Sealing brew-bucket lid

So I ordered a couple of 7 gallon HDPE buckets from usplastics and I am using one as a fermenter. I drilled a hole in the lid with a hole saw, and then stuck a airlock in there.

I did my beer thing, and then pitched it into this bucket. A day later, I was feeling kinda sad, b/c there was no activity, and I areated the heck out of it and pitched a lot of yeast.

Then I pryed the top off, and saw I was at full krausen with no activity in the airlock. Obviously, the co2 is escaping and the lid is not secure. Any fixes for this? Is there a special "brewing lid" with a rubber gasket or something I can buy?

In the meantime, am I prone to infection since its obviously not airtight? I'm kinda hoping the co2 flowing out will keep air from coming in at this point.

most brew bucket lids have a rubber gasket around the inside of the lid and a small one for the airlock. there's a couple different sizes (bucket diameters) that I know of, one would probably fit your bucket. I wouldn't worry about infection at this point as co2 is pushing eveything out

Right, all of my True Brew buckets have a rubber seal around the inside edge. I believe it was EdWort whom I saw a YouTube video of his fermenting with just the lids sitting on top. If you practice good santization, I'd think you'll be just fine.

Plenty of people just sit the lid on top and don't worry about locking it up air tight...you'll be just fine.

I wouldn't worry about the seal. I still get a kick out of the bubbles but I'm moving to a closet soon so I'll be missing out too.

Your fermentation has taken off already. Anything that did manage to get in there will have its butt kicked by your ferocious yeast. Fagetaboutit

I got an ale pal from the wife for xmas. It had the same problem. I promptly called williams 2 ***** about and the sales reptile said "oh your one of those kind huh. Well if you insist on seeing bubbles from the airlock put some keglube around the rim before you put the lid on". and when i remember to do that it seals great.

superjunior said:

most brew bucket lids have a rubber gasket around the inside of the lid and a small one for the airlock. there's a couple different sizes (bucket diameters) that I know of, one would probably fit your bucket. I wouldn't worry about infection at this point as co2 is pushing eveything out

Click to expand...

my BB kit has no rubber gasket around the lid. It fits tight, and I get plenty of airlock action. Of course I know that airlock bubbles aren't the most important thing. The airlock gives you a visual of what is going on in the bucket.

As stated by Revvy in at least 4 or 5 posts recently, you dont really face too much risk of an infection since the positive pressure ove th co2 escaping negates the ability of any wild yeasties from entering.

Picture it this way: Try to throw the crumbled up wrapper from a straw or piece of gum into a window fan. The pressure of the air blowing at you makes it impossible for the crumbled up gum wrapper to get into the fan. The fan is your fermenter, the wrapper is your wild yeast.

Yeah I'm not really concerned about it now, but when the co2 stops getting produced then its another story. What's keglube?

badmajon said:

Yeah I'm not really concerned about it now, but when the co2 stops getting produced then its another story. What's keglube?

Click to expand...

Nope, it really isn't another story. CO2 is heavier than air and it forms a blanket over your beer. As long as you don't pull the cover off, nothing will get in.

If something did get in, chances are the alcohol in the beer would kill it anyway. Your real danger time is right after you have cooled the wort and before the yeast have a chance to propagate. You have this bucket full of medium that all the bacteria would love to colonize. That's why we continually tell people to sanitize.:rockin:

Huh. I didn't know that. Thanks.

On another note, I called US plastics and they told me the lids they sell for the buckets I bought have gaskets in them. Has anyone bought these lids http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23221&catid=686 and can confirm?

I just like seeing the bubbles. I'm kinda like that fish in Finding Nemo. Bubbles bubbles bubbles... my bubbles!

I bought these lids Feom us plastics (and 7 gallon buckets to go with them) last week. They seem to really seal the buckets. I filled the bucket with a gallon hot water, put the top on and shook it. I could see the lid start to bow under the pressure. I got a good pfffffftttttttt when I released the lid. I'd say it seals really well.

keg lube is for lubricating all o-rings and seald on a corney(or any other keg with o-rings). it is the consistancy of vasiline.

I have one with a seal that still leaks. I have another without that seems to seal veyr tight. Either way, they still work. I don't rely on the bubbles to tell me if the beer is fermenting or not. (Although I do admit I prefer to watch my buckets bubble than not.)

badmajon said:

Yeah I'm not really concerned about it now, but when the co2 stops getting produced then its another story. What's keglube?

Click to expand...

It will be fine when the yeast stop producing CO2. The bad wild yeasts and bugs are not able to crawl up your bucket and slip underneath your lid. They are airborne and will float down - they won't get into your beer bucket with a non-airtight lid on it.

RDWHAHB, as someone once said.

Homercidal said:

I have one with a seal that still leaks. I have another without that seems to seal veyr tight. Either way, they still work. I don't rely on the bubbles to tell me if the beer is fermenting or not. (Although I do admit I prefer to watch my buckets bubble than not.)

Click to expand...

Same here even with a good lube job. I use 4 hand clamps to keep the lids on tight.

On a side note, I find it funny that people say that all the CO2 will keep the air out of their fermentor but insist that O2 will make its way into an active starter.

Your fine.

Positive co2 pressure, co2 blanket, etc....

Using 4 buckets 1 with a gamma seal which seals every time. 2 are Ale Pails with no gaskets and they seal fine most of the time. Final bucket no matter what I do I've been unable to get ever a full seal and now wish I never drilled the lid. I don't worry about that one as I use it for cider only.

RDWHAHB!

badmajon said:

Huh. I didn't know that. Thanks.

