Oh man, that's the worst! I fell for a fancy three piece airlock once that did the same thing. I felt like such a clown for overthinking it. Now I just use the basic S shaped ones, or honestly, sometimes a loose lid is just fine. My need to buy the fancy gear really backfired that time.

Honestly I used to grab the cheapest tool that would get the job done. Tbh after my third cheap drill burned out mid-project I finally got it. Now I just save up for the decent stuff.

Remember my first big pour sounded like a dying robot. Learned the hard way that skipping pre-heat is like wearing jeans straight from the dryer, a bad fit that ends in tears. Now I treat my mold like a grumpy old man that needs warming up.