Effing primary o-ring...help me RDWHAHB

[EamusCatuli]

So while twisting on my 3-piece airlock to my Ale Pale primary bucket the stupid little o-ring split and fell into the damn beer. And apparently they dont float, the sink. So, I have a nice rubber o-ring marinating in my primary. Has this happened to anyone???

 

[McKBrew]

Stuff like this happens all the time. RDWHAHB.

 

[BADS197]

Get a new pair of long tongs and sani and steri them and go fishing?

 

[Jimbob]

Get a new pair of long tongs and sani and steri them and go fishing?

I've done it and have several friends who have. Honesty, I wouldn't mess with it. Just replace it and leave the one in the bottom till you wrack-it. If you sanitized it there shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't risk the potential contamination trying to fish it out.

 

[Dan76]

I've got an ESB in a bucket right now that has an o-ring on the bottom. I swore at it for while then poured myself a beer. I figured there was nothing I could do about it, so might as well forget about it...

 

[Revvy]

Welcome..It's official, you are now a homebrewer....

Actually HBT lore has it that Yooper's very first post on here was exactly the same thing....

One of my brew buddies actually yelled at me once for not putting the airlock on the lid BEFORE I put the lid on...I honestly never thought of that before....

 

[Yooper]

Welcome..It's official, you are now a homebrewer....

Actually HBT lore has it that Yooper's very first post on here was exactly the same thing....

One of my brew buddies actually yelled at me once for not putting the airlock on the lid BEFORE I put the lid on...I honestly never thought of that before....

Yes, I do believe that over 8,000 posts ago, I said the same thing. Mine didn't split, but just was nice and slick and all sanitized and "plop", in it went. So, now, I am like Rainman muttering to myself "airlock goes on the lid, lid on the bucket", over and over until I actually do it.

Just leave it. Don't risk infection by digging it out. It'll still be there in two weeks. One thing you CAN do is buy another one of those grommits for $.35. I did that, and it never happened again. (But, of course, "airlock goes on the lid, THEN the lid on the bucket" now)

 

[MN_Jay]

I accidently dumped an airlock full of sanitizer in one of my batches and it still turned out fine, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[eljefe]

I too am guilty of the O-ring in the primary trick. My advice is to bottle the two pieces and give $5 to whoever finds them.

 

[Sean from New Hampshire]

Just remember, if you're brewing an ale, once fermentation start a nice big pile of krausen will protect your beer from most contamination until it falls down, so you have time!

Sean From NH

 

[Bob]

My advice is to not try to seal the bucket. In the first place, you can't. In the second, there's no need.

All you need to do is keep stuff from falling in to the bucket. As Sean wrote, the blanket of krauesen and carbon dioxide will sufficiently protect your beer from airborne microflora. I just stuck a piece of acrylic packing tape over the airlock hole and laid the lid on loosely. Eventually I replaced the lids entirely with sheets of plexiglas. That permits me to peer into the fermenter - always a temptation! - and keeps dust and moths out.

Cheers,

Bob