Why All The Bubbles And No Airlock Activity?

[UncaMarc]

I have a 5 gallon carboy serving as my secondary and have a water air lock on top. The cider is bubbling like crazy (temperatures jumped this week) but there is no burping in the airlock. I check the seal and the bung and the lock are tight.

Any idea where the gas is going and why it suddenly started again after being racked off the lees into the secondary?

Here were my stats:

Pressed 6 gallons fresh apple juice from our orchard 9/23/12
Held juice at 40 degrees F until 9/25
9/26 juice at 62 degrees
added 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite
9/27 Specific gravity 1.060 at 70 degrees F pH 3.6
Added 3 tsp Pectic enzyme
Added 6 tsp yeast nutrient
Pitched Safale SO4 yeast
10/18/12 racked to secondary, specific gravity 1.002 at 68 degrees F

Now in secondary for 6 days and air temp is 72 degrees.
Bubbling like crazy but no burping in air lock.

Any explanations?

 

[FlyinDan1017]

Long story and short, it's weather realated nothing to worry about... As for the why for and how to:

Not sure where in KY you are, but a high pressure system just moved through that area. What happens is that the ambient air becomes 'heavier' (more dense) than normal. Toward the end of fermentation, such as your case, the CO2 produced may not provide enough of a pressure differencial to release the excess through the airlock. This effect is being amplified by the higher than normal ambient air pressure, and that you've just racked (which also releases alot of suspended gas from the cider). At some point, regardless of weather patterns, there won't be enough gas to overcome the differencial to produce those burps/bubbles/etc. When that happens, some of the excess gas will remain as headspace, the rest goes into solution with the cider/must (which is why we degass).

Really at the end of the day though, it's nothing we have control over and nothing to worry over. Happy brewing!!