What each kit includes decides the pick, from jar count to whether a weight, airlock and tamper come in the box.
By the Lush Editorial Team·Researched & Compared
Five fermentation kits compared on the contents, jar compatibility and published dimensions listed by each maker.
Four lids, four weights, four airlocks, no jars, 0.46 lb
Four 32 oz jars with 3.4 inch openings plus weights and airlocks
Four lids and weights with date trackers for 3.3 inch jars
Eight lids, eight weights and eight airlocks in one set
Regular mouth lids and weights for four small jars, plus a tamper
| Model | Brand | Size (capacity) | Weight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JILLMO Fermentation Kit | JILLMO | Large | 0.46 lb | Best four-jar starter hardware |
| 4-Pack Mason Jar Fermentation Kit With Four 32 Oz Ja... | IceFun | 4-Pack | not published | Best with jars included |
| Hersolm 4 Pack Fermentation Kit for 3.3" Wide Mouth ... | Hersolm | 3.3 IN*4 Pack (No Jar) | 2.3 lb | Best for staggered batches |
| Tessco for you 8 Set Fermentation Kit for Wide Mouth... | Tessco for you | about 86 mm/ 3.39 inches in diameter | 4.85 lb | Best for a large preserving run |
| Masontops Complete Mason Jar Fermentation Kit - Easy... | Masontops | Regular Mouth | 2.6 lb | Best for small batches |
Four lids, four weights, four airlocks, no jars, 0.46 lb
Four 32 oz jars with 3.4 inch openings plus weights and airlocks
Four lids and weights with date trackers for 3.3 inch jars
Eight lids, eight weights and eight airlocks in one set
Regular mouth lids and weights for four small jars, plus a tamper
A beginner cooking kit needs a kit that supplies the whole loop: a lid, a weight and an airlock for each jar you plan to fill. The JILLMO kit covers four jars with lids, weights and airlocks and weighs 0.46 pounds, the lightest of the five. The IceFun set adds four 32 oz jars with a 3.4 inch opening, so nothing else is needed on day one. The Hersolm and Tessco sets sell the hardware without jars, and the Masontops regular mouth kit suits smaller batches.
“Buy the kit that includes the jar, or count your jars first.”
Lush Editorial Team
Priorities, not a computed score. The inputs are published specifications, so we rank by what matters most and say how much.
The clearest difference is what arrives in the box. The JILLMO set carries four lids, four weights and four airlocks and weighs 0.46 pounds, the lightest of the five. The Tessco set doubles every count to eight and weighs 4.85 pounds, the heaviest. The IceFun set is the only one of the five that includes jars, four of them at 32 oz with a 3.4 inch opening, and the Masontops regular mouth kit is the only one built for small mouth jars.
Weight figures are published for four of the five. JILLMO states 0.46 pounds, Hersolm 2.3 pounds, Masontops 2.6 pounds and Tessco 4.85 pounds. IceFun publishes none. Dimensions are thinner still: only the IceFun jars have a stated opening, and only the Tessco airlocks have a stated length at 4.33 inches. The rest of the measurements a buyer might want are simply absent from the listings.
| Specification | JILLMO | IceFun | Hersolm | Tessco | Masontops regular |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lids | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Weights | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Airlocks | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Jars included | No | Yes, four 32 oz | No | No | No |
| Mouth size | Wide | Wide, 3.4 in | Wide, 3.4 in | Wide, 3.39 in | Regular |
| Weight of set | 0.46 lb | not published | 2.3 lb | 4.85 lb | 2.6 lb |
| Weight per weight | 7.4 oz | not published | 6.5 oz | 7 oz | not published |
| Printed guidance | Recipe | Date tags | User manual | None stated | Recipe book |
| Tamper included | No | No | No | No | Yes |
The table cannot tell you how a lid seals or how a weight sits in a full jar, because none of that is published. It also cannot settle fit for jars you already own: only the IceFun opening is stated, and the Hersolm listing gives two different figures for the same dimension. Treat the counts as firm and the measurements as a starting point to check against your own jars.
Four of the five picks are hardware only. The JILLMO set gives you four stainless steel lids, four glass weights at about 7.4 oz each and four airlocks, and the maker states the lids fit wide mouth jars in pint, quart and half gallon sizes. That range matters for a beginner, because it means one kit can follow you from a first small batch to a larger one without a second purchase.
The Hersolm set follows the same shape with four lids, four weights at approximately 6.5 oz and four airlocks, and adds a date tracker on each lid. The Tessco set scales the same idea to eight of each, with lids stated at 3.39 inches in diameter and airlocks at 4.33 inches long. None of the three includes a jar, so the first step is counting what you already have.
