# Problem water gone from Air lock



## Dino466 (Jan 6, 2014)

I started my CCWS Rosso Bravissimo in Sept , I started bulk aging it in Oct with some other wines in the cellar. When I checked again in late Nov. the water had evaporated from that one air lock. It was the 2 piece plastic type- the water level was low enough so that the cap part was resting on the tube part and the holes around the bottom of the cap were exposed to the air. In the others I used the one piece S shaped and the water was fine in them. I figure it could not have been more then 3 weeks. How will it affect the wine - did I ruin it. It seems OK - racked and K-Meta it the other night. Is it a problem and what should I be looking for as a problem.


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## jamesngalveston (Jan 6, 2014)

fill the air lock and put back on carboy...you should be fine.


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## grapeman (Jan 6, 2014)

This is why I prefer the S type airlock. The water seems to stay in them longer. You did the right thing and hopefully you caught it in time. If not the wine will have oxidized and may have off flavors and smells- somewhat sherry like.


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## pjd (Jan 6, 2014)

Dino466 said:


> I started my CCWS Rosso Bravissimo in Sept , I started bulk aging it in Oct with some other wines in the cellar. When I checked again in late Nov. the water had evaporated from that one air lock. It was the 2 piece plastic type- the water level was low enough so that the cap part was resting on the tube part and the holes around the bottom of the cap were exposed to the air. In the others I used the one piece S shaped and the water was fine in them. I figure it could not have been more then 3 weeks. How will it affect the wine - did I ruin it. It seems OK - racked and K-Meta it the other night. Is it a problem and what should I be looking for as a problem.


I winter in Florida and two years ago, I returned to Pennsylvania to find that one of my air locks had gone dry, all of the others were fine. it was a California Shiraz made from a Luva Bella juice bucket. I was worried about it but continued to work with it and finally bottled it. It may be one of the best wines I've ever made. I am afraid to duplicate the experience but for that one time it worked out for me!


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## vernsgal (Jan 6, 2014)

Dino466 said:


> I started my CCWS Rosso Bravissimo in Sept , I started bulk aging it in Oct with some other wines in the cellar. When I checked again in late Nov. the water had evaporated from that one air lock. It was the 2 piece plastic type- the water level was low enough so that the cap part was resting on the tube part and the holes around the bottom of the cap were exposed to the air. In the others I used the one piece S shaped and the water was fine in them. I figure it could not have been more then 3 weeks. How will it affect the wine - did I ruin it. It seems OK - racked and K-Meta it the other night. Is it a problem and what should I be looking for as a problem.



Good choice in kits! I know it wasn't in you question but I just want to add that I had this kit that was aged for 14 months and it was great!
As for your question, as the others have basically said, it should be fine. 3 weeks isn't too bad. You should detect an off smell if it did oxidize.I found with kits they're more indistructible than fruit wine, so I'm sure you're fine.
(oh, and I'd toss that airlock)


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## Putterrr (Jan 7, 2014)

i started using the waterless airlocks for aging and after 1 year of use i can report they work quite well. check out these folks. they even mailed them to me from Ottawa on their x-mas holiday last year. 

http://www.vintable.com/bungs.html

cheers


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## ibglowin (Jan 7, 2014)

You will need to hit the wine with another hefty top off dose of KMETA as your free SO2 is more than likely all gone. This can also open the door to microorganism's to start so be on the look out for things starting to grow.


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## grapeman (Jan 7, 2014)

Mike he said he did add a dose of k-meta (although didn't say how much). The safest way is to test and see how much free SO2 you have in there now and adjust per your pH.


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## JohnT (Jan 7, 2014)

I agree with the above. If you had the carboy filled (very little headspace), this should not be much of a worry.


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## cintipam (Jan 7, 2014)

Putterrr, I looked at your link. While it looks interesting I didn't find it gave me enough info to figure out which type would be appropriate for long term aging use. I understand the sizing they listed, but one kind has a bottom that swells with secondary fermentation, some are easy to pull etc. Which do you use and how do you use it? It doesn't help that no prices are listed to help decide if one is just thinking about trying one out. Any experience about these would be great to hear.

thanks folks

Pam in cinti


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## Putterrr (Jan 8, 2014)

I bought/use the #7 vented bung. It's a 2 piece that allows air to escape but doesn't allow any back in. The holes in the bottom go right through to the top and are covered by an umbrella type flap. They are nice soft silicone so you can really jam them into your carboy. Give them a call. They are nice people to deal with. My cost was something like $2.33 each plus shipping. I'm thinking of getting more so that tells you something

My wine area goes from low 70's down to mid 40's in winter so i wanted something that could handle the negative pressure when things cool down. The water airlocks would suck in as things cooled (dont like that). I have carboys that sit for 4-6 months and i can hear pressure being released when i lift the flap so they have a good seal. A fellow wine maker uses his for fermenting as well as storage and he's never had one pop off. Nor have I.

cheers


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## cintipam (Jan 9, 2014)

Putterrr thanks much for responding. I am very leary of asking prices when they can't be found on a website. That's usually a good sign that I can't afford it. but that price is reasonable, esp if I have much more set for long term aging and need to switch to basement storage. I don't go there much, and safety is worth a few extra bucks.

Wine making is getting easier and easier!

Pam in cinti


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