StillSmart

Hey guys,

So I'm doing my first wash in my 30L fermenter and I followed the lentil wash recipe posted in here exactly, the only thing I didn't do was check the PH.. I'll get a testing kit before I do my next wash.

I put her on exactly a week ago with starting SG of 1.90, all was bubbling away nicely.. Until yesterday when I didn't hear/see any bubbles in the air lock, I took the lid off and I can still hear the fizz..(?) and see tiny bubbles on the surface, I took a SG and it read 1.20, however.. When I did a alcometer test it came back at 0... Is this normal..? Or has something gone wrong..?

I'll definitely get a PH kit before my next run.

As always, thanks in advance for any tips, comments or observations you guys might have.

Cheers

If it's still fizzing then it's still going, an alcometer is useless in wash you just need to test it with the hydrometer that you first used which gave the 1.90 reading. You will steadily see that drop to something in the 0.99 region which is what you're aiming for.
I've said it before & I'll say it again, put your nose in there & inhale hard...if it feels like someone just jammed a pencil up each nostril then it's still doing its thing!
Testing the pH is always useful though, a big spoon of bicarbonate of soda can get things going again if it's got too acidic. A little spoon won't hurt if you have no way of checking, most things get more acidic as the wash nears completion

EDIT: Just seen you put the 1.2 reading, that will be correct it just needs a bit longer. Depends on the temperature but most of mine take 10 days to 2 weeks to finish

Thanks for the reply Benoit, Yep... Definitely feeling the pencils in my nostrils! Thanks for the tip I just panicked when I didn't see any kind of reading on the alcometer (still learning) cool I'll add a tiny bit of bicarb and see how she goes!

Thanks again

You seem to be doing ok C...I'm +1 with Benoit on this, some washes can be a PITA.. I've only had a couple in the time I've been stilling...my worse one took around 4 weeks..but it got there in the end.