On another note, I called US plastics and they told me the lids they sell for the buckets I bought have gaskets in them. Has anyone bought these lids http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23221&catid=686 and can confirm?

I just like seeing the bubbles. I'm kinda like that fish in Finding Nemo. Bubbles bubbles bubbles... my bubbles!

Click to expand...

Yes, year before last, I bought three of the US Plastics 7 gallon buckets, and varicolored lids to go with them. Each lid has a black rubber "O" ring gasket it it, and each does a great job of sealing......at least, I get plenty of airlock action.
As was said in a previous post, you could just set the lid on there (I don't), and the CO2 being generated by the yeast will supply plenty of protection for the developing beer. CO2 is heavier than air, and will sit on top of the beer like a blanket.
As an aside, I will mention that I've been very pleased with the US Plastics buckets. 7 gallon capacity gives me that bit of additional headspace, and I haven't had a foamout since I started using them.

Hmm... I have 2 bucket and 2 carboys and always use the buckets for fermentation as I prefer the head space - ease of cleaning, etc. Sometimes I get a seal and sometimes I don't. It may be that I'm mixing my lids(?) Anyway I also have one of those 2 piece airlocks that seems to fit the hole and grommet better than the S shaped airlocks. I may be filling that wrong, but the last time I used it the top piece went shooting off. I think that is a worses problem than perfect air-tightness.

You probably know that traditional fermenting is open air.

I can add something about the buckets themselves. I work with a HB supplier, and we have had different buckets and some seal without a gasket, some don't.

A few years back we bought buckets from Ropak (the manufacturer name will be imprinted somewhere on the bucket & lid), those lids sealed tight without a gasket. But then we changed manufacturers, to Contico, and the first lids we used would not make an airtight seal. We talked to the supplier, and they said we needed the lids with gaskets in order to make them seal. So they don't all work the same, it depends on the manufacturer.

BTW, we sell buckets that we call 6 gallons, but they actually hold about 7 gallons up to the top. I think many other shops call them "6-gallon" because that is standard, but the stated capacity is usually lower than the actual capacity.

You're fine! I admit that I do love seeing the airlock bubble, even though it isn't necessary. I think people are exaggerating when they tell you that you need an airtight seals. The gas released during fermentation will keep pretty much everything out. A bug might be able to crawl in there, but nothing airborne. My ghetto airlock has been TIN FOIL. I have used it on carboys for beer and pickle jars for wine. Zero infections. Beer making doesn't have to be clean-room sterile or required fancy equipment, regardless of what the brew geniuses make it seem like!
My suggestion would be to just live with it, but if you really want to see the bubbles then you could get another bucket/lid combo (very nice to have another.) Or you could just try getting some DAP Household Silicone. It's FDA approved for food contact. Shoot a little into the grove on the lid. More expensive than a lid though...

Hey badmajon,

If you search my threads, I posted the EXACT same question and had the exact same fears dispelled after brewing a batch of beer.

My 5gal bucket lid would go on "tight", but it would "spin". I noticed more Krausen seeping from the sides of the lid, than the airlock it self.

I ended up just using a sealed rubber stopper (instead a driller stopper w/ an airlock) , and let it do it's thing. Came out just fine.

Mine never seals properly. the rubber gasket fell out a while ago. Doesnt matter tho, it wont get infected. I remove the airlock and check whats going on all the time, nothing happens.

People are always so concerned with this. I culture stem cells and the dishes they are in are not air-tight. They are wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more sensitive than beer, too.

air tight is overrated for primary.

You don't really want to use the lids with seals on them from US Plastics with their 6 or 7 gallon buckets.....not unless you never want to take them off again without some fancy cutting and muscle action. Don't ask me how I know this.

There is a handy lid removing gadget you can buy, still very tough with the lids with seals on them from USP. When my conical is in use.... I use their 7 gal for fermenting and the lids for the 5 gal from Walmart work just fine with plenty of air lock activity. Nice having the 7 gal for big brews.

... I will admit that I enjoy seeing the airlock bubble; but, after several batches the seals on my fermentor lid do not seal as tight as when I first started. To that end, I do this to my buckets to ensure that the lids are air tight... giving me all that sweet sweet airlock activity - lol

norsk said:

You don't really want to use the lids with seals on them from US Plastics with their 6 or 7 gallon buckets.....not unless you never want to take them off again without some fancy cutting and muscle action. Don't ask me how I know this.

There is a handy lid removing gadget you can buy, still very tough with the lids with seals on them from USP. When my conical is in use.... I use their 7 gal for fermenting and the lids for the 5 gal from Walmart work just fine with plenty of air lock activity. Nice having the 7 gal for big brews.

Click to expand...

A handy tip for making the USP lids easy to get off. There are holes around the rim of the lid at intervals (about 8, I think). Cut through the rim of the lid from all the holes to the edge of the lid with a utility knife. Cutting through in this manner means that the segments of the edge can be pulled out individually and the lid removed far more easily than attempting to do it with an intact edge. I believe that the lid is designed for removal in this fashion, although the designers may have thought it would only happen once. After the lid has been cut as I describe, it's also much easier to remove after it's been put on and taken off several times. I have three USP 7-gallon buckets and lids, and I'm very pleased with them.

I stopped using buckets as it's easier for me to use a carboy. Also, I dry hop in a keg as it's a pain in the butt to fit 2+ ounces of hop leafs through a corboy neck opening.

Are these USP buckets/lids regional or specific to one area?

I haven't used these for brewing but I've used them for other things and definitely seal very well. They would be great for grain and other things as well.

http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/gamma_seal_lids_gamma_lid_products.aspx

Note - I didn't buy them from that supplier and don't know if those prices are good.