Campden Tablets cause a ...volcanic explosion?

[Gidge]

Put in the recommended amount of crushed tables into the carboy to prepare for bottling and it was like a volcanic explosion reaching the roof. (hand was over it and it sprayed)

Is this type of chemical reaction normal? I can not find anything about "how" it should react when putting it in after crushing and mixing with water.

Thank you kindly!

 

[dmtaylor]

It is a physical reaction, not a chemical reaction. The crushed powder acted as "nucleation sites" for carbon dioxide from the fermentation to immediately exit. Just like dropping Mentos into Diet Coke, same physical phenomenon.

To prevent this next time, two things you can try:

1) Stir or swirl the fermenter to get most of the CO2 out before adding anything. And/or:

2) Dissolve the powder into a little water or fresh juice before adding it.

 

[Gidge]

Thank you Dave, I suppose I will have to deal with the explosion as was letting it sit to clear up. Stirring would make it unclear again and had done the water thing. Maybe adding just a little at a time next time instead.

 

[GreenEnvy22]

Wow I've never seen that happen.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Google "dry hop geyser". Same phenomenon happening when dry hopping. Rare at home, but a common problem commercially (likely because of scale, 5 gallons or 5000 gallons, the size of a T-90 pellet doesn't change).

 

[bernardsmith]

Thank you Dave, I suppose I will have to deal with the explosion as was letting it sit to clear up. Stirring would make it unclear again and had done the water thing. Maybe adding just a little at a time next time instead.

Stirring after you rack before you bottle won't make anything unclear. You always need to rack off the lees and if you have a significant amount of lees - more than about 1/4 inch - since the last time you racked then you are bottling too soon. You actively de-gas clear wine , not wine with sediment. And you never add any powder to any wine saturated with CO2. Degas and then add powder or better yet, dissolve the powder in liquid and then add. As dmtaylor says, adding powder provides the CO2 with points of nucleation and those sites allow the gas to collect and gather using far less energy than the gas otherwise needs to self expel from the liquid.

 

[Coffee49]

I had a similar experience adding yeast nutrient to a red juice prior to pitching yeast, the wonderful world of winemaking