A gasket is used to tightly seal the threaded parts of any sealed containers. Over time, it loses elasticity, so it stops working. In this case, it is necessary to replace it with a new purchased or homemade one. The easiest and cheapest way to make it is from a silicone hose. It is chemically neutral, so it can be used to seal food containers, and in addition it is not afraid of heat. Let's look at how to make a gasket for a tank using a fermentation tank as an example.
Materials and tools:
- silicone hose;
- knife or scissors.
If you need to seal a container for food products, you need to use a tube made of food-grade silicone. It is only a little more expensive, but is guaranteed not to give off any odor. The diameter of the hose depends on the thickness of the walls of the container neck. In this case, a tube with a diameter of 5-6 mm is suitable for the fermentation tank.
Making a gasket
To make a sealing gasket, take a piece of silicone hose 5-20 mm longer than the circumference of the neck of the container that needs to be sealed.The length reserve depends on the size of the neck; if it is only 200 mm in circumference, then a length of 205 mm is sufficient. Then it is cut lengthwise.
Next, the hose is stretched with a cut onto the walls of the neck of the tank, can or other container. After installation, there will be an extra edge of 1-2 cm around the circumference. You need to pull the tube on the neck from the side where you started laying, making a gap to lay the rest. Thanks to this, the edges will support each other, and the hose, once looped, will not jump out.
This sealing gasket is elastic enough to ensure complete sealing of the container after screwing on the lid, even if it is under pressure. It can be easily removed for washing and retains its shape for a long time, so in some ways it is even better than the standard flat one.
