New here.. I want to know what you guys think of my primitive setup??

[Deezil]

If its under airlock, make sure you get plenty of oxygen in there for the first half of fermentation..

Better yet, might wanna put that carboy (if thats the new one you mention) inside another bucket or something.. If fermentation takes off, you might end up cleaning the ceiling - wine volcanoes arent something ive seen first hand but theres a handful of horror stories on here Need more head-room to froth & expel the large amounts of co2.. If you have a food-grade bucket, i'd rack it in there until the wine is almost done fermenting.

Could be the start of a few different problems - H2S (rotten egg smell), a fermentation that stops early (a sweet / lower alch. wine, than you intended), and the sticky mess i mentioned lol.

Hope to help

 

[astebbi1]

Thanks for the help Deezil this is the batch I mentioned, I actually did get a lot of foam at the top a couple of hours after I pitched the yeast.. It went through the airlock and came out of the sides a bit too.. Not exactly a volcano but I had to take it off and clean it all up.. seems to be fermenting at a normal rate now, no more than my last batch, and I have a good bit of room now after the frothing..
What exactly is the rotten egg smell H2S thing u mentioned and how can I make sure it doesn't happen?? Because that seems like worst of the problems you mentioned could happen and I deft want to avoid that!!

 

[Deezil]

Thanks for the help Deezil this is the batch I mentioned, I actually did get a lot of foam at the top a couple of hours after I pitched the yeast.. It went through the airlock and came out of the sides a bit too.. Not exactly a volcano but I had to take it off and clean it all up.

When this first "spurt" hits the airlock... And then it dries up & hardens - the pressure starts to build.. Handful of hours later, kaboom... Havent had anyone really watch & describe it, but this is how i've assumed its happened.

What exactly is the rotten egg smell H2S thing u mentioned and how can I make sure it doesn't happen?? Because that seems like worst of the problems you mentioned could happen and I deft want to avoid that!!

H2S is the chemical compound for what makes the smell - its a sulfuric compound. Some yeast strains naturally produce more H2S, some throw the smell really bad when they lack nutrients... It can be fixed, if caught soon enough - with the addition of nutrients / energizer & some splash racking.. The more extreme cases, or those caught closer to the finish of fermentation (when you can run the risk of oxidation), use a copper rod or will rack through a copper pipe. Some people add a copper solution, but that makes me nervous honestly. Either way, the H2S binds itself with the copper.. sometimes taking multiple rackings.

 

[astebbi1]

Thanks Deezil I'll look out for that smell and hopefully catch it early if that occurs..

 

[jswordy]

H2S = hydrogen sulfide. It is a flammable gas and is poisonous to breathe in high concentrations. I've found it can be easily avoided as a problem in the wine by making sure you use yeast nutrients and have conditions where the yeasts are not stressed (temp, sulfite levels, sanitation, etc.) As already mentioned, some yeasts put it off normally during primary fermentation. That will not affect the wine as part of the normal process.

Chris Cook does his Welch's primary in the carboy, and that works, but I like to do mine in a bucket because you then leave so many lees behind that otherwise would have to be cleaned from a carboy. So find yourself a food grade fiver from Home Depot, or go for freebies at bakeries. Just do everything you are doing, but in a bucket, and then cover it with a clean towel. Stir twice a day to stir in oxygen.

In 3-5 days, the primary ferment will be over and you will see a noticeable slowdown in activity (SG will be around 1.00, maybe a bit higher or lower) and you then siphon to the carboy and fit the airlock. You can even do that totally by sight alone. The change is dramatic, so on the day you uncover the fiver and you see a lot less bubbling/foaming, you know it can go in the carboy.

If you do this first step and don't rack to carboy untile it slows down, it will save you the eruptions. You can fill to the neck with no worries once it has slowed in the bucket, and you leave a lot of mess behind in the bucket where it is easy to clean. I also think it accelerates the whole process with Welch's to have an open-air fermentation first.

Then you are in true two-stage fermentation - aerobic in the bucket and anaerobic in the carboy. Try it next batch! I believe it makes it easier and the results are more predictable.

Also, if you are not doing this, get a spiral notebook or keep records on your puter and note everything you do to each batch. Soon, you will be able to see a pattern of what you do that makes the best hooch. Then you just repeat that and can be assured your results will be good.