fermentation question

I added White Labs Sweet Mead yeast to my dandielion wine about 24 hours ago. The wi.e was close to 70 degrees when I added it. I had removed the yeast about 3 hours before I added it. The O.G was 1.10. I have still not seen any bubbles in my air lock. Is this normal? Should i take the SG? The temp might be a few to 5 degrees les then 70, my house temp is 68. Should I warm it? Should I add a yeast nutrient or something else?

Any help would be great.
Thanks
Chris

The temperature should be fine... hopefully the yeast wasn't dead to begin with.

I have had batches where the yeast takes a couple of days to take off. But making a starter is always good idea to insure viability of the yeast before pitching.

How long should I wait? Is it possible to repitch

Cjtabares said:

How long should I wait? Is it possible to repitch

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Wait 3 days and then re-pitch. Make a starter of half must and half warm water and a little sugar with a pinch of nutrient or a few raisins if you don't have any nutrient. Let the starter go for 4-8 hours then pitch.

Raisins? Dose it matter that there are 10 cups of golden raisins in it now?

Thanks for the help.

Cjtabares said:

Raisins? Dose it matter that there are 10 cups of golden raisins in it now?

Thanks for the help.

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Yeah, omit the raisins then there should be enough nutrient in the must for the starter.

Ok thanks.

Looks like it is starting to ferment. It is by no means going strong but its a start. I was going to move the wine over to a carboy after 3 days. Should I wait longer now or will sitting on the yeast negatively effect the taste?

Are the Dandelions in the fermenter or are you just fermenting the juice?

If on the flowers (fruit) it should only be fermented for 3-5 days of actual fermentation then racked off the fruit or the fruit bag removed. Secondary ferment can sit on the lees until clear but recipes say to rack off the sediment at 30 day increments if over lee thickness is over 1/4". Fine lees can be left longer, up to 3 months. Some wines are left on fine lees until bottling time for the added complexity the lees provide to the wine. This is called "sur lies".

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/dandelio.asp

no petals but there are raisins and some orange and lemon peels.

I wouldn't leave it on the peels too long. Will be too bitter/astringent. Jacks recipes only boiled the peels with the flowers or steeped them a while before straining the must into a secondary. Did you strain the flower mixture into the fermenter? If it's just a few bits that got passed the strainer then I'd not worry too much about it but would do the first rack within a week of active fermentation so as not to impart too much bitterness.

If I read it right the recipe Yooper posted said for it to sit on the peels for 3 days. So I left the peels but I removed the flowers. Should I rack to secondary sooner then 3 days?

Cjtabares said:

If I read it right the recipe Yooper posted said for it to sit on the peels for 3 days. So I left the peels but I removed the flowers. Should I rack to secondary sooner then 3 days?

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You can just follow the instructions in the recipe- it'll be fine!

Was I suppose to put an airock on the primary fermentation? I just reread the directions, it says to cover but nothing about an airlock. The secondary specifically to put an airlock. could that effect the fermentation?

Cjtabares said:

Was I suppose to put an airock on the primary fermentation? I just reread the directions, it says to cover but nothing about an airlock. The secondary specifically to put an airlock. could that effect the fermentation?

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I don't use an airlock for primary- I just cover with a towel to keep out fruitflies. When it goes to secondary, it needs to be airlocked.

Ok well i uncovered it and took a sg. Its at 1.09 thanks for the help.

Well its fermenting pretty good now. 1 bubble every 4 or so secs.