No bubbles in the airlock.

[Chippy_Tea]

My first FV was a Richies 25 litre with a hole for an airlock, this bucket is air tight and does not leak steriliser even when turned upside down, i recently bought a cheaper version from a home brew shop, unfortunately the first time i sterilised it i turned it upside down and it leaked slightly, yesterday (day two of fermentation) I noticed no activity from the airlock even though i could hear the wine bubbling, I noticed the lid bulging so assumed therefore the CO2 was escaping through the lid seal, my solution was to put a 2Kg bag of sugar in the centre of the lid this stopped it bulging and the airlock is now working as it should. :thumb:

 

[norm]

I agree Chippy. I bought a Young's fv but it was a lot flimsier than the richies ones so I looked online for a Richies one but their site seems to be shut down. Maybe they've stopped trading?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I bought my Richies one from a local home brew shop, the cheaper one is from The Home Brew shop (on line), now i have the solution to the leak problem i will probably just buy the cheaper ones. (being the tight barsteward i am)

I found the site and it looks to be working - http://www.ritchieproducts.co.uk/contact-us/

 

[dbg400]

I have a couple of the Richies FVs, with one doing duty as a bottling bin. I recently doubled up my capacity with another FV from home brew online, but it has a much thinner lid, and seals by clipping over the edge of the rim. That's fine except it doesn't do so properly where the handle mount points stop an airtight seal. I don't want to use the bottling bin as an FV as I use a trug as a waterbath to keep the temp constant, and I don't like the idea of the tap being in water all that time (even though I do add a little VWP to keep it clean). For my budget barrels I use a bit of PTFE tape on the threads and Vaseline on the seals to improve the seal, but that's not really practical on an FV rim. Another Richies FV is called for, I think.

I presume Richies are still doing fine as they produce the Festival kits, and they are still widely available.

 

[wezil]

Hi, why the worry about leaking FV lids? so long as things can't fall in it won't make any difference (unless you think your excluding O2 with a tight lid if so you are deluding your self Im afraid )! just like scratches in the plastic affecting the brew or many other old ale wives tales! (I've dug my foxhole for the incoming fire):-D

 

[norm]

I bought my Richies one from a local home brew shop, the cheaper one is from The Home Brew shop (on line), now i have the solution to the leak problem i will probably just buy the cheaper ones. (being the tight barsteward as i am)

I found the site and it looks to be working - http://www.ritchieproducts.co.uk/contact-us/

Thanks for that Chippy, I've now got a new one.I also bought an Essencia 7 gallon fv which has a lid so tight you need to be Samson to get it off. I,ve done 2 brews in it so far. 1st one bubbled for four weeks-2nd one for three and a half weeks which makes me think that two weeks isn't really long enough to ferment a kit out properly. What do you think?

 

[Cwrw666]

Hi, why the worry about leaking FV lids? so long as things can't fall in it won't make any difference just like scratches in the plastic affecting the brew or many other old ale wives tales! (I've dug my foxhole for the incoming fire):-D

I agree - I always thought the lids were meant to leak a bit to let gasses out, otherwise why would they make them without airlocks? Mine all leak, but when I sterilise with boiling water and tip them upside down to do the lid as well, they don't leak water out unless you've forgotten to open the tap (!)
Also agree about the scratches. Mind you, as I sterilise with boiling water, bugs in a scratch are going to be just as dead as bugs anywhere else. The time to replace an FV is when it starts to crack...

 

[Herbiehep]

Hi
I bought a couple of cheepies from our local Boyes store £7.50 ea .They come with a lid and moulded carrying handles on the rim. I've had to measure and put my own capacity marks on it (least you can put the ones you use regularly) and I've put a hole and grommet in the lid for the air lock .There is a good 4inches spare to the rim when 23lts is brewing.The lids are TIGHT and so far everything is coming out through the air lock.Really good because you can see exactly wots going on without letting any nasties in.

Fair comment about leaky lids- as CO2 is heavier it will sit on and protect the brew while other air will leak out as it does through the air lock till only CO2 remains.Its just nice to see that airlock bubbling away.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Hi, why the worry about leaking FV lids? so long as things can't fall in it won't make any difference

The reason i posted this guide was not because i thought members were worried about leaking lids its because you pay extra for a bucket with an airlock hole then when there is no activity in the airlock (because the bucket is cheaply made) you wonder if its fermenting or not (how many posts have we seen about this in the forum) my bag of sugar trick works for me and i now see bubbles in the airlock.

 

[dbg400]

I recently bought a Wilko's FV in their 20% off sale and that's made by the same people who make the Richies FVs. I was getting fed up of thinking that fermentation had finished only to find a slight tweak of the lid resealed it and the airlock started going again. The other issue was the thin lid I mentioned earlier - the grommet for the airlock didn't fit snugly enough, and that needed tweaking as well. So the HBO FVs now do duty to store stuff that's been sanitised, and I can use the better ones for brewing. The new one has just done its inaugural brew - Four Finger Jack - and has worked well.

 

[bigbeefy]

i drilled a hole in my fv lid for the airlock bung

also had to drill a hole for the heater wire

just started the first brew in it so time will tell

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I now use 3 plastic bottles of water instead of sugar (more weight) and it works a treat.


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