My mead isnt fermenting

[poptarts]

Okay so Sunday morning (12/22/13) I mixed together:
1 Gallon of honey
4 Gallons of water
yeast nut / energizer as per package (1tsp and 1/2 tsp per gal)
5 campten tablets
Mixed it like crazy with a wine airator like 5 mins, everything was dissolved completely.
Monday night 23rd I pitched a pack of hydrated D47 Mead temp was 60F and OG 1.105
Wednesday I checked on it and there was zero activity, pulled a sample and OG had no change. I re pitched another pack of D47 thinking that the first pack might have been dead for some reason. However today Thursday 24 hours later there is still no signs of fermentation. Did I do something wrong? This is what I did for my last mead and it worked well. D47 has a wide range (Temperature range: 50-86 F. Alcohol Tolerance: 14%.) so I think the temp at 60 should be fine? Anyway any help you can give would be nice, I just don't think that it is likely that 2 packs of dry yeast that were stored in my fridge are broken.

 

[chickabeelane]

Hey,

I think you are a little low on the temperature side of things. Check out the info in this link

http://www.lalvinyeast.com/D47.asp

Be careful not to raise temps too much though because d47 is infamously temperature sensitive.

Good luck!

 

[poptarts]

hmm that's probably it, NB says different but I trust the maker more than them. Thanks for pointing that out.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/lalvin-white-wine-yeast-d-47.html

 

[fatbloke]

No, I suspect that if you've added the campden tablets and kept it closed/airlocked, the yeast is being inhibited and youre experiencing a long lag phase.....

Plus as far as I'm aware, D47 is known to produce fusels if honey musts are fermented above 70F/21C.

You don't mention what kind of fermenter you're using, if its a bucket, brilliant, if its a carboy its a bit of a pain but not an insurpassable issue.

Bucket ? Just sanitise a stick blender and blitz the hell out of it a couple of times a day to oxygenate the must as it adds oxygen with helps with yeast development and helps dissipate the sulphites......

A carboy is the same, but for best effect you need to siphon some out and either stick blend in a bucket or blitz in a sanitised liquidiser - as trying to oxygenate in a carboy would need a lees stirrer type device and even with that in an electric drill it would take a while......

 

[poptarts]

I own one of these,
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RT8U1S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
I think it does the trick after using it the mead goes from apple juice color to a creamy milky looking solution because of so many bubbles in it. Im using a carboy and fairly positive that I have gotten enough O2 into it using this. I will hit it again for like 10 mins again tonight, I bumped the temp up in the house to 65 so we will see.

 

[fatbloke]

I own one of these,
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RT8U1S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
I think it does the trick after using it the mead goes from apple juice color to a creamy milky looking solution because of so many bubbles in it. Im using a carboy and fairly positive that I have gotten enough O2 into it using this. I will hit it again for like 10 mins again tonight, I bumped the temp up in the house to 65 so we will see.

Excellent. I suspect you just need to keep aerating twice a day then (which is normally the recommended method down to the 1/3rd sugar break anyway).

Just had another look at you original post and its only the premature use of the campdens that seems to be the likely issue.

Its like whenfruit has been used, people worry about wild yeasts etc so will sulphite before fermentation, yet I prefer to rinse the fruit in sulphite solution, let it sit for 5 mins then strain and shake off any excess. Otherwise you have to leave the must in a bucket, just covered for 24 hours (I prefer 48) and try to aerate it some otherwise it can cause just this issue.

I suspect you should be fine just to keep at it - as there seems no other reason.

 

[huesmann]

I'm with fatbloke--the yeast isn't going because you slammed them with campden tablets. D-47 is perfectly fine at your temps. I have a D-47 batch going gangbusters myself, and I keep the house at 67ºF during the day and 57ºF during the night.

 

[poptarts]

It is bubbling away now, It does appear that giving the yeast a 5 degree jump helped it get moving.