Primary Bucket lid not air tight

[ZmannR2]

A couple days into my fermentation and I still don't notice any bubbling in the airlock. Open the lid and peek inside and I see plenty of krausen. I also smell the hoppy beer in the room. So I know it is fermenting. Austin homebrew is sending me another lid . It's an Ale Pail 6 1/2 gallon bucket. These lids don't have any rubber gasket on the inside lip. It just seems like a bad design.

Should I just leave the lid on and not swap out lids due to the disruption of air and CO2 blanket? If I do just leave it, should I rack to a secondary carboy after a while to ensure a good seal?

I fear once fermentation slows, it'll not have as much positive pressure and some bad air could set in.

 

[Rockn_M]

Just leave it. I never see any bubbles from my bucket. I think you'll have more possible issues if you rack to a secondary. You can leave it in the bucket for a long time without any problems. I just racked a beer out of bucket that was in there for about 4 months. Probably one of the better beers I've made.

What is your fermentation bucket in or is it just sitting in a room? If it's a fermentation chamber like a fridge or chest freezer you won't have any issues with pressure decreasing. If it sitting in a room then you can put a blanket or sheet over it until your ready to bottle\keg.

Remember not do overthink it. People have been making beer for a few years without even knowing about yeast or bacteria\fungi.

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I'd say leave it alone. I know my ale pails leak like crazy, but I don't ever do secondary fermentation in them, so the CO2 production keeps oxygen at bay. I still make good, uninfected, un-oxidized beer even with that leakage.

 

[daksin]

It doesn't really matter- as long as it's covered up you're fine. Honestly you could leave the top off entirely and not have any problems. I've done that before when I needed some extra space (fermented in my old bottling bucket without a lid) and it's always come out fine.

 

[ZmannR2]

Sweet. So next time maybe just use my glass carboy for all my fermentation?

And ya it's in our 3rd bathroom that's never used in the tub with a towel draped over it

 

[HawkLake]

I just started my first brew and am a long way from knowing anything about brewing, but this is what I used on my fermenting bucket. It does have O-rings and should fit most pails that have a top 12 inch in diameter.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_546960-1152-82136___?productId=50094688&pl=1&Ntt=plastic+bucket

Gary

 

[mongoose33]

I'm going to toss this out for what it's worth.

I agree with the others, it's more than likely fine. But realize that the experiences some have in some parts of the country may not compute in other parts. Someone might get away with something in the winter when there are fewer wild whatevers floating in the air, but not in the bloom of spring. Or a very dry area might have different flora and fauna contributing to wild airborne denizens than a very humid area.

All I'm suggesting is that everything else being equal, better to be covered and sealed than not. You might even go so far as to cover the pail with (sanitized) saran wrap, poke a hole in the middle so the airlock works, and seal it up with the lid. This is more likely to give you the seal you're looking for.

 

[Sailingeric]

Better bottle it up and send it to me for testing to make sure it is drinkable


My lids don't seal and I never see airlock bubbles and all my beers turn out good.

 

[ViciousFishes]

Better bottle it up and send it to me for testing to make sure it is drinkable


My lids don't seal and I never see airlock bubbles and all my beers turn out good.

Me, too. None of my beers ever show airlock activity. It's annoying as all get out, but the beer will be fine.

 

[emclinux]

We owe our hobby to thousands of years of brewing in non-airtight containers. The outward pressure of fermentation should keep any bugs out and oxygen out and once it slows down the heavier nature of co2 would keep the oxygen in the outside world out of the brew.

 

[sky4meplease]

I go to great lengths to maintain a good seal on my fermenters and would get/have gotten real twitchy when I don't see airlock activity.
While early and active fermentation produces out gassing, late fermentation and cold crashing result in negative pressures and many times removing airlocks on a properly sealed lid produces a rapid sucking of outside air into the fermenter.
While I don't mind this at bottling time or when making a transfer to a properly purged secondary, long term exposure to the outside environment can have negative consequences including bacterial infection and oxidation greatly reducing the shelf life of your product.

 

[ZmannR2]

You guys saying its expects is puzzling

I mean you're literally telling me a product isn't doing what it says it should.