The IceFun set is the only pick that removes the jar question. It includes four 32 oz jars with 3.4 inch wide mouth openings, four glass weights, four lids and four dual channel airlocks, plus twenty date and note tags. For a beginner cooking kit, that means the first batch can start the day the box arrives, with no separate trip for jars and no risk of buying the wrong mouth size.
The trade is that the maker publishes no weight for the set, so you cannot compare its shipping heft or cupboard load against the others. The lids are plastic rather than stainless steel, which the listing presents as a way to avoid rust and reduce wear on the silicone grommets. Whether that holds up over years is not something the listing states.
Four is the count shared by the JILLMO, Hersolm, IceFun and Masontops regular mouth kits. It suits a beginner who wants one jar of sauerkraut, one of pickles and a couple to experiment with. The Masontops regular mouth kit is the odd one out on fit, built for small mouth jars rather than wide, and it is the only pick that includes a tamper and a printed recipe book.
That combination makes it the pick for someone with a shelf of regular mouth jars already. The maker does not publish the weight of the set or of the individual weights, so the listing gives you the contents and the fit but not the figures behind them.
The Tessco set is for the cook who expects to run several ferments at once. Eight lids, eight weights and eight airlocks at 4.85 pounds total is the largest hardware count of the five, and the listing states the lids are stainless steel with silicone stoppers and a grommet. It publishes no printed guidance, so the instructions come from elsewhere.
Tracking is the other beginner need, and two picks address it directly. The Hersolm lids carry a date tracker, and the IceFun set includes twenty tags with strings. Both give a written record of when a batch started, which is the part of fermenting that is easiest to lose track of when several jars are working at once.
Buying your first kit and no jars yet. The IceFun set is the one to take, because four 32 oz jars with 3.4 inch openings arrive with the lids, weights and airlocks. Nothing else is needed for a first batch.
Already have wide mouth jars. The JILLMO set covers four jars with lids, weights and airlocks, weighs 0.46 pounds and is stated to fit pint, quart and half gallon wide mouth jars. It is the lightest of the five.
Planning a large preserving session. The Tessco set supplies eight of each piece at 4.85 pounds total, the heaviest and largest hardware count here. It suits a cook who wants several recipes fermenting side by side.
Working with small mouth jars. The Masontops regular mouth kit is the only pick built for small mouth jars, and it adds a tamper and a printed recipe book. It suits smaller batches of garlic, salsa or hot sauce.
Wanting a written record of each batch. The Hersolm set puts a date tracker on every lid and includes four weights at approximately 6.5 oz each. It suits a cook running staggered batches who needs to know when each one started.
Several figures a buyer would want are absent from the listings, and we have not filled them in.
It depends on the kit. The IceFun set includes four 32 oz jars with 3.4 inch wide mouth openings. The JILLMO, Hersolm, Tessco and Masontops regular mouth kits are sold as lids, weights and airlocks only, so you supply the jars. Check the mouth size on your own jars before ordering, because a wide mouth lid will not seal a regular mouth jar.
A single jar of vegetables in brine. Fill the jar, place the weight so the vegetables stay under the liquid, fit the lid and airlock, then leave it. The kits here differ in how that weight is handled: a glass weight with a knob handle in the JILLMO, Hersolm and Tessco sets, a helix weight in the Palksky set, and a spring in the Generic set.
Four is a sensible starting count, which is what the JILLMO, Hersolm, IceFun and Masontops regular mouth kits provide. Eight, as in the Tessco set, suits someone who wants several recipes going at once. Two, as in the Zeiuvdy set, suits testing a single recipe before committing more jar space.
Yes. A wide mouth lid is made for jars with roughly a 3.4 inch opening, which the IceFun jars are stated to have. The Masontops regular mouth kit is built for small mouth jars instead. Buying the wrong size means the lid will not seat, and no gasket fixes that.
The makers publish the figures. JILLMO lists its weights at about 7.4 oz each, Tessco at 7 oz, and Artcome at about 200 g or 7 oz. Hersolm lists its weights at approximately 6.5 oz each. Whether a given weight holds a given jar of vegetables is not something the listings state.
Several figures are missing. The IceFun set has no published weight, the JILLMO kit has no published dimensions, and the Masontops regular mouth kit states neither. The Hersolm listing gives a 3.3 inch size in the title and a 3.4 inch jar opening in the feature text, so confirm the fit against your own jars.
Specifications come from the manufacturers' own published listings. Lush Food & Drink may earn a commission if you buy through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. How we research.
