Remove/replace airlock on first day of fermenting?

[Stimmers]

First post, hi!

So I started brewing this past weekend, a Bell's Two Hearted clone. All went really well right up to the point I was ready to seal the primary fermenter (plastic bucket). Total n00b move - I pressed on the lid, THEN pushed the airlock in. Of course, it pushed the rubber grommet inside and into the wort. I reopened to have a look but it was nowhere to be found. My local homebrew store was closed, so I improvised with a rubber washer and some heavy weights to keep it sealed against the lid (which, of course, didn't work). When pushing down on the airlock with my hand there was a lot of activity, but as soon as I took it away or tried to weigh the airlock down with weights, the activity stopped, probably due to air escaping from around the improvised seal.

Anyway, the next day I went and bought a replacement grommet, sanitized everything that needed sanitizing and replaced the grommet and airlock. The hole in the fermenter lid is only 3/8" and was only open for a max of 30 seconds while I was doing this. I didn't remove the lid at all. It's now been 16 hours since I replaced it and there is still NO activity in the airlock. It's a 3-piece airlock, and the water level below the inner cap is about 1/8" higher than outside of it - I think I might have leaned on the lid a little when returning the fermenter to it's original place, drawing a little water inside. Should I replace the airlock again and hope for the best? Or should I just hope for the best and wait a week before I transfer to my secondary (5 gal glass carboy)? Apparently the activity should be 3-4 mins between bubbles before transferring. Is there any chance I've royally screwed it up?

Sorry if this has been asked before - I couldn't find any similar problems in the FAQs! Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[skeeordye11]

Just leave it alone and use your hydrometer in a week and see where it's at. Do not worry about bubbling airlocks. Remember, RDWHAHB.

 

[Stimmers]

Remember, RDWHAHB.

Oh, did I ignore the first two rules of Brew Club?

Thanks for the swift reply!

 

[KevinW]

+1 on skeeordye!
Sometimes bucket lids do not seat properly so CO2 can escape so don't worry about the bubbles!
Your bucket lid has a 3/8" opening? That seems a little small. Mine has about a 1 to 1.25 inch hole!

Secondaries are not "required". Dry hopping, adding fruit/veggies, or lagering is really only when you NEED to secondary. It is not wrong just not always necessary and offers more opportunity for contamination.

3 days of consistent gravity readings means fermentation is done. Usually after 3 weeks in the primary fermenting is done and any "mess" made by the yeast is cleaned up!

My opinions though!

Good luck, your beer should be OK!

 

[Stimmers]

Yeah, it's a small hole, just wide enough for the 3-piece airlock so wedge in to the hilt.

I've read a lot of places that secondary isn't required, but my brew shop said it was worthwhile for this particular recipe. I'm a little concerned about contamination, given this is my first batch. I'm nervous enough as it is!

Thanks for the replies and encouragement, much appreciated.

 

[KevinW]

An idea for after fermentation. Drill/cut the hole bigger, enought to accomodate a rubber stopper that your airlock can fit into. Without the stopper you will have leaks around the airlock stem (probably why you don't see bubbles in your airlock now), could be a problem later on!

It is OK to go with the brew shop however, look around this site on wether or not to secondary. I have made a lot of beer w/out secondary and they have all turned out just fine.

As a new brewer, keep it simple! Don't worry your beer will be OK! Make sure you take detailed notes like temps, times, volumes, gravity readings, etc.. that way you can repeat or not repeat something later on!!

Good luck and keep on brewing!

 

[Stimmers]

I'll do that, thanks. I think the grommet was maybe not a perfect fit, hence the leakage. I'm probably going to stick to one-stage after this with the carboy, but I'll definitely keep that in mind.