Is there a different brand of bucket I can try? I'm not a fan off ping this in a carboy. Seems like it would be hell to clean

 

[TimH]

The only time I had a tight seal on my bucket was the first time I used it. Every time I use it now it doesn't seal real well but I can go over to it and press real hard around the lid and my airlock will start bubbling away. I have brewed over 20 batches in my bucket and not a single problem because of seal. I know its hard when just beginning to not see airlock activity but next time just take a flashlight and put on top of lid and you can see if you have krausen. If so leave it alone.

 

[GHBWNY]

A lid does not *have* to be airtight during fermentation as the activity on the inside is creating an outward 'push' of internal atmosphere, esp. with proper minimum headspace. When ferm is finished there is enough alcohol in the beer to ward off most other airborne contaminants. Where potential contamination may arise is when something non-atmospheric is introduced to the beer --- by handling, dropping something in, using an unsanitized piece of equipment, sneezing, coughing, dust, etc.. When putting the lid on from the beginning and in between, I always apply some sanitizer around the inside of it and the bucket rim. I even soak my hands in sanitizer before handling active pieces of equipment.

All that said, it's nice to have a tight-fitting lid during active ferm. Seeing the airlock/blowoff work properly is simply another advantage to the brew process. Of course, airlock activity (or lack of it) is no indication of where the beer is at as far as completion, but it is interesting to monitor. And if anyone says it's not fun to watch, they're lying.

 

[sky4meplease]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452093651.409656.jpg

I do the house cleaning once a month religiously and this is what I picked up with the vacuum cleaner during one cleaning. That is a half pound of dirt, pet and human hair and dander. I'm not taking the chance of letting that crap into my beer but hey to each his own.
Also, I think short term poor seals aren't as big a deal or for beer that is consumed young but for long fermentations and aging I will be sealing up tight.

 

[GHBWNY]

View attachment 328088

I do the house cleaning once a month religiously and this is what I picked up with the vacuum cleaner during one cleaning. That is a half pound of dirt, pet and human hair and dander. I'm not taking the chance of letting that crap into my beer but hey to each his own.
Also, I think short term poor seals aren't as big a deal or for beer that is consumed young but for long fermentations and aging I will be sealing up tight.

After seeing that pic, I can't say that I blame you. Although that stuff might make an awesome lambic.

 

[Craftfan]

I too had concern using the 6.5 gallon buckets and not seeing much airlock activity. Opened it yesterday to add dry hop and everything was perfectly fine. The second batch I brewed, I wrapped plastic film wrap around the lid/bucket after applying the lid. Though this isn't technically air tight, it worked extremely well. Airlock activity started in 12 hours and continued for 4 days.
It's hard as new brewers to trust the yeast because we want every verification possible that we are doing it right. If you sanitized everything, your beer is fine. Wrap in plastic next time and relax. [emoji4]

 

[daksin]

I do the house cleaning once a month religiously and this is what I picked up with the vacuum cleaner during one cleaning. That is a half pound of dirt, pet and human hair and dander. I'm not taking the chance of letting that crap into my beer but hey to each his own.

See, that's your problem: I never clean and I've never seen anything like that in my house.

 

[Sailingeric]

Their lid was not tight either. https://youtu.be/xClXKMhcFr0

 

[ZmannR2]

Their lid was not tight either. https://youtu.be/xClXKMhcFr0

Lmao! That's amazing.

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

Their lid was not tight either. https://youtu.be/xClXKMhcFr0

I'll echo the other guy. That is friggin crazy. What style is it, anyway?

 

[vNmd]

The only time I had a tight seal on my bucket was the first time I used it.

Thats what she said...

 

[sky4meplease]

Thats what she said...

How long you been waiting to get that one in? [emoji1]

 

[mullet6577]

I'll echo the other guy. That is friggin crazy. What style is it, anyway?

The beer? It's a barleywine

 

[Homercidal]

Simple fact: A plastic bucket lid won't reliably seal.

Many people still use them and don't worry about infections since the fermentation is going to produce a positive CO2 pressure in the bucket and this will prevent bacteria from getting inside. I don't use them for secondary, when exposure to air long term might produce a problem, but for primary I don't sweat it.

If you are concerned, the best option is to switch to a carboy of some type. They easily seal airtight.