Insane amount og gas during degas

[OldBanjo]

I just tried to degas a kit that I've made several times in the past. At first nothing was happening so I started switching the drill direction every 10 seconds or so. It started generating bubbles like crazy then and hadn't let up after 10 minutes. For lack of a better idea, I took another hydrometer reading and it had dropped from .995 to .990. At that point I stopped because I was afraid I might be just replacing the CO2 with O2.

Anybody have an idea what might be going on or am I screwing something up? It is due for Chitosan tomorrow. Should I degas more then? Is more K-meta called for???? This is the first time I've had a kit do anything weird and don't want to make it worse!​

 

[crushday]

I assume you moved to a carboy for secondary fermentation. If so, insert a stopper/bung with an airlock and let it sit there for a couple of weeks. There's going to be enough CO2 coming off the wine that you'll be fine. I wouldn't be in a rush - you aren't going to ruin the wine by giving it more time.

If it were my batch, I wouldn't add Chitosan tomorrow or even the K-meta. Time is your friend. Wait a couple of weeks...

 

[OldBanjo]

How long would you estimate it should sit in the carboy for the degas? I don't have any experience with bulk aging.

 

[crushday]

I read from the initiating post that you mixed k-meta so you have a few to several months after you've racked off the lees twice. You have to decide how quickly you need to repurpose the carboy. I've had absolutely no issues bulk aging for 12 months. Not only does the wine degas (within 4-6 weeks) naturally but any suspended particles fall out. There are simply more advantages allowing more time than rushing. After three months you can insert a solid stopper. I would suggest a solid silicone stopper rather than a rubber one.

My early experience was to follow the directions to the letter. I no longer do that. I've take to heart that winemaking is an exercise in patience. My early wines all have a fair amount of sediment. Frankly, even though it's tasteless and harmless, friends and family think it's gross. I tend to agree. A good course of action would be to double the timelines specified in the directions after you've completed primary fermentation. In my experience, you can't go wrong by doing this as long as you've employed good sanitation efforts.

 

[OldBanjo]

I think it's time to buy some more carboys. That would let me take your suggestion to double the timelines without feeling pressure to empty them before the next batch is ready.