Help

[twisted01]

So I started a 5 gallon batch of mead two days ago and I have not seen any activity in the airlock. Should I be concerned or just let it go. I’ve thought about pitching more yeast. It’s been sitting at a constant 66 degrees. Any help would be much appreciated. Never had this issue before.

Thanks

 

[Maylar]

Check the seal on the airlock, bung, and lid. Might just have a leak somewhere.

 

[bernardsmith]

And check the gravity. If it has/is falling then there is no problem. If it has not budged then there may be a problem. You don't say what your recipe /method was so even if there is a problem simply pitching more yeast may not resolve it. Your recipe and your method will give us a clue to the nature of the most likely cause if (I say IF ) there is a problem other than a possible poor seal as Maylar suggests.

 

[twisted01]

The recipe is as follows
10lbs of pure honey
9.5 lbs mixed berrys
Yeast nutrients
Using wyeast 4184
Add five gallons of water
Let it sit at a 66-68 degrees

Boiled a gallon of water and mixed in honey put it in fermenter with Berrys and added water, nutrients and yeast. Moved to garage for safe keeping

 

[bernardsmith]

Starting gravity would be around 1.060 - 1.070 with the addition of the berries.

Adding water to 10 lbs of honey to make a volume of 5 gallons would have resulted in a gravity of 1.070 before you added any berries but this is far more diluted: you added 5 gallons of water so the total volume is - what? About 7 gallons with the berries? Was the SG around 1.060? Is that about right? That gravity would not have caused osmotic shock so that can be ruled out.

What is the gravity today?

 

[twisted01]

Sorry typo total volume with Berry’s was 5 gallons. If I’m ready my notes correct SG was 1.110 when I took a gravity reading today it showed 1.099 so it appears to be doing something.

 

[bernardsmith]

Ah... OK, but the key point is that despite the fact that there appears to be no bubble activity in the airlock the sugar is being eaten up by the yeast. And so this is yet one more datum point that shows that airlock activity is meaningless. When it does not occur it might be because there is a poor seal in the cap or the airlock and when it does occur that does not necessarily mean that yeast are doing anything: it could be that particles are precipitating and that precipitation is causing the CO2 to nucleate and so leave the liquid or it could point to changes in ambient temperature or air-pressure both of which can affect the amount of CO2 that can be dissolved in a liquid.
Oh - and for the record, I tend to use a bucket as my primary and I cover the bucket with a towel to keep out dirt. I use a bung and an airlock after I have racked and I rack at the end of active fermentation so very little CO2 is being produced by the yeast. If I want entertainment I don't watch my airlocks.