Plastic Big Mouth Bubbler Sealing Problems

[passedpawn]

Hi J2W2,

As one of the founding fathers of this thread, I applaud you for finally finding a solution to this ongoing problem.

Just like Volkswagen has lied on its emissions reports, I can believe a company would mass distribute a product (before doing at least a few months of testing within the brewing community) knowing that their best customers would jump on it.

I'm not saying your solution doesn't work. Thank you for sharing. Its just that they beat me down to the point where I am willing to spend the $6 to try the 6 gallon fermenter for something other that wines.

My next order with Northern Brewer will also include their solution to the problem. I'm not happy that I have to pay to try it, but for $6 do we really have any choice?

Thx again J2W2 for sharing your solution.

Cheers & 17

If you buy those new universal lids, make sure to check out my "fix" thread. I linked it somewhere above.

 

[Owly055]

The first Walmart ice tea jug I used for a fermenter was round and tapered gently to the top. The lid had a matching taper and slid down inside without a shelf. Because the taper matched, it created a very tight seal. It was a shallow taper, and it sealed tightly enough that it was just a tad difficult to get loose. The BMB people might look at this as a solution and do away with the threads. Threads in my experience just created more of a cleaning issue. The projecting thread has an accompanying recess on the inside, and these recesses collect dried krausen........ I don't like anything that collects gunk, weather it be cutsy decorative bubbles, logos, names, ribs, etc. There is no reason for the interior of a fermenter to have ANY "features". The exception probably is the large ribs which provide reinforcing. The lid should be close to the size of the fermenter with only enough reduction to provide stiffness.

H.W.

 

[passedpawn]

The projecting thread has an accompanying recess on the inside, and these recesses collect dried krausen........ I don't like anything that collects gunk, weather it be cutsy decorative bubbles, logos, names, ribs, etc. There is no reason for the interior of a fermenter to have ANY "features".

No. There are no threads on the inside of the fermentor. It is perfectly smooth.

Owly, I think it's a good policy to either 1) let us know when you're guessing, or 2) only comment on things you're familiar with.

 

[Owly055]

No. There are no threads on the inside of the fermentor. It is perfectly smooth.

Owly, I think it's a good policy to either 1) let us know when you're guessing, or 2) only comment on things you're familiar with.

Good point............ Most plastic products with threads have internal features mirroring their external features. It's a function of the forming process, which is usually blow forming using an external mold only..... for obvious reasons. Take a look at If you take a look at various plastic items with threads you will see this is common if not universal. I assumed based on what I've seen of other plastic products.... Obviously I was wrong.

Be that as it may, a taper seal is worth looking at when designing something like this. A taper makes a very effective seal with no need of a gasket of any sort, and the angle used can give easy release, requiring something to hold it down, or it can give a positive grip like a Morse Taper.


H.W.

 

[Homercidal]

the problem with a Morse Taper is all those darned dits and dahs!

 

[Gonzo_Don]

They should send out a replacement lid FREE OF CHARGE to everybody who got ripped off buying a plastic BMB in the first place. That piece of junk cost me 10 gallons of good fruit juice before I shelved in forever.

 

[bondra76]

21st Century Product Development

Get customers to buy your initial prototype, and then use their gripes/complaints to gain free product testing.

It's happening all of the time in home-brew, and it's the sole reason I don't jump on any of these "new products" anymore.

Don't buy a concept - buy a quality product. Patience pays.

 

[Owly055]

I agree with the previous comment about using customers for product testing.... STUPID!! It's a great way to start out with a lot of dissatisfied customers and negative advertising.

That said, I ordered a 5 gallon BMB the other day, as I'm retiring two of my ice tea dispenser fermenters due to concerns about the apparent fact that these two are polycarbonate instead of acrylic, as shown by surface erosion. The BMB is a bit over $50 including freight for one with a spigot. I insist on clear fermenters, and refuse to use carboys, and for me a spigot is a must. The BMB is the only purpose built fermenter that meets all my criteria. I don't care about lid leakage..... to me it's a non-issue. Lots of fermenters vent around the lid, including many of the popular brew buckets.

H.W.

 

[passedpawn]

I agree with the previous comment about using customers for product testing.... STUPID!! It's a great way to start out with a lot of dissatisfied customers and negative advertising.

That said, I ordered a 5 gallon BMB the other day, as I'm retiring two of my ice tea dispenser fermenters due to concerns about the apparent fact that these two are polycarbonate instead of acrylic, as shown by surface erosion. The BMB is a bit over $50 including freight for one with a spigot. I insist on clear fermenters, and refuse to use carboys, and for me a spigot is a must. The BMB is the only purpose built fermenter that meets all my criteria. I don't care about lid leakage..... to me it's a non-issue. Lots of fermenters vent around the lid, including many of the popular brew buckets.

