Nourished Essentials 3-Pack Wide Mouth Mason Jar Airlock Lids with Vacuum Sealer - Fermentation Kit for Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Pickles & Kombucha - Perfect for Home Brewing, Canning & Food Preservation

This product is utterly fantastic and the customer service is the best that I have experienced online thus far. I just now decided that tonight I am going to throw out my three-piece air-locks and the entirely useless plastic cup inserts that I have used previously. I will also add some pictures of my current ferments.I have been using the Easy Fermenter Wide Mouth Lid Kit with the pump for about 2 months now and I am very impressed. For reference and comparison, I have been using quart and half-gallon Ball mason jars with these lids. I have made multiple batches of kimchi, beet kvass, and apple cider vinegar and the process could not have been simpler. After 7 days, the kimchi was ready to go, and after 10 days, the kimchi was perfect. I plan on making water kefir again, as I have not done so with this system, and I anticipate that it will work wonderfully.The construction of the lids is simple and straight-forward, and therefore very easy to clean. All of the pieces can be separated from one another so that you can prevent any mold to form in the seal or under the date dial. I've put the hard plastic in the top rack of the dishwasher, but I am reluctant to expose the rubberized seals to that heat.It has been stated that one does not need to use the pump at the beginning of the ferment, but I do and I will tell you why. Although I am confident that the oxygen will be forced out swiftly, I do want to remove as much as possible from the jar. Using the pump at the beginning also assists in forcing air bubbles to the surface of the brine that may have been captured below the food matter, and the vacuum also forces dissolved gases to expand and escape the water to the surface. The effect is actually pretty cool to witness. After pumping the air for a bit, I usually spin the jar like a washing machine to allow more trapped bubbles to rise up, then I pump again for good measure.There are two issues that I would like to point out, and one suggestion to the manufacturer.One, just last night, the seal on my pump slipped off and is is irreparable. However, after looking into the questions portion of this listing, I discovered that Nourished Essentials will issue a replacement for the pump, as they are not sold separately. They asked me to go to their own website and provide my address, which I did. They responded most rapidly to thank me, inform me that they will process my replacement in 1-2 days, and also throw in another lid for my inconvenience. This is astounding to me and has earned my loyalty.Two, I had a hard time getting the lids off a couple of times, but it was my own fault. I have a habit of over-tightening lids and I did so in this case. I have since held back my Herculean tightening abilities and it has had no detrimental effects on the fermentation.Three, I believe that adding a "Month" ring on the lid would be a benefit. There are some longer ferments (like several months to a year) that I am curious to try, and I would appreciate the addition. This is not even close to a complaint, as it is entirely unnecessary and there are easy alternative solutions.If you are interested in fermenting, do not hesitate in your decision to buy this system. This system is progress and simplicity in a compact package, and I mean that literally. If you need one more incentive, these guys wasted all of 2 cubic inches MAYBE in their shipping container, which made me happy before I even had a chance to use the lids. I hope that more companies will function even half as efficiently as these guys do.