Mosti Mondiale Snap down lid or lay on top

[seminarian]

I began my mosti All juice Cab last night. It says to snap down the lock with an air lock, however my primary fermenter lid is a pain to get on and off. Can I just lay the lid on top with an airlock? We have no pets in the house and the wine area is in our basement with no pests the only thing I have to worry about is my 86 year old mother trying to drink the fermenting wine!!!

 

[Bert]

Welcome James to the forum.....I just use a clean dish towel on the primary, held in place with a string and rubber band and place the cover on top to keep anything from falling in......Easy to remove for stirring and testing SG......That's funny about your Mother, maybe you need to make for her too...

 

[Tom]

The first 5 days or so it's OK to just lay the lid on top. Reason being is the yeasties need O2 to multiply. After that I would snap it shut. From there follow kit directions, there is no need to open it to see what's going on.

 

[Wade E]

I agree with tepe's post. I will add to give the SG a check 3 days in as Ive seen a few kits go dry in 5 days.

 

[Vince]

Tepe's right on. Your yeast needs oxygen to multiply and snapping the lid down will take forever to ferment and the yeast will not ferment strongly so you may run into a stuck fermetation.


I always try to have my yeast working hard on the reds to get them really dry first time around. One can always back sweeten a wine to taste but once that SG gets below1 you wantit to finish fermenting completely. I also always stir the musts a few timesday (no spoon licking over here)for a couple of minutes to circulate theyeast, oxygen, and sugars in thejuice.


I use a towel over all my primary fermenters. Sometimes I am fermenting more than I have towels for so I've used Saran Wrap with success as it doesn't seal perfectly on a plastic bucket. The towels and saran wrap let oxygen in and keep flies and cookie crumbs from inquisitive my children out of my musts.

 

[whino-wino]

I personally don't like snapping the lid down at all for the same reason you stated earlier. It's a pain to get it undone and if you're not careful that can lead to a mess. I've always used a linen dishcloth, which used to be white but is now tie-died. Ilay over the top and tie on with a piece of cord.


The main point being made here by everyone is spot on. During fermentation, the wine needs OXYGEN. The more the merrier. Actually, it's the yeast that needs it, not the wine. Anyway once you reach a S.G. below 1.020 you can rack it into a secondary to finish it off. Personally I usually go with 1.010 before I rack. If you don't have a secondary then I guess snapping the lid on and fixing an airlock would be your only option.


The only reason to cover your wine at this stage is to keep out any nasties that might get in there. Although I have children I haven't had to deal with cookies, but legos or My Little Ponieswouldn't be out of the question. The kids need to be kept away with a locked door in my opinion. You're main concern is dust, pet dander and insects, especially fruit flies.

 

[seminarian]

Bert,

Actually I have made something for her. The 6 gallons of Raspberry that is in secondary is all for her. She discovered a sweeter raspberry wine several years ago and has been talking about it ever since. We found raspberry wines from a number of places but never any that was sweet enough for her. So I am going to sweeten the raspberry really well and bottle it for her to have.

 

[uavwmn]

James, I never lock my lid. It is a pain in the toosh to get off and on. I just lay the top on and place a dish cloth over the opening to keep anything flying in the air out.

 

[NorthernWinos]

I am a cloth with string/rubber band person....so much dust and pet dander flying around...

I do lay the lid loosely on top of the fabric....

Always have the primary bucket next to the fridge to make use of the warm air that blows out from under it....Had a pound of butter drop out of the freezer...... and...

...bounce off the rim of the bucket once....So the lid just sits there to defect falling objects....

 

[PeterZ]

I do lock my lid after the first couple of days. I just love the sight and sound of a bubbling airlock. The lids loosen up after a few on/off cycles and become easier to open. I don't think it is really necessary to snap it down - just letting gravity hold it is sufficient, but that doesn't give me any bubbles in the airlock.

 

[dragonmaster42]

I keep a lid on my primary mainly to keep my catand other critters out of the bucket.Ijust snap one side of the lid so it stays on there and can be accessed easily. Since you have no pets or pests laying the lid on top or a towel as others have noted would be okay.


When I started out years ago, I just kept a towel draped over the primary. My ex-wifes cat decided to "investigate" 10 gallons ofpeach wine that had been fermenting for about 4 days. The cat took a wine bath and neither me nor the cat were very happy.....

 

[NorthernWinos]

Darn snoopy cats!!!!

 

[grapeman]

I thought his name was "Snoop Dog"?

 

[dragonmaster42]

Oh, I had lots of names for him. None I can repeat here though.

 

[whino-wino]

I do lock my lid after the first couple of days. I just love the sight and sound of a bubbling airlock. The lids loosen up after a few on/off cycles and become easier to open. I don't think it is really necessary to snap it down - just letting gravity hold it is sufficient, but that doesn't give me any bubbles in the airlock.

Yes, nothing brightensmy day like bubbles in an airlock.

 

[Jack on Rainy]

I'm witth PeterZ and whino,
Bubbles in the lock
like money in sock

!