how much calcium carbonate

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rager
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how much calcium carbonate

Post by rager »

so again ive got a mash stuck at 1.02. I have some calcium carbonate. I added a 1/3 of a cup to a 5 gallon mash made up of corn and rye. after adding it I don't see much change in ph using ph strips. after stirring it in I see some action again in the fermenter but im not sure if that's from stirring it or the yeast kicked back in . I had a second mash in another bucker that finished at 1.002. same recipe , same conditions , mashed the same day. this seems to happen to me often and would like to fix it for the future. im using bakers yeast and temps are 75. I just wish I could understand why one bucket ferments out and the other stalls. well in either case im going out of town for 10 days and not to sure what I should do. I don't want to leave it and risk an infection but I also don't want to lose out on that last couple abv. im tempted to transfer it into a bucket and toss it in the fridge.

keeping in the fridge should hold back an infection right? because of the low temp? I just put the one bucket that finished at 1.002 in there and will hope for the best.



thanks
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S-Cackalacky
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by S-Cackalacky »

What kind of PH reading did you get with the strips? And, after adding 1/3 cup of CC, what was the PH? I've never used it, but that sounds like a lot to add all at once. Most of what I've read says to add it maybe a teaspoon or two at a time depending on the volume of the wash. Maybe you pushed it too high and now have the opposite problem.
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

1/3 Cup does sound like a lot. Seems like the most I've added to 5 gallons before was maybe a couple tablespoons.
Do you know what the pH was before you added? Strips can be hard to read, and if you go out of their range they become totally useless.
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DAD300
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by DAD300 »

A. Don't worry about an infection. This isn't beer for drinking. If it got infected you should run it and be happy with the extra flavor.

B. 1/3 of a cup of calcium carbonate in five gallons was a lot of ph change and yeast stress. I mean a lot. A table spoon would have been a reasonable adjustment.

C. What is the ph currently?

D. If you have over corrected and ph is too high, don't keep adjusting. Just run it. Stressing the yeast any further will just make them shitz in the bucket.

To go any deeper, we'd have to know more bout the original recipe and starting ph, sg...
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

DAD300 wrote:A. Don't worry about an infection. This isn't beer for drinking. If it got infected you should run it and be happy with the extra flavor.
+1
I travel a lot and I often leave ferments to themselves for days on end. Once in a while, when I get back, they have the dusty white moonscape layer on top and I just rack it and run it. I don't really know how the taste of the final spirit is affected, but I like all my whiskeys!
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rager
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by rager »

shit maybe I added to much. idk. the shitty test strips were showing less than 4.6 (very yellow) on the strip. I tested it again it the same strips and saw no change that's why I added more. at first a started with a couple tablespoons then worked my way up. it was probably less than a 1/3 of a cup total.

im not so worried about the infection so much. its more about why I keep stalling at 1.02

bucket 1 , sg 1.065-1.002
bucket 2 sg 1.07 stalled at 1.02ish

I mashed 8 lbs of fine cracked corn and added 4 lbs of malted rye. one bucket fermented out nice this other one stalled out. this seems to be a common thing. im trying to pinpoint the variable and the only one I can come up with is ph issues.

I think im going to have to take the next step and get my self a real ph meter if I want to continue to improve.
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by aladan »

rager wrote:
I think im going to have to take the next step and get my self a real ph meter if I want to continue to improve.


A few tips on PH meters. The sensors can go bad quickly if not taken care of. Always use distilled water to rinse and clean tip. Calibrate, calibrate, calibrate. Use PH buffers 7.01 and 4.01 and calibrate before every reading and measure at the same temp as your other readings. I also like to use cleaning solution when completely done, and a storage solution. Also keep it upright and at room temp. During storage.

It's a PIA but my first sensor barely lasted a year, been using this one for a few years now after taking care of it as I said above.

Seems most of my stuck ferments were PH/Temp. related. PH papers suck, haven't had a stuck ferment since I started using a PH meter and controlling fermentation temp.

Good Luck!
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by T-Pee »

Haven't had a pH-induced stall since I started adding a couple of tablespoons of crushed oyster shell per 10 gallon ferment at the start. Used to happen regularly.

tp
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by shadylane »

Advertisement.
Now appearing at your local home still, "Blue moonshine"
Sorry couldn't help myself.
Since the corn and rye mash has a lot of ingredients to buffer the pH, it will take more calcium carbonate the adjust the ph.
A 1/3 of a cup still sounds like a lot.

I've been adding ground oyster shells at the beginning of fermentation.
Since I started doing it all my ferments have stayed above pH 4.0
Forgot who first suggested the oyster shell that are used for laying hens, but it works.
And it's cheap.
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T-Pee
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by T-Pee »

Mad Masher first mentioned it in the "calcium carbonate" thread a year ago: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 3#p7147573.
Last June, my wife left a bag of it laying around so I tried it and found it perfect for my needs: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 9#p7215489

tp
rager
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by rager »

aladan wrote:
rager wrote:
I think im going to have to take the next step and get my self a real ph meter if I want to continue to improve.


A few tips on PH meters. The sensors can go bad quickly if not taken care of. Always use distilled water to rinse and clean tip. Calibrate, calibrate, calibrate. Use PH buffers 7.01 and 4.01 and calibrate before every reading and measure at the same temp as your other readings. I also like to use cleaning solution when completely done, and a storage solution. Also keep it upright and at room temp. During storage.

It's a PIA but my first sensor barely lasted a year, been using this one for a few years now after taking care of it as I said above.

Seems most of my stuck ferments were PH/Temp. related. PH papers suck, haven't had a stuck ferment since I started using a PH meter and controlling fermentation temp.

Good Luck!
ive read that ph meters are quite sensitive, which model have you been using ?
T-Pee wrote:Haven't had a pH-induced stall since I started adding a couple of tablespoons of crushed oyster shell per 10 gallon ferment at the start. Used to happen regularly.
tp
thanks for that info, im going to try to find source some locally , if not ill order some up.

again , thanks shady for putting your 2 cents in, didn't you hear that blue distillate is the newest thing :wink:

thanks everyone for their input.

but if we go back down to the basics, if I make two identical ferments (at least as close as I can) why would one bucket ferment out nice and the other not, that's what has got me confused

thanks

rager
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EricTheRed
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by EricTheRed »

So most people are assuming their PH is too low and add calcium carbonate, but it is quite possible it is too high (mine runs PH6.5 out of the well)
Perhaps this is of some use (From How to Brew . com)
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Re: how much calcium carbonate

Post by bluefish_dist »

1/3 cup is way too much. I would only add 1 to 2 cups per 100 gallons. Also if the lowest reading your ph strips will give is 4.6, they are effectively useless. I would only adjust ph when it was below 3.9 and then only raise it up to 4.0. The only time my wash/wort was above 4.6 was at pitch, then I aimed for 5.2-5.4. Within 12 hrs it was below 4.6 and I kept it below that to help reduce the chance of bacteria.

Also excessive calcium won’t dissolve if there is not enough acid present. This is why shells work. Shells are just solid chunks of CC.
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