Air Lock?

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LAgreeneyes

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Ok, I know that this is a stupid question but I am still learning. Can someone tell me what kind of "action" is suppose to take place in the air lock? Is the water in it supposed to be bubbling? What should I look for? If nothing is moving and no bubbles, does that mean something is wrong?
 
An airlock is a type of "trap" that will let gasses out of the container and prevent other gasses (notably air) from entering. Bubbles in the airlock mean that a gas is escaping from the vessel. No bubbles means no gas is escaping or that the airlock is not seated in the vessel tightly and the gasses are escaping around the stopper. When wine is fermenting, sugar is converted to mainly alcohol and CO2. The CO2 is what is escaping through the airlock in the form of bubbles.
 
No bubbling when there should be bubbling would mean something is wrong. Maybe as simple as a leak as Rocky mentioned or fermentation is stuck. Bubbling when it "shouldn't" be bubbling needs to be investigated. Generally, I'm new to this myself, it would mean that fermentation hasn't yet finished or that fermentation has restarted for some reason.
 
When your fermentation starts (that's where the yeast become alive and start eating the sugar in the juice and then poop out alcohol) the bubbling is quite active. When the sugar is starting to run out, there are less live yeast, less sugar, and the bubbling is not as active. I like to count the seconds in between bubbles. But you also need to work with a hydrometer. When you first start the fermentation the hydrometer reading is above the 1.xxx range and when the bubbling has completely stopped it is likely that the hydrometer is below the 1.xxx mark. Usually around .996-.998. That is when you transfer the wine to a carboy and let it sit for fermentation to complete. Your instructions should inform you of this.

I hope this helps.
 
Don't assume that it is a fermenting again if the airlock starts to re-bubble . You should never use the action in an airlock to determine what is going on with your wine. Use your hydrometer.
 
What do you have going? Are you currently making wine? Give us some details and we will walk you through it. We were all there at one time or another. Don't be shy.
 
Yeah as Rocky says, a little more information on what you are doing would be good. I can think of several different answers to your question depending on what you are doing, at what stage, and how you are doing it. For example, I have a malbec that is bulk aging with an airlock. There are no bubbles and that is perfectly fine. In fact, I would be very concerned if I DID see bubbles at this stage.
 
Well, I had some watermelon wine going but I understand that is THE hardest wine to make and for a beginner that should not have been a wine of choice that I should have tried. I had it in a 5 gallon carboy with the air lock and I didn't see any bubbles or anything. From what I understand, the fermentation was "stuck". I had also put some grape wine in another one and the same thing happened - no bubbles. I got scared and took it out and put it in my old "setup" (5 gallon bucket with small hole drilled in the top and small plastic tub going from the top inside the lid to a glass liter bottle so that no air gets it - with sealed hole. I seem to have the best of luck when my wine is placed in my "rigged up" 5 gallon food grade container. I'm afraid of the locks.

ETA: How do I know if I am doing it right once i put the air lock on?
 
I'm so confused. :'(

Why? You have been making wine for a few months now, correct? Then you have the basics down so you have a fairly good idea of what is going on with a wine. The airlock is there to help protect your wine, that is it. It is not a sign of anything. If you need to know what is going on with your wine, use your hydrometer, ph and acid test kits.
 
Why? You have been making wine for a few months now, correct? Then you have the basics down so you have a fairly good idea of what is going on with a wine. The airlock is there to help protect your wine, that is it. It is not a sign of anything. If you need to know what is going on with your wine, use your hydrometer, ph and acid test kits.


I am new at using the air locks. My method was another way with the gallon buckets.
 
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