I brewed a batch on Saturday. I just purchased a new brewing kit. What I came to find out is that the bucket lid doesn't seal completely. Yesterday it was bubbling pretty good even with the leaky top. Its on pretty tight but not air tight. It's 59 degrees in my basement right now. I'm fermenting with California lager yeast. I'm thinking about racking it into the glass carboy tonight before I lose positive pressure in the bucket. It wasn't bubbling this morning. My question is can I afford to rack without getting any trub? Will there be enough active yeast cells just floating around still to keep the fermentation going at the correct rate. I don't want to stall out my fermentation.
Help! Leaky fermentation bucket lid
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Lots of people ferment in leaky buckets without issues. I suspect more buckets leak than don't.
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McKnuckle
Well-Known Member
Relax. It doesn't matter. Buckets rarely seal well enough to permit visible airlock activity, and it affects nothing except your ability to see said activity. Don't rack the beer yet! You need the yeast population kept intact, and no oxygen introduced at this point. Lager yeast strains are bottom fermenters - so you don't want to leave any behind.
Don't rack.
Since you are ostensibly brewing a lager, let it finish primary fermentation and have a diacetyl rest in the mid 60s before racking to a carboy or keg for cold crashing, clarifying, lagering, and serving (if it's a keg).
Don't rack.
Since you are ostensibly brewing a lager, let it finish primary fermentation and have a diacetyl rest in the mid 60s before racking to a carboy or keg for cold crashing, clarifying, lagering, and serving (if it's a keg).
I have a leaky bucket lid as well. I very rarely see the airlock move. Leave it be and you'll be fine.
They don't worry about no stinking leaky lid! [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xClXKMhcFr0[/ame]
brew703
Well-Known Member
Duck tape it closed. I have one that doesn't seal great and use duck tape.
It's fine as it is. Don't do a secondary. Plenty of brewers just leave a loose fitting lid on top without any airlock at all. Then there's your full-on open fermentation like posted above.
When I have a bucket that loses it seal I re-wet the seal area of the lid with starsan and replace the lid. Normally takes care of the leak.
The protective CO2 blanket is a myth. If it wasn't we would all suffocate since the "air" at ground level would be mostly CO2. Also, check out the video below. Br2 is 3.6 times as heavy as CO2 (159.8 vs. 44), but completely mixes with air in about 30 minutes. CO2 is about the same weight as NO2 (44 vs. 46), which mixes with air even faster than Br2, as shown later in the video. So, please stop spreading the myth about a CO2 blanket.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLPBnhOCjM[/ame]
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The protective CO2 blanket is a myth. If it wasn't we would all suffocate since the "air" at ground level would be mostly CO2. Also, check out the video below. Br2 is 3.6 times as heavy as CO2 (159.8 vs. 44), but completely mixes with air in about 30 minutes. CO2 is about the same weight as NO2 (44 vs. 46), which mixes with air even faster than Br2, as shown later in the video. So, please stop spreading the myth about a CO2 blanket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLPBnhOCjM
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Are you saying CO2 in a closed, undisturbed primary fermentor with an airlock will mix with O2 in 30 minutes? If the lid were left off or replaced with an air filled container I can see this happening, but not in the conditions we're talking about. The video isn't a model of these conditions.
Not at all. I was responding to a post that said (paraphrasing) "don't worry, there is a protective CO2 blanket."
A bucket with a leaky lid will leak more when there is positive pressure inside the bucket. In this case, the CO2 flowing out of the leaks will prevent most, if not all, air ingress. When fermentation stops, there will be no pressure differential between the outside and inside of the bucket, and the gaps that caused the leaks are likely to close up considerably. There may still be small leaks that would allow some air ingress, but it should be very slow. Whatever O2 does diffuse into the bucket will mix with the CO2 in a matter of minutes. The biggest worry is when cold crashing, as it creates a negative pressure in the bucket, which will suck air back thru the airlock if it can't get in elsewhere. For this reason, cold crash times should be limited, and the beer packaged as quickly as possible.
