Forgot to fill the airlock

[sixdoubleo]

I'm working on a WinExpert Selection International New Zealand Pinot Noir. On 6/24, I racked it to secondary at an SG of .998. Well, somehow it seems I forgot to fill the airlock.

Today (6/27) I went to test the SG (down to .996) and noticed the the airlock was dry.

There's a good deal of headspace in this wine as I haven't yet degassed or topped off. What affect would 4 days with a dry airlock have on it? FWIW, it's the two-piece airlock, not the "S" style.

 

[Sacalait]

The S.G. tells you that fermentation is complete so hitting it now with K-meta would be what I'd do in this case. Rack and reduce the head space.

 

[sixdoubleo]

Is it likely that the lack of fluid in the airlock have caused any problems?

 

[djrockinsteve]

You should be ok for that short of time. Add k meta and get rid of that headspace.

Post a note somewhere fill airlock

 

[Wade E]

Seeing as how you havent degassed it your most likely fine as that wine is loaded with C02 at this point and probably saved you some if an oxidization as like said above its only been a short period so you should be just fine. Also remember that a little o2 is actually good for your wine. This is how barrels do their job by givving your wine some 02 through micro-oxygentation as the wood is pourous and your wine breathes through the barrels hence why when using a barrel you need to top up much more frequently as the wine evaporates due t this and that is called the "Angels Share".

 

[arcticsid]

Ive never used an airlock I have always used the blow by tube method. Mostly a space issue for me, my better bottles fit well on top of the fridge but an airlock makes it to tall.

How long will a typical airlock hold water? Ive heard of this problem before, is this something you need to check often?

Just curious.

 

[Wade E]

Its not that his airlock ran ot, he neverfilled it to begin with! That being said it all depends on what the circumstances are Troy. If its very hot like it is now over here then probably about 2 months, during the winter it can go about 6 months but I like to change it out after about months max. anyway because as you know even the strong sulfite solution isnt even good that long nor is ant alc most likely. I had some whiskey in a container that was not air tight nd after around 6 months it has ery little flavor and is way smoother due to its oxidation, just noticed this the other day when Goodfella came over.

 

[myakkagldwngr]

Even in my office with the ac running my airlocks have to be topped up at least once every couple weeks.
I've used water with K-meta and also a pretty strong shot of Alcohol in some. The Alcohol evaporates much faster than water.

 

[sixdoubleo]

Yeah I THOUGHT I filled it, but I guess not. That day I actually was racking two batches...I racked an older batch to a fresh carboy, then sanitzed that carboy to rack this Pinot to. Perhaps I just got confused in all the madness. I haven't ruled out the possibility that maybe the airlock has a crack in it or something. I'll check the level in the airlock daily to see if it's dropping a good deal.

 

[cpfan]

At .996, I doubt that the kit is finished feremnting. I expect WE kits to drop down around .992.

Steve