does a primary need to be airtight?

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LewisM

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Hey all, just wondering as i am doing my current batch in a bucket rather than a carboy.
I have a lid which i can either loosely put on, or properly close making it airtight.

The lid doesnt have a hole cut in it for a airlock, and after attempting to cut one and ending up with a useless lid, i have been forced to think again.

So yea, im just wondering if the primary fermentation has to be airtight?

oh and im making a mead/cyser, so its going to be in there for a fair old while, will this make a difference?

thanks!
 
I would think you would need to let the pressure out maybe once a day or the lid will blow off (if you seal it shut). With the lid just put on loosely you have the chance of something nasty getting in there.
 
For aggressive primary fermentation, I know some people don't worry about a seal, but I would be concerned about doing this long-term. Like, I know people make wine and just cover the primary with a cloth to keep the bugs out, but then they move it to secondary before very long. If this was going to be sitting in the single bucket for an extended period, I'd see what I could do to add an airlock.

At some point, you want to get it off the yeast cake, as well.

Time to buy another carboy!
 
LewisM said:
The lid doesnt have a hole cut in it for a airlock, and after attempting to cut one and ending up with a useless lid, i have been forced to think again.

Are you sure your lid is ruined? Could you go the next size up on your stopper and save it?
 
if you already have a hole in the lid, take a piece of sanatized cellophane, tape it down tight on 3 side and you'll have a makeshift airlock. I just did this on my last bath, I realized I didnt have any more of the small stoppers when i was trasfering it to the primary fermenter.

I wouldnt leave it in there for much longer then a week though.
 
No, a lid doesn't have to be airtight. Since you are making a cyser, I'd just put the lid on and snap it down in two places to keep it from moving. The gravity in a mead/cyser prevents most things from growing and once the sugar level drops, the ABV kills off the rest.

A badly shaped hole can be used with a grometted airlock, if the hole isn't too big.
 
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