problem with wash

[leob2]

Last week I started a 15 gal wash with 40 lbs sugar and 2 packs turbo yeast.I know most of you aren't fans of turbo but I just havent moved on yet.
Anyway, like I said I did this over a week ago. the first 2-3 days it bubbled like crazy the it gradually slowed down but was still going pretty steady as of last night. I checked the ABV it was 0 its normally 20% after 3-5 days and has completely stopped formenting. Why hasn't it stopped and why hasn't it produced any alchohol I havent changed a thing that I do.

[leob2]

Just an update I started running it today and it's starting out at 160 proof... I dont understand.

[Dnderhead]

how fast a wash work off at depends on how much sugar , how much nutrients, the temperature, the type of yeast, even the barometric pressure.
a hydrometer ,works on the density of the fluid. compared to distilled water at X temperature. so it depends on what is in the wash. the temperature of
the wash. it is best to take a Original gravity reading, and a Final gravity reading. subtract then divide by 7.55 =abv because anything that
did not ferment will affect the reading, as well as the temperature.(there are correction charts for temp.) the abv reading is for distilled water/alcohol.

[plonker]

Wow, "normallly 20%" ABV is seriously high! you must be getting some seriously off flavours at that sort of abv... Anyway, I have found the hydrometer reading of washes to be very inaccurate. solids in the mash, CO2 is solution, etc, etc. sometimes you get iffy readings.. experience will tell you what to expect...

Cheers

plonker

[leob2]

Thanks guys it's running fine 1 gal out already at 170 proof. I am going to try some different wash/mash next to compare to the turbo/sugar.
Thanks again.

[rad14701]

By my calculations your wash had an ~18.8% potential ABV... The problem with turbos is that the larger the volume of the wash the more heat it will produce... Had you measured wash temperature early on you most likely would have seen it rise to an excessive level... Once there the yeast would have become stressed and some may have succumb to autolysis or exothermic stress, thus reducing the amount of viable yeast... At the same time the alcohol level within the wash was increasing and the lack of oxygen during the anaerobic phase was making it almost impossible for the yeast to reproduce... This scenario would explain why the wash took so long to complete...

Long story short, either train yourself to resist greed and shoot for lower potential ABV or get away from turbo yeast altogether... If you just have to use turbo yeast, and you don't, use roughly half (perhaps 2/3) the sugar it can supposedly withstand... Again, heat within the volume of wash is the biggest problem...