Kilner 5 Litre Fermentation Set

I have now made two successful batches of sauerkraut with this set, and the lesson Iearned from the first batch is not to overfill the jar - that led to the lid/airlock being pushed up out of position, as other customers have stated. Leave a few centimetres clear at the top, and the problem disappears.As to fermentation time, my kitchen was circa 21C throughout, and to my taste the sauerkraut was good to go after a fortnight. Highly recommended.

I used mine to make wine from my grapes this summer. I didnt need a huge demijon, this was just the right size

I bought 4 of these jars, 2* 3L and 2* 5L.One of the 5L jars has these scuff marks. The other 3 are perfect. I really like the Kilner brand and I'm very surprised they'd send these out like this. I guess someone had to get it and I was just unlucky. On the plus side, they all come with an extra one way valve, which is handy

The vessel itself is an excellent size and makes it easy and far less messy to fill with your food material. The problem is the silicone mat isn't wide enough to adequately stop the food you're fermenting from getting past it. It should also have some small holes in it to allow the gasses to escape without pushing the mat up, but that can be modified by yourself. The 'weight' is pretty much useless as it's not nearly heavy enough to keep the ferment from rising above the brine. I'm having to push down my ferments at least twice a day during the early stage. This can allow for contamination if you're not careful. Another reviewer has said the lid isn't sealed tight enough. This isn't a problem as in the instructions it clearly states you're not supposed to fill the jar all the way and allow at least several inches from the top to allow for the rising that happens during the process. If you follow the instructions this won't be an issue. I'm currently fermenting 3.5 kilos of cabbage and have plenty of space between the cabbage/brine and the top of the jar. There's no need to fill it so much.

So it looks quite good and it’s a good idea but in practice lets you down. Firstly the flexible diaphragm and the glass weight doesn’t really do its job in keeping everything under the liquid but more disappointing is the actual lid itself. It’s hopeless in maintaining a seal when fermentation starts and bypasses the provided air lock entirely and just leaks around the edge of the lid. I have tried other airlocks but still the same outcome. I’m having to leave it off and cover the small hole with a cloth for primary fermentation which is pretty risky to infection. A costly mistake overall.If only they sold a tight lid to maintain a proper seal.

Big sturdy glass fermenter with airlock. I found that it’s the perfect size for my home brews like mead, wine or cider. Very good quality. I used to have the 3L fermenter from Kilner but made a mistake on pouring hot water in and it cracked immediately, no regrets and not looking back at all, now that I got the 5L one instead.