When to rack from primary pail?

[Geosomin]

Hi there. I've had mead burbling in a primary fermentation pail for ~a week. I was wondering when I should rack it into a carbuoy for the secondary fermentation. I've read to look for ~1/2 inch of sediment first, but since it's in a pail I can't really do that. Should I wait for the specific gravity to be at a certain point (it started at 1.092)? I don't want to expose it to air for too long in the primary pail, and don't know if I should pop off the lid and give it a good stir and just leave it be for another week. I'd appreciate any advice. I don't want any off flavours from being in the pail and exposed to air for too long.

Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

I like to move my meads and wines from primary at 1.010-1.020 or so.

 

[TipsyDragon]

I usually let my meads sit on the yeast for a month before I even think about racking it anywhere. I would suggest checking the SG to make sure it's done fermenting before racking. If it hasn't changed in a week you know your done and can rack.

 

[Golddiggie]

I wait until the batch is done fermenting before I rack it for the first time. I have a batch the went active around December 7, 2011 and its still going (formulated to go to 21%). I'm waiting for it to actually finish before i rack it. Since it still is active, there's not a lot of sediment on the bottom of the [glass] carboy (mead is one of the very few times I'll use a carboy of any kind). I do hope it finishes soon so that i can make it safe for travel. I expect to be moving within a couple of months [finally].

 

[Geosomin]

wow-just checked the SG and it's already down to 1.01!
He hee.
I think I'll give it a bit longer before racking, maybe until next weekend and see if it goes down a bit more or levels off. I hope it will go down a bit more. So glad to know it's fermenting well

 

[biochemedic]

AS others said in varying ways...primary is for fermentation...once you're done and have a stable FG, you can start to consider racking. I usually let mine mostly clear (easier to tell with a carboy as opposed to a bucket like you're using) as well before doing any movement.