Primary bucket not holding pressure

[shoestealer17]

The primary bucket I use to ferment in is not holding and co2 pressure, it's an actual "Brew bucket" or whatever the brand name is. The middle piece of the three piece airlock is not even suspended up touching the top of the airlock any more and it's only been a week. I checked and the lid is on tight and the grommet seems to be seated well, has anyone had this problem before?

 

[northernlad]

This is not a problem. Your airlock is merely a way for the CO2 to be released and keep air from getting in. You have a leak somewhere so the CO2 is taking the path of least resistance. If you are concerned that you are not fermenting, crack the lid and take a look. If you still can't tell, take a hydrometer reading to compare with your OG.

 

[Revvy]

It doesn't really matter, you really don't need an airtight seal on your fermenter. The co2 coming out of there would protect your beer. In fact many folks with arthitis and other issues don't snap the lid down on their buckets anyway, and may folks just put tinfoil, plastic wrap, metal cookie sheets or even plexiglass sheets on top of the bucket instead. It's really not crucial to be tight. The bad stuff are not ninja acrobats, they really can't get into stuff. The co2 coming out will prevent anything getting in.

In fact you don't want a "pressurized" bucket, if you have one, then at some point you will end up with a ceiling full of beer. I've had that happen when the vent (airlock) gets blocked by a freak hop cone, and it wasn't pretty.

It also doesn't matter whether your airlock bubbles or not, like previously stated it's not a magic fermentation gauge, it is just a valve to keep pressure from building up. And often if it doesn't need to, it won't bubble, or it will stop or start, but that doesn't directly correlate to whether or not the beer is fermenting...the only thing that does that is taking gravity readings with your hydrometer.

 

[shoestealer17]

Yeah I thought something like that, but I would really like it to seal tightly, I like my bubbles in the airlock haha, is there anything I could do?

 

[RM-MN]

If you really want to see bubbles in your airlock, start another beer. The yeast in your first batch got tired of making bubbles and decided to make beer instead. Leave them to that job.

 

[shoestealer17]

If you really want to see bubbles in your airlock, start another beer. The yeast in your first batch got tired of making bubbles and decided to make beer instead. Leave them to that job.

Haha good advice

 

[Wberry]

This is what I do ... i like bubbles and shiny things ;-)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/did-i-ruin-my-beer-230714/index2.html

 

[Golddiggie]

If you really want to see bubbles...

Eat a lot of baked beans, or chili, and then take a nice long bath...
Get a screensaver for your computer from this list...
Get an aquarium and stare at the bubbles from the air pump...

While it can be nice to see the airlock going spastic, it's not a real gauge of what's going on in the wort... If you're using buckets, you could have a small gap in the lid seal, which is where the CO2 is getting out, instead of via the airlock... Every batch I've fermented in either a carboy or keg, has had nice airlock movements... At least for a while after pitching the yeast... It gets quiet soon enough. Doesn't mean I take the brew off the yeast at that point. :rockin:

 

[shoestealer17]

I'm not plannin to take it off the yeast for a few weeks, this is just the first time somethin like this has happened so I was curious