Lid leak in a swamp cooler!

[jacobev]

Hey guys, I'm new here, so sorry if this subject has been beaten to death. I've found a bunch of posts about leaky lids (consensus: Leave it, it's fine), but nothing that explicitly mentioned this twist(?).

So:
Brewed a batch of West Coast Blaster (BCS) two days ago (Saturday). Never saw any bubbles in the airlock, but even as a new brewer, I knew not to expect anything so quickly. BUT: I've pushed on the lid of the fermentor, enough to make the airlock bubble (using a bubbler-type airlock). When I let go of the lid, the water level on the fermenter-side of the airlock gets pulled up by the relative vacuum inside the fermenter (as it should). However, over the next 5 seconds or so, the levels equalize. So, I messed around with it a few minutes ago, and realized that part of the lid lets some air escape (can hear it when I press hard on the lid).

So that's all normal, but what worries me is that I'm swamp cooling this beer. It's been sitting in a big ol' stopped up utility sink, with water up to the 4 gallon line, and an old t-shirt covering/cooling it. I'm worried that stagnant water/moist environment will be more capable of introducing more nasties to my fermenter than usual. What do you all think?

My plan is to rack to a secondary at some point, because I want to try dry-hopping this baby. I'm still 15 or so gravity points off though.

So, what's your advice? Should I rack sooner, rather than later, to decrease the risk of contamination? Is it worth running out and buying a temp controller for my spare fridge to get it out of that swampy environment as soon as possible? Should I stop being such a newbie and relax a little?

Thanks

 

[jacobev]

Also, starsan-soaked paper towel jammed into under the lip around where the leak is. Good idea/bad idea?

 

[pabloj13]

Should I stop being such a newbie and relax a little?

Yes. I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't splash the water up under the lid. It is pretty unlikely that a contaminant would go airborne and find its way up through a tiny opening and into your bucket. Definitely don't rack early.

 

[shawnbou]

I've had the same problem numerous times on my swamp cooler setup. Don't worry, just take reasonable precautions.

Don't leave it in the swamp cooler any longer than necessary. Usually you only need to worry about temperature control for the first week or so for ales.
Don't crack the lid while it's in the swamp cooler.
If the T-shirt gets moldy, change it. If you can't get it safely over the top of the bucket due to the leaky seal, push it down to the bottom and put a fresh T-shirt over the bucket.
When in doubt, spray Star-San (or other no-rinse sanitizer) liberally.