H.W.

Do you think it's possible for fruit flies to get into the gaps? That was my primary concern.

If I did long-term fermentations I'd also worry about oxygen ingress, but I don't do sours anymore, so it's not a concern for me.

 

[Owly055]

Do you think it's possible for fruit flies to get into the gaps? That was my primary concern.

If I did long-term fermentations I'd also worry about oxygen ingress, but I don't do sours anymore, so it's not a concern for me.

I've been using Walmart Ice Tea dispensers which don't inherently seal decently. The solution for me has been very large rubber bands from Dykema Rubber Bands. I bought a pound of 15" x 2" rubber bands (30" if you were to cut them and lay them out flat) They unfortunately don't seem to have extra wide bands in a suitable size for the BMB, however it would not be difficult to find an inner tube of a suitable size and cut one out. Tape works of course but makes a mess.

I used a Brew Demon briefly, and it would not seal..... though it never caused a problem. What fermenter seals well? A carboy is about the only choice until you get to the high dollar fermenters. I don't see oxygen ingress as being a real issue unless you have radical temp changes.

H.W.

 

[Owly055]

Just got my BMB the other day, and they sent me a 6.5 gallon one instead of the 5 gallon one I ordered. I don't need 6.5 gallons of capacity for 3 gallon brews, and I have no intention of scaling up, so I traded it to my friend who I just started in brewing and does 5 gallon brews, and he's going to order a 5 gallon unit and trade. The thing is HUGE!!


H.W.

 

[passedpawn]

I've been using Walmart Ice Tea dispensers which don't inherently seal decently. The solution for me has been very large rubber bands from Dykema Rubber Bands. I bought a pound of 15" x 2" rubber bands (30" if you were to cut them and lay them out flat) They unfortunately don't seem to have extra wide bands in a suitable size for the BMB, however it would not be difficult to find an inner tube of a suitable size and cut one out. Tape works of course but makes a mess.

I used a Brew Demon briefly, and it would not seal..... though it never caused a problem. What fermenter seals well? A carboy is about the only choice until you get to the high dollar fermenters. I don't see oxygen ingress as being a real issue unless you have radical temp changes.

H.W.

My big mouth bubblers seal VERY well with the modification I made. How do I know? The airlock on one of them got clogged and when I screwed the top off there was a lot of pressure in there.

I previously used better bottles with universal bungs and 3-piece airlocks. These were airtight seals as well.

If it's not important to you, then ignore, but it's a concern to me.

 

[Owly055]

My big mouth bubblers seal VERY well with the modification I made. How do I know? The airlock on one of them got clogged and when I screwed the top off there was a lot of pressure in there.

I previously used better bottles with universal bungs and 3-piece airlocks. These were airtight seals as well.

If it's not important to you, then ignore, but it's a concern to me.

I wouldn't say "it's not important to me"..........But I've learned not to stress about it. Perhaps the climate is less "hostile" here as I've had zero issues related to sealing.


H.W.

 

[BlackDog-Brewery]

I'm happy to report that as far as I'm concerned this problem of the lid design flaw (which I was like one of the founding fathers of) can be finally closed out.

Unfortunately years ago, I was one of the first brewers that jumped on the chance to buy the Big Mouth Fermenter that I could easily reach into and clean the dried up krausen on the side walls.

Within the 1st couple of brews, I knew that the lid was leaking because all of the air lock activity stopped after 3 or 4 days. I trust my records, so the CO2 by-product of fermentation had to be going somewhere . . . It was obviously going right out the design flaw in the lid.

Despite numerous attempts to get lid to seal, I conceded defeat and only used this fermenter for long-term aging of wines where the ABV is typically too high to let in an infection.

Now that the manufacturers of the Big Mouth Bubbler have come up with a solution that is not only cheap but effective, I can now trust the fermenter for my home brews.

The new universal lid comes standard on late 2015 models of the Big Mouth Bubbler, or can be purchased for about $6 if you already have the fermenter. According to the manufacturer, it is backwards compatible with all versions, both glass or plastic.

(thus the reason for the tapered rings of flexible silicone)

Hope you enjoy the video. Here is the link !




Cheers

 

[passedpawn]

I'm happy to report that as far as I'm concerned this problem of the lid design flaw (which I was like one of the founding fathers of) can be finally closed out.

Unfortunately years ago, I was one of the first brewers that jumped on the chance to buy the Big Mouth Fermenter that I could easily reach into and clean the dried up krausen on the side walls.

Within the 1st couple of brews, I knew that the lid was leaking because all of the air lock activity stopped after 3 or 4 days. I trust my records, so the CO2 by-product of fermentation had to be going somewhere . . . It was obviously going right out the design flaw in the lid.

