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Which style air lock is best?

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No performance, just personal preference. I like the 3 piece, but to be honest I've never used any others. The "benefit" of 3 piece is that its easy to clean and use. Honestly I don't think it matters much one way or the other. Just get one and make sure it seals well.

I'm using the one quart wide mouth Ball jars. I bought the rubber seals, plastic caps, 3 piece air locks and food grade grommets online. It was very cheap in bulk, $2-3 per cap probably.

You would need to drill the plastic caps if doing it this way though. I have bits and a drill press so it was a breeze. A cordless power drill could be used, but it would take a small level of handy knowledge, albeit very small.
 
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I used the rubber part of a dropper bottle as a grommet in a lid. Worked great.



Stoopit autospell
 
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Alynne said:
I'm a huge fan of Fido jars. This is my first season using them, but so far much easier and very successful.
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I'm currently using some for cucumbers, they seem good, but an airlock seems like itll be more convenient.  I'm currently rubber-banding them shut so gases can escape without much pressure.
 
I didn't know the name 'Fido Jars' but realized what they were just now.
Also, this link was interesting, stating they're really for canning, not the pressures of fermenting:
http://www.picklemetoo.com/2013/08/29/a_warning_about_fermenting_in_fido_jars/
 
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Look more. The great thing is they burp themselves and don't let oxygen in. I have successfully fermented peppers, pickles, radishes and cauliflower with no yeast or mold.
 
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Ok, well that was quite the learning experience.
 
Drilled my first cap with a bit half the size needed for the grommet to start out, and the brittle-as-hell plastic Ball lid caught the bit, cracking completely.
 
For the next 6, used the drill bit in reverse to just melt a hole through.  Of course, didn't have a 9/16th bit, so after the pilot hole was made, painstakingly widdled out a hole with a pocket knife just big enough for the grommet to fit in.
 
As miserable as that was, glad I didn't have to pay $15 a pop for the premade ones...
 
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I started with a bit less than half the size of the final hole..brand new drill bit. I think the caps just suck.  Unless I switch out 5 bits for each cap, multiplied by 6 caps...maybe you have to really hold down that plastic right around the hole so it doesnt grab the bit..probably didnt help not to
 
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The grommets I got asked for a 9/16" hole, which is about .56" in diameter.....I measured a dime, but it was too big...the holes I probably used for a little smaller than 9/16th in the end, just jammed the grommets in there.  In any case, it worked, and am so glad to not have spent too much money on this.  Thanks for the help everyone
 
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matew90 said:
That is the problme when you mash it in your food proccesor ,,all salt goes to the sauce. I would rather do a method when i chop peppers and keep them submerged under the brine. im confused now :(
 
you are saying i should next time add more carrots for example in my fermentation ??
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It's all about speeds and feeds. Plastic gets soft when you try to cut, that's were really sharp tools help. Your situation is much more simple but is governed by the same principles. Feed slower with high speed on cutting tool, try to not crack and pull out, blow to keep temp down. If you take your time you won't break lids. Lids break when you go too quick and the geometry of the tool (drill bit) catches an edge.
 
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I have both types of air locks, S-Bubble and 3-Piece.   The three piece is easier to clean. fwiw.  Here is a couple of my set ups.
 
Invest in some of these rubber rings too.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PKGU28/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
 
 
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total noobsauce said:
I got these, mainly because they were silicone.  Ended up needing a bigger hole for em compared to yours probably
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KTJXOBO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00
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I used those same ones in the Ball plastic lids.    
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Wide-Mouth-Plastic-Storage-8-Count/dp/B000SSN3L2/ref=pd_sim_79_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0A3K28P0XQFQ2GC1QKTC&dpID=21HqtI1lHwL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_
Using a 9/16" spade bit with high rpm and gentle feed produced a nice clean cut and worked perfect with those grommets.  
 
In response to OP, I kind of like the S-bubble locks a teeny bit more.  It's more evident (at a glance) that the gasses are still trying to purge when your liquid levels are uneven in the chambers.  Something I used to keep an eye on when I was doing secondary yeast fermentations.  The both work darn skippy though, just a small personal preference.  
 
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