One week is probably too quick to expect it to finish. Once mine starts going I ignore it for at least 2 weeks before ever checking the SG. It's never failed to drop below 1 & the product is great.

":)The rate of fermentation depends on many things. I have been using ec1118 for years-- it always took weeks to ferment till dry.
what was the OG/PA
did you oxygenate
add nutrients and energizer
make a starter bottle
how many days did you wait before putting the liquid under air lock.
what is the room or wurt temperature

for starters.:) Give us lots more info please--:)"

"My sugar wash recipe (thanks to wineo)

This always completes in 14 days. I only move it from the fermenter to the boiler.


Ingredients - for a 25L wash

10 pounds sugar
Less than 1/8 tsp Epsom salt
2 bags EC1118
1 dropper of B-12
1 tsp (scant) of citric acid
1 tsp of DAP (Diamonium Phosphate - yeast nutrient)


Process - In the fermenter

Allow yeast to come to room temp
Cover sugar with 2 gallons of hot water and stir until sugar is dissolved
Add Epsom salt, DAP, B-12, and citric acid to the fermenter
Stir for 1 minute
Top off fermenter and allow to cool to 90* - 95*
SG will be apx 1.075 (don't go over 1.085)
Pitch yeast and cover with a towel
Aerate every 15 min with the drill aerator for the first hour
Hard cover and airlock after extreme CO2 production stops
This will work off in 10 - 14 days (SG 1.000 or less)
Give it 2 - 3 days to clear"

Houndog, dont take this the wrong way....but slow down mate. 5 days is just not enough time and it takes time to make good hooch. Your right a Turbo will finish faster but think back ---- I said good hooch...

"

Whats your recipe J? Is it a tried and true sugar recipe?
Room temp of what state, room temp in Idaho right now could be 40F??
3 weeks does seem long but cold and yeast health could slow it down.
It looks like you waited 3 weeks -then-added nutes, why?
Are your readings supposed to read...1.072 and 1.050?? If so that seems high to me, to be finished I mean.

I bet if you post your recipe and give some details of how you put it together folks here can help you figger why its taking so long.

At three weeks if you are tired of waiting then run it, the only thing that can happen is less etoh than if it were complete."

"Well that does sound kinda high to be done but if its still sweet then it still has sugar in it and adding more yeast might help. Hopefully ratflinger will chime in and give his opinion. If you did it just like he does and he has success then you should too. After 4 weeks it sure should be done.
The way yeast works is, it eats/multplies and makes etoh and if the etoh gets too high before the yeast is done consuming all the sugar it stops. Some yeasts can take a higher alcohol content than others but still after 4 weeks any yeast should be done."

never blame ec1118 for not fermenting dry unless you calculated the potential alcohol incorrectly. i have used it for years and also a few times at 16% pa for vodka mash.

jwells,

I recently had a wash with EC-1118 get stuck. It's a slow worker to begin with, so I didn't pay any attention to the sluggish progress. I just figured it was a bit cooler than usual so I just let it sit for three weeks. Then I had a peek. I was expecting it to be close to finished, but the SG was about 1.050 (I started at about 1.085). I checked the pH and it was about 3.0, which is way lower than I would expect given the SG (and the OG). I assumed that I mindlessly used the wrong measuring spoon when I added my citric acid.

In any case, a full teaspoon of citric acid goes a long way ... especially if your water isn't very alkaline to begin with. You might want to pick up a jar of test strips to monitor your pH as you add your citric acid ... and only add about 1/8 - 1/4 tsp at a time. Otherwise, you're just playing Russian Roulette.

--JB