Despite numerous attempts to get lid to seal, I conceded defeat and only used this fermenter for long-term aging of wines where the ABV is typically too high to let in an infection.

Now that the manufacturers of the Big Mouth Bubbler have come up with a solution that is not only cheap but effective, I can now trust the fermenter for my home brews.

The new universal lid comes standard on late 2015 models of the Big Mouth Bubbler, or can be purchased for about $6 if you already have the fermenter. According to the manufacturer, it is backwards compatible with all versions, both glass or plastic.

(thus the reason for the tapered rings of flexible silicone)

Hope you enjoy the video. Here is the link !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNPgWAGLsy0


Cheers

Glad it worked for you, but if you check the NB site and reviews, you'll see others have had problems with this lid popping completely out of the fermentor. Mine did.

 

[BlackDog-Brewery]

Glad it worked for you, but if you check the NB site and reviews, you'll see others have had problems with this lid popping completely out of the fermentor. Mine did.

Hi Passedpawn

Good reason to keep this thread going !

Was your fermenter the glass or PET version?

And is it possible that the universal lid popped out because of the slippery surface that was created when you sanitized it, and maybe we should have let the StarSan dry before inserting the lid?

Cheers

 

[passedpawn]

Hi Passedpawn

Good reason to keep this thread going !

Was your fermenter the glass or PET version?

And is it possible that the universal lid popped out because of the slippery surface that was created when you sanitized it, and maybe we should have let the StarSan dry before inserting the lid?

Cheers

Plastic. Yep, the "popup" issue was a lot worse when wetted with starsan. If you look at the first pic in my "fix" thread, posted above somewhere, you'll see exactly how far it popped up when wet. I was very uncomfortable with that. Anyway, for me the fix was really easy and I have no complaints now. Love this fermentor.

edit: Here: Big Mouth Bubbler- Solution to the bad lid seal problem
__________________

 

[BlackDog-Brewery]

Plastic. Yep, the "popup" issue was a lot worse when wetted with starsan. If you look at the first pic in my "fix" thread, posted above somewhere, you'll see exactly how far it popped up when wet. I was very uncomfortable with that. Anyway, for me the fix was really easy and I have no complaints now. Love this fermentor.

edit: Here: Big Mouth Bubbler- Solution to the bad lid seal problem

God dam Passedpawn, that's an incredible fix.

Yes . . . . I believe you that the jig saw modification is the perfect solution.

But honesty . . . . Can you believe we are still talking about this even after the release of the $6 universal lid?

I guess I just got lucky with the huge blow-off shown in my video. Maybe my lid was moments away from popping out to, and coming home to a total mess.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

 

[passedpawn]

I've used them through 3 batches and lately the universals don't seem to pop up at all. Odd. I still screw them down, but when I stick them in there they stay pretty good. So I dunno, maybe they are OK without the crazy fix.

But srsly, check out the reviews on them here. Others are having the same issue.

God dam Passedpawn, that's an incredible fix.

Yes . . . . I believe you that the jig saw modification is the perfect solution.

But honesty . . . . Can you believe we are still talking about this even after the release of the $6 universal lid?

I guess I just got lucky with the huge blow-off shown in my video. Maybe my lid was moments away from popping out to, and coming home to a total mess.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

 

[Gonzo_Don]

After fighting with Big Mouth Bubbler and their incredibly shoddy customer service, return policies, quality control, and inability to design a functional plastic carboy, I have solved the problem of the non-sealing cap.
1. Drill a 1" hole in the thing about 1" from the bottom.
2. Get yourself some silicone aquarium sealant from Home Depot or Lowe's and an Italian spigot from Amazon.
3. Stick the spigot in the bubbler and tighten it up with a pipe wrench.
4. Smear silicone around the inside and outside of the spigot's entry hole.
5. Use the thing strictly for hard cider - when you put the piece of junk lid on, give it a tight wrap with 1" electrical tape and screw the blue piece of junk down onto the piece of junk bubbler.
6. Mine held a good enough seal for 2 weeks and by then it was time to bottle the cider.
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, USE THIS PIECE OF JUNK FOR ANYTHING ELSE AND IF YOU HAVEN'T PURCHASED ONE, DON'T.

 

[passedpawn]

How does the spigot fix the leaky lid problem?

After fighting with Big Mouth Bubbler and their incredibly shoddy customer service, return policies, quality control, and inability to design a functional plastic carboy, I have solved the problem of the non-sealing cap.
1. Drill a 1" hole in the thing about 1" from the bottom.
2. Get yourself some silicone aquarium sealant from Home Depot or Lowe's and an Italian spigot from Amazon.
3. Stick the spigot in the bubbler and tighten it up with a pipe wrench.
4. Smear silicone around the inside and outside of the spigot's entry hole.
5. Use the thing strictly for hard cider - when you put the piece of junk lid on, give it a tight wrap with 1" electrical tape and screw the blue piece of junk down onto the piece of junk bubbler.
6. Mine held a good enough seal for 2 weeks and by then it was time to bottle the cider.
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, USE THIS PIECE OF JUNK FOR ANYTHING ELSE AND IF YOU HAVEN'T PURCHASED ONE, DON'T.

