Fermenter Air Tight??

[dokken5]

I bought a bucket and lid from one of the websites, and it doesn't airlock. There is no gasket. I was disappointed and wont use it since I cant get a lid that will seal.

I bought a bunch of stuff from a homebrewer at a yard sale and one of the things that he gave me was another fermentation bucket and lid with no air tight gasket. I am right in thinking that if these lids are not sealable that they don't make for good fermentations am I not?

 

[porterpounder]

The lid doesn't have to be air tight. Nothing is going to climb up the bucket and into it to ruin your beer. Also, CO2 off-gassing during fermentation and while reaching equilibrium after fermentation will not allow nasties to magically insert themselves into your brew. As long as it's covered and you don't leave the beer in the bucket too long once fermentation is complete so it doesn't oxidize, you should be fine.

 

[mdbrewer1]

As long as you're not long term aging in your fermenter, it doesn't have to be airtight. The CO2 produced and the positive pressure from fermentation are enough to keep your beer safe for several weeks. Some people and companies even use open fermenters. At a homebrew level, that might mean loosely placing the lid on top of the fermenter.

 

[wardens355]

Ideally you would want the fermenter to be pretty well sealed. Local grocery store bakeries usually have 3-6 gallon buckets that they trash, maybe you could go grab a lid off one of them, or at least scavenge the gasket if it fits your lid. They usually need to be cleaned a bit to get rid of the icing/frosting.