Of lid leaks and air locks....

[casebrew]

Seems to be a few questions here like "My bubbles stopped, is it OK?" So I thought a general discussion of the equipnemt might be in order?

My own feeling is that there ought to be slight pressure in the fermenter at all times after the yeast starts in. This pressure would show as different levels of water in the air lock. If no difference in levels, no pressure, so lid must be leaking. Even if fermentation stops, the beer is slightly carbonated, and will outgas enough to show a slight pressure. Unless the temp drops? But I don't think feremntation ever actually stops completly, does it? It just procedes very slowly...

Anyways, how do we test our fermenters for leaky gaskets?

(and as an aside, low pressures ( Like in fans and air conditioning systems) are measured by the difference in those two water leavels, ie, "1/4 inch of water pressure". One foot of water pressure is about 1/2 psi, so a 2 foot deep brew pot would have 1 psi at the spigot)

 

[Truble]

I don't have a procedure for testing my fermenters' and secondaries' seal integrity, but I do make sure that every piece (stoppers, bucket lid, gasket, airlock gasket) are cleaned and sanitized properly, and are not distorted or damaged before use. I also monitor them throughout the rementation process to ensure that there is at least some positive pressure within the vessel. I have not had a problem keeping pressure as a result, and therefore a lack of pressure on my part normally indicates a temperature fluctuation. I am in agreement that there should always be some slight pressure, even if it is not bubbling or gurgling, as the pressure indicates that the fermentation process is still active. My equipment only has 6 batches on it, so it is relatively new. I imagine that the bucket lid gasket will fail over time, and I will need to replace it.