Primary didn't seal tight! Problem?

[Mechphisto]

So it's been a week since brewing a peanut butter stout, 5 gallons in an 8 gal fermentation bucket... And there was no airlock activity the entire week!
So, took a gravity reading today, and it went from 1.072 to 1.030 over the week. Obviously, despite the lid feeling like it was on ok, it's not. And now putting it back on, it does feel only snug, not airtight.
I'm getting a new fermentation bucket and lid tomorrow, but, how seriously is the possible risk of infection with a bucket that's not airtight?
Should I be worried? About the past week? Or the next week as it finishes toward its FG?
Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Braufessor]

Risk of infection because of a bucket lid that is not airtight is very, very low. I have all kinds of buckets where I see little airlock activity due to the fact that it is probably seeping out of the lid...... no big deal. Just let it do its thing. Bucket lids never fit quite that snug..... or, they do for a while and then they gradually leak a bit.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Don't worry, the escaping pressure of the CO2 will keep oxygen away from the fermenting beer. I would honestly leave it alone until your are ready to transfer/bottle/keg.

If it would make you feel better, you could spray the lid with StarSan as you see fit.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I agree with the others above... it ain't no big deal. I've brewed dozens of batches with the lid just sitting on top of the bucket, not snapped down, without issues. You have a positive pressure situation inside the bucket during fermentation that is pushing high pressure to low, so nothing is coming back in unless you lower the beer temp, which will create a vacuum.

 

[Xinjin127]

As the others have stated, theres little risk of contamination once the fermentation really gets going. That being said, you should spend some time to figure out where the source of your leak is. I remember my frustrating early days of using a bucket fermentor that was leaky and worrying over whether or not I needed to re-pitch since I didn't see bubbles.

 

[Revvy]

You don't want an airtight seal.... Some people don't even use lids, they use plexiglass sheets sitting on top of the bucket or even plastic wrap... co2 pusing out keeps stuff from getting in. The purpose of an airlock is to vent out the buildup of EXCESS gas... but if it's getting out from a bucket lid, then the same purpose, keeping the lid from blowing and getting beer on the ceiling, has been achieved.

Relax, as you learned an airlock bubbling (or not) or a leaky bucket has no correlation to whether or not a beer ferments.....

just relax....

 

[vgmohag]

I have 3 buckets that never seal and never bubble. You can check by sniffing to see if fermentation has started.

 

[TungstenBeer]

I have little to add - the guys/gals above already covered how airtight buckets are no big deal - but I would not even bother going out to buy a new one unless you want it for extra capacity.

But as long as I'm here, I might as well add my experience. Personally I use carboys with a carboy cap/thermowell combination. One of them seals properly, the other one doesn't. My airlock/blowoff has never bubbled and it has never affected a thing.