Fermenter buckets lid

[DilsmackDude]

I recently tried lagering for the first time, and it's been 5 days without a single bubble in the air lock. So I was concerned but it looks like there's some new trub at the bottom, and I found some similar concerns on here where it sounds like lagers are slow and may not cause the air lock to bubble. So I stopped worrying. Now I've got a cream ale going and it's been about 60 hours, again no bubbles in the airlock. In both cases I'm using two new plastic buckets I just bought. I noticed the lids don't have a seal like my old ones, but they fit nice and tight and one would hope if the seal was needed it would be included. So I'm wondering if maybe the CO2 is escaping through the lid. Has anyone used these buckets?

 

[whoaru99]

...

 

[DilsmackDude]

I recently tried lagering for the first time, and it's been 5 days without a single bubble in the air lock. So I was concerned but it looks like there's some new trub at the bottom, and I found some similar concerns on here where it sounds like lagers are slow and may not cause the air lock to bubble. So I stopped worrying. Now I've got a cream ale going and it's been about 60 hours, again no bubbles in the airlock. In both cases I'm using two new plastic buckets I just bought. I noticed the lids don't have a seal like my old ones, but they fit nice and tight and one would hope if the seal was needed it would be included. So I'm wondering if maybe the CO2 is escaping through the lid. Has anyone used these buckets?

Lager 52 degrees s-189 21 grams
Ale 65 degrees s-04 15 grams

 

[PCABrewing]

With the lids snapped down, are you able to twist them on the bucket without a great deal of force?
If so I would be suspicious of the seal. HDPE to HDPE isn't an ideal seal configuration.
Even if it is very hard to twist, any irregularity in the mating surfaces is not likely to seal.Try a wrap of gorilla tape.

 

[DilsmackDude]

With the lids snapped down, are you able to twist them on the bucket without a great deal of force?
If so I would be suspicious of the seal. HDPE to HDPE isn't an ideal seal configuration.
Even if it is very hard to twist, any irregularity in the mating surfaces is not likely to seal.Try a wrap of gorilla tape.

Actually yes I can twist them very easily, I don't want to open them really but I guess it's not doing much good this way. Thanks for the input, I'll have to try some tape today

 

[PCABrewing]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't necessarily consider it a crisis, just an added risk.
Many brews likely finish with a leaking fermenter environment and are just fine.
Remember there are brewers who still ferment with open fermenter.

 

[DilsmackDude]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't necessarily consider it a crisis, just an added risk.
Many brews likely finish with a leaking fermenter environment and are just fine.
Remember there are brewers who still ferment with open fermenter.

Ok. Maybe I'll just let em go for a couple more days then rack to the carboys. I don't think I should let the lager sit like that for a month.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I would wouldn’t transfer to a carboy. The lid seal isn’t perfect, but not horrible. The issue would be if you planned to cold crash it. Then the seal is a big deal. I’d let it go and keg it. If you’re bottling, I’d just bottle it. I think the O2 risk of transferring isn’t worth it. Let them prime in the bottle and cold condition them. I bet you’ll be surprised at how good it is in a few months.

 

[DilsmackDude]

I use kegs, so essentially just lager it in the keg? Does that build up sediment in the bottom? Maybe just pour a beer out before moving it?

 

[Dog House Brew]

Yes, I would lager in the keg. My normal practice anyway. You shouldn’t get much in the keg. Couple of pints and it will be clear sailing.
In the future you could just wrap the seam with electrical tape. I did that on a few of my buckets that didn’t seal great. Works pretty well actually. I’d check your grommet too.

 

[Graham H]

I have the exact same bucket. The seal worked great for my first two fermentations, but after that—no bubbles in the airlock. I still use it for some of my batches, and haven’t had any problems yet.

 

[DilsmackDude]

Ok I'll try some tape next time, thanks for the advice.

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who had this problem

 

[Dog House Brew]

I still use buckets occasionally. When I do I just go old school and never cold crash in them. Other than that, no issues.

 

[NSMikeD]

See if you can find a gasket for the lid, Also, you can use a food grade lubricant to help seal the lid as it will fill in any small gaps.

 

[DilsmackDude]

OK yeah that's a good point. Ill check if the seal from my old lid fits and the if the lid will still snap into place. It just doesn't seem like it was meant to allow space for a seal.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I test bucket seals by setting something of weight on the lid so the airlock moves a bit. The bubble will now be uneven. If, within 10 minutes, the bubble levels out, there is a leak. A crack in the lid aside, there are only two places it could leak. The huge o-ring on the bucket lid or the airlock grommet. I start by taking the lid seal out, wiping it down, and replace it in flipped orientation from how it came out. The airlock grommets get old, shrink, and lose their seal. They're cheap and easy to replace.