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HiImBrian
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The protective CO2 blanket is a myth. If it wasn't we would all suffocate since the "air" at ground level would be mostly CO2. Also, check out the video below. Br2 is 3.6 times as heavy as CO2 (159.8 vs. 44), but completely mixes with air in about 30 minutes. CO2 is about the same weight as NO2 (44 vs. 46), which mixes with air even faster than Br2, as shown later in the video. So, please stop spreading the myth about a CO2 blanket.
Brew on
Very interesting! It looks like at least in terms of a primary fermentation this "blanket" idea still somewhat applies. Since the yeast is constantly emitting CO2 molecules, the O2 molecules would be pushed back. Thanks for sharing!
http://beerandwinejournal.com/can-co2-form-a-blanket/
MaryB
Well-Known Member
Fermentation doesn't entirely stop. Some CO2 is being produced even when we think it is finished. So the bucket will be forming a co2 blanket.
ncsuwerewolf
Well-Known Member
If sierra nevada can ferment in the confines of the viewing public in open fermenters. No stinking leaky bucket lid can stop you. Now when you krausen through one,or blow off an airlock let us know. both are a hot mess to clean
Get a roll of plastic wrap from your local lumberyard. The kind they use to wrap the moulding you purchase together so it doesn't fly out of the back of your truck. It's about 6 inches wide and will seal your bucket up with no problem. Just make sure you sanitize the outside of your bucket first so you don't trap any uglies under it.
beergolf
Well-Known Member
You are trying to fix something that really is not a problem. Sure if you want to age something long term then it may be an issue. For a normal brew that you are going to bottle in a few weeks, a leaky lid is no problem. Bugs are not some super nija creatures that can crawl up through the edge of the lid.
Relax and let it be.
Relax and let it be.
I ferment mostly in buckets, ALL my buckets are leaky, I've said on here for nearly a decade, most of the time my airlocks don't bubble...I leave my beer in the buckets for 1 month minimum, and guess what? I still make great beer.
A beer ferments the same regardless of whether an airlock bubbles or not, or whether or not a ferment even has one. The airlock's SOLE purpose is to release EXCESS gas whether it's o2 being pushed out as co2 builds up in the initial stage of fermentaion, or as co2 comes out it has absolutely NOTHING to do with make a beer taste good or bad...
It makes no difference how the gas gets out, be it the airlock, the side of the bucket lid, the grommet, from under the sides of the plexiglass sheet, tinfoil, plastic wrap set on top of the fermenter, from the hole in the condom (not recommended but has been done) from the underside of the notched mr beer lid or by whatever means have been employed through the long history of brewing.
As long as co2 is coming out, where ever, nothing is getting in. It's as simple as that. And except for open fermentation (meaning like they do with r Steam Beers,) the things that are going to cause off flavors i.e. wild yeast, are not going to make it in and under and around a lid gap, or a any of the other traditional ways employed to allow the gasses to get out.
Just relax....leave your beer alone... the yeast are doing their jobs, and you will have good beer...if you don't try to "fix" what's not a problem... don't hover over it like a parent with a newborn...
A beer ferments the same regardless of whether an airlock bubbles or not, or whether or not a ferment even has one. The airlock's SOLE purpose is to release EXCESS gas whether it's o2 being pushed out as co2 builds up in the initial stage of fermentaion, or as co2 comes out it has absolutely NOTHING to do with make a beer taste good or bad...
It makes no difference how the gas gets out, be it the airlock, the side of the bucket lid, the grommet, from under the sides of the plexiglass sheet, tinfoil, plastic wrap set on top of the fermenter, from the hole in the condom (not recommended but has been done) from the underside of the notched mr beer lid or by whatever means have been employed through the long history of brewing.
