# Purging the Primary



## nbwii (Jan 2, 2013)

I just lightly touched the lid on my primary and I noticed my airlock started bubbling like crazy. So I was wondering if maybe the CO2 was maybe trapped in there. Is it a good idea to maybe give it a little purge once in a while by pressing the lid? Not opening it just giving it a light press.


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## derunner (Jan 2, 2013)

Occasionally when I first press the lid down with the airlock in place, the 3 piece airlock can get stuck. I will give a little push on the lid to make sure it is not stuck. After that, I don't bother pressing on the lid when it is fermenting. I would not think a little push would hurt anything as long it is not so big that there is a vacuum when released that sucks water out of the airlock into the must.


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## Runningwolf (Jan 3, 2013)

The Co2 you're releasing when pushing down on the lid is actually protecting your wine. The fermentation is far enough along that it is not blowing out of your air lock but just releasing bubble once in a while. There is still pressure in there which is a good thing and it's important to have an airlock in place like you do at this point.


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## DoctorCAD (Jan 3, 2013)

I never airlock my primary, lots of us don't.


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## cbritton (Jan 3, 2013)

So for all winemaking, you can just cover the primary with cloth and then rack to secondary with an airlock?


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## nbwii (Jan 3, 2013)

Thanks for the replies. Interesting stuff. Glad I asked the question. Running man, so the CO2 is "protecting" the wine? I thought I read somewhere that the CO2 could get reabsorbed into the wine and contaminate it.


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## DoctorCAD (Jan 3, 2013)

nbwii said:


> Thanks for the replies. Interesting stuff. Glad I asked the question. Running man, so the CO2 is "protecting" the wine? I thought I read somewhere that the CO2 could get reabsorbed into the wine and contaminate it.



CO2 does get absorbed no matter what. It won't "contaminate" your wine. You simply need to get it out by stirring, vacuuming or aging.


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## nbwii (Jan 3, 2013)

ok Thanks.


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