoming bacteria. The water in your airlock only stays sanitized for maybe a day, and this layer of CO2 is what protects your batch after the airlock loses its sanitization (this is also why some folks put vodka in the airlock, as it never loses its sanitary powers).

gusty83 said:

Anyone else use buckets like these? I have a 6.5 gallon true brew bucket thats fermenting...

Click to expand...

You don't need to worry if it's fermenting. A lot of buckets leak, nowhere in any of the classic books on brewing does it mention that your fermenter must be air tight. RDWHAHB!

Its just annoying. I tried that link also. The lid doesnt have one of those lips that comes off making it airtight. so far glass with a stopper is the only way ive gotten airtight.

I wouldn't worry too much. Your yeast is producing CO2, which is heavier than straight Oxygen and will push all of that dangerous air out of the bucket. As long as you're not constantly moving your bucket around you shouldn't have much to worry about.

Of course, if you live in an environment full of mold, smoke, dust, or other particulates there's a small chance that some opportunists might sneak in through the cracks, but I think the odds of that are pretty slim.

My True Brew buckets are doing a great job. sometimes the lids fit so tight on new buckets you have to work to get them down good.

This is something I've never worried about since open fermentation was practiced for millenia and even still today by a few large breweries. Also if your airlock is not bubbling it doesn't mean anything. Just that it's not bubbling. Not a way to measure fermentation.

beerloaf