I'm 3 days into a Syrah/Merlot fermentation and the airlock is going crazy with bubbles. Needless to say it's very active. The airlock keeps drying out each day so I'm putting more solution in the airlock. I've read that you can use blowoff tubes and I tried that which basically took airlock out and put hose in the hole and ran the hose into another bucked filled with starsan solution. If I hold the hose close to the surface it will bubble but once I let the hose down in the bucket it won't blow out. In fact the lid popped up twice. I've since put the airlock back on it. Something tells me the lid is not strong enough to hold in place while the hose is at the bottom of the blowoff bucket. Is there a better way?
Blowoff Tubes
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You don’t even need a tight lid at this stage, just lay it on loosely or cover with a towel.
My thoughts are 7 to 10 days, give or take. Then rack into secondary vessel.
It’ll typically go for a few days, until your SG starts to get close to 1.000, which means you’re running out of sugar, hence, the slowing fermentation. Once you get down to 1.000-ish, it’s time to rack into a carboy with an airlock.
It depends on your yeast, the ambient temperature and the overall health of the fermentation. Mine usually finish in 5-7 days. I've had them go less. At the peak, when brix is mid teens, it can go very fast. You can plot your brix or SG and get a pretty good idea when you'll have to press and rack. I'm going to guess you have 2-3 more days, and you can let your hydrometer guide you through this.
Scooter68
Fruit "Wine" Maker
Best way to know when things are slowing down is through observation. Fermentation times vary widely with juice type, temperature, yeast type and other variables.
Just measure the SG every other day or so until it gets down below 1.010 and watch the amount of foam activity.
Buckets covered with a clean and cloth tied down are much better for fermentation. You have much more access and less problems with foam overflows with a cloth. Constraining the gassing off is not the best way to ferment and bucket lids rarely seal completely anyway that gases are creating a blanket above that wine anyway so the cloth is just to keep out unwanted critters and pets.
Just measure the SG every other day or so until it gets down below 1.010 and watch the amount of foam activity.
Buckets covered with a clean and cloth tied down are much better for fermentation. You have much more access and less problems with foam overflows with a cloth. Constraining the gassing off is not the best way to ferment and bucket lids rarely seal completely anyway that gases are creating a blanket above that wine anyway so the cloth is just to keep out unwanted critters and pets.
