My local Save on Foods (Canadian grocery store chain, idk if it's in the US) recently stocked up with tons of brewing equipment, compared to other save on foods which just stock a couple kits.(Yay for me!!) Not a great variety on yeast only EC-1118 and Coopers Ale Yeast but EC-1118 is pretty versatile. But then I saw this 10 gallon food grade primary fermenter looks pretty nice, not too expensive if I recall correctly. But... there is no spot for an air lock... I'm pretty sure the lid doesn't make quite an airtight seal either. So my question is, is this an open fermenter, and if so is it safe to use for a large batch of mead? I don't really know a whole lot about open fermenters or open fermentation. If someone could provide some insight that would be great.
Open fermentation question
- Thread starter Bugeaud
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GinKings
Well-Known Member
If it has a lid, I wouldn't call it an open fermenter. Is it a plastic bucket? Many plastic buckets don't have gaskets in the lid and still seal quite well. It's pretty easy to drill a hole in the lid and put a grommet in for an airlock.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/grommet-for-lid.html
If you can't put in an airlock, I wouldn't be afraid to ferment with the lid just resting on top (not sealed). CO2 created during fermentation will protect it. I would rack to secondary (minimal headspace and an airlock) when fermentation is winding down.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/grommet-for-lid.html
If you can't put in an airlock, I wouldn't be afraid to ferment with the lid just resting on top (not sealed). CO2 created during fermentation will protect it. I would rack to secondary (minimal headspace and an airlock) when fermentation is winding down.
fatbloke
Well-Known Member
The buckets that my local HBS sells are the same i.e. no gasket type seal etc but he has a punch that cuts the hole for a grommet in the lid, so it's no difficulty to fit the grommet/airlock combo. They certainly seal well enough for the CO2 to exhaust through the airlock......