 

[Gonzo_Don]

I was being a little facetious.
The electrician's tape fixes the leaky lid problem, but it'll only hold for long enough to get a batch of cider through a 10-14 day ferment. I would never, in a million years, use this thing for a secondary ferment of wine because it leaks like a sieve.
I've found that it's best for cider (and not really great--but better than throwing it away).
5 gallons of apple juice, 2 cans of apple juice concentrate, 1 packet of champagne yeast.
2 weeks later, add another can of apple juice concentrate, put it up on a counter, and use the spigot to bottle into plastic one liter soda bottles with screw caps instead of an auto-siphon. Feel the bottles every few days until they're hard as rocks and then cold-crash in the fridge. Perfect cider every time... so far.

 

[SteveM70]

We just started our 2nd batch in our new glass 6.5 gallon big mouth with a visibly rolling primary with no airlock bubbles. Seems the gasket is bunching up and not sealing well. I will call the company soon.

 

[Gonzo_Don]

Best of luck to you, Steve. When I called them they pretty much laughed at me and told me I didn't know what I was doing. I wish there were some way to give folks a warning in this forum right up front and put these people out of business once and for all.

 

[BlackDog-Brewery]

The lid problem may be finally solved (in my opinion). Even after having a huge blow-off the lid remained in place probably because I let the StarSan on the surfaces drip dry for awhile so they weren't so slippery / soapy.

BUT, I finally remembered the other reason why I hated this fermenter . . .

There are too many ridges, ledges, and dimples that line the inside wall of the fermenter that allow yeast to settle on.

I had a perfectly cold-crashed crystal clear SuperCharger APA that was ready to bottle, and when I gently moved it from the refrigerator to the work bench all of that yeast on the sidewalls got disturbed and turned the beer cloudy again.

I decided to rack the beer out of this piece of sh-t fermenter and transfer it into a BetterBottle secondary.

I sincerely trust that out of the 4 rings of silicone on the new lid design that at least 3 of them are forming a tight seal (as self evident from the airlock activity even after a week), but this fermenter is now assigned to the duty of "primary only" for my wines.

Cheers

 

[t_lord80]

I just bought the big mouth bubbler it has the new lid and it will not stay on. I have a ratchet strap holding it on now. I want to get a screw down lid so I can combine it with the new universal lid. Does anyone know where I can buy one?

 

[J2W2]

Did you get the glass or plastic big mouth? I have two of the plastic ones and the new lids work great for me (I had issues with the old style).

The blue ring that screws on for the old style lid won't work with the new lids; the new lid has a lip so the blue ring doesn't fit over it. At least on the plastic BMB.

Your new lid has the silicone seal with the ridges, doesn't it? Mine fit very tight. I assume the silicone seal can turn inside out; make sure the ridges are on the outside of the lid.

If you still have issues beyond that, I'd contact whoever you bought it from, because you may have a defective lid or bubbler.

 

[patchedboard]

My experience with the new lids is that they will blow off if you have a full-er-ish carboy and/or are running a high grav beer. I put my new lids on a belt sander and trimmed them down to fit inside the rings that came with the original lids. If you look earlier on this thread or another just like it there are instructions. Or contact Northern Brewer, they will tell you how to do it (their cust service guy is the bomb). If you are running middle gravity or lower you shouldn't have any problems.

Oh I almost forgot: if you put the new lids on wet from starsan, they will push out. You need to sanitize in enough time to let them dry then they will be pretty tight.

Good luck and Sláinte!

 

[Blurryface]

Just got a bmb with the new lid. It pops out by itself with little to no pressure. When I purchase something I don't expect to have to modify it to work properly. I will not be purchasing a second.

 

[ChrisR00]

Got the 6.5 gallon BMB with the original screw-on lid off of Craigslist. Similar to what others say, primary is not a huge concern but secondary or cold crashing you need a good seal. After reading this and the thread by passedpawn what worked for me was three layers of sanitized saran wrap under the white lid disc and two stacked rings of cardboard (gaskets, if you will) between the blue ring lid and the white disc. Now I can screw the blue ring down medium tight and not have to fight with it to unscrew. And lots of activity from the blow-off tube. But troubleshooting this took hours of my life that could be better spent brewing tasty beer. So I'm an unhappy second owner.
Seriously, would it have killed them to make a gasket design? That's what Ball canning lids do, and it works great there.