As long as co2 is coming out, where ever, nothing is getting in. It's as simple as that. And except for open fermentation (meaning like they do with r Steam Beers,) the things that are going to cause off flavors i.e. wild yeast, are not going to make it in and under and around a lid gap, or a any of the other traditional ways employed to allow the gasses to get out.
Just relax....leave your beer alone... the yeast are doing their jobs, and you will have good beer...if you don't try to "fix" what's not a problem... don't hover over it like a parent with a newborn...
cloudybrewer
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the thread and replies. I am staring at my two buckets containing my very first brew and one airlock has been bubbling for 24 hours, other never has. I suspected a leaky lid and was wondering what to do. Now I will just leave it alone.
And the next time the OTHER one might not bubble... or they both WILL, or they both Won't.... that's just the nature of fermenter buckers (and carboys do the same thing) and airlocks... they're imprecise, and they're not meant to be precise...
Unless you have a stainless system, the only thing that matters is that co2 gets out SOMEHOW, not where or how... The purpose of an airlock or a lightly set on lid, is to let co2 out so you don't end up like this...(which can happen even with an airlock or a blowoff tube.)
This is why you never want to worry about an "air tight fermenter" unless it's something like a stainless conical which can contain the pressure...any thing else RDWHAHB.
The Before
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btOS7HUluEw&nohtml5=False[/ame]
The After
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnFTK1EhD24&nohtml5=False[/ame]
(This was the 50th birthday 19.75% abv 5 years aged barleywine.)
But an airlock is NOT a fermentation gauge, that's what a hydrometer reading does, tells you what the beer is doing... New brewers seem to think it's a gauge that tells them if a beer is fermenting or not..it's NOT...It's all about making sure there IS a way for gas to get out...and it prevents microganism and bugs from getting it.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jzT_KTTZ0Q[/ame]
Just remember;
LIQUID coming out of bucket = BAD
Gas coming out of bucket SOMEHOW= RDWHAHB
Gas NOT coming out of bucket= BUCKET GO BOOM (BAD)
MaryB
Well-Known Member
I would shorten that blow off tube so it goes up then down into the jug, that curl let it build up pressure... If junk blows up it falls back or of it goes over the top it goes in the blow off jug.
JunkCatsOnThePorch
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Hey... I don't think I saw anyone touch on this. I have been able to pinch the rim of the lid inwards before applying to the bucket-with force/rubber mallet. that helped me quite a bit. Almost every time I had a leak, that worked.
Although I agree it doesn't really matter. But, I do love my S locks for a reason! I gotta hear them bubble!
Recently switched to wine buckets. Less than 10 bucks more, worth it IMO.
Although I agree it doesn't really matter. But, I do love my S locks for a reason! I gotta hear them bubble!
Recently switched to wine buckets. Less than 10 bucks more, worth it IMO.
Craftfan
Well-Known Member
If you want to see them bubble, wrap the top with Saran Wrap after you put the lid on. Works great!
JLeuck64
Well-Known Member
The protective CO2 blanket is a myth. If it wasn't we would all suffocate since the "air" at ground level would be mostly CO2. Also, check out the video below. Br2 is 3.6 times as heavy as CO2 (159.8 vs. 44), but completely mixes with air in about 30 minutes. CO2 is about the same weight as NO2 (44 vs. 46), which mixes with air even faster than Br2, as shown later in the video. So, please stop spreading the myth about a CO2 blanket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLPBnhOCjM
Brew on
Not the same environment in a fermentation bucket as the video... Fermentation is constantly creating CO2 so eventually any oxygen that's mixed will be forced out through the air lock, or so diluted it becomes a mute point.
Yeah, I went into more detail on this back in post #12. Air only gets in after fermentation stops.
Brew on
JLeuck64
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I went into more detail on this back in post #12. Air only gets in after fermentation stops.
Brew on
Yeah, I understand. At that point the beauty is in the alcohol level of the beer... that is the true blanket of protection LOL ( ;
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