[BobF]

For about 6 months I've been telling myself I'll get that Mityvac hand pump out and rig something up.

OMG ... I put a little vacuum on a jug of strawberry I thought was already degassed and the co2 started popping out all over the place! :-)

Funny - It starting getting clearer right before my eyes.

I'll never waste my time beating the snot out of my wine with a paddle ever again. PLUS, I'm not risking stirring o2 in either.

Somebody said something about equipment for 2010. Me? Vacuum. Vacuum degas and transfer is where I'm headed! No more beatup wine or pumping syphons for me!!

I'm gonna' put that carboy right where I want it BEFORE it's full :-)

[Mike]

Can others weigh in on this method? Very interested to know if it's as good as it sounds.

[rawlus]

mike. there is lots of info on vacuum degassing here. and some recent discussion on equipment.
many start out with mity-vacs or wine-saver hand-pumps.
i and a few others went straight for commercial vacuum aspirators like those used in the medical/dental industry, Gomco is a popular brand. they're often inexpensive on ebay, they typically can pull 22Hg without protesting, they are quiet and most are 100% duty cycle oilless designs.

with an elec vacuum pump you can rack, filter, bottle and degass. so it makes for a very versatile investment.

technique i use for degassing is to ensure wine is at proper temp 75*-85*, glass carboy is filled up beyond it's shoulders (to minimize risk of implosion) and to pull 17 or so inches of vacuum or until CO2 starts coming out of it's dissolved state. i then close the valve on the vacuum line and shut the machine down and let it hold that vacuum, re-pulling it as foam dissipates and vacuum falls. when it can hold 17" for 30min or more, it's essentially degassed.

[Green Mountains]

Very new to vacuum degassing and racking. Still working on the right tubing for racking but the degassing is working great.

If you read awhile back I purchased a Gomco aspirator off of Ebay for 50 bucks. It works great. Get the temp up to 70F or better...and you can enjoy a bottle upstairs while the elec. vac does the work in the basement.

So much nicer than breaking your arm with a stirring paddle.

Darren

[Wade E]

I use this method and love it no poicking up carbys anymore until they are empty, no more wondering if my wine is degased, and corking a bottle while filling another and doing the whole bottilng and corking 6 gallons in abot 5 minutes pleases me till no end. I just use normal racking hoses to do everything. Heres my set up. You can rack from the floor up also!

[surlees]

Rawlus,

i then close the valve on the vacuum line and shut the machine down and let it hold that vacuum, re-pulling it as foam dissipates and vacuum falls. when it can hold 17" for 30min or more, it's essentially degassed.

I just learned something new from you. I have a vacuum asperator like yours, but it never occurred to me to close the valve and let it sit until it no longer holds a vacuum. I've always just run the pump continuously and I'm never quite sure when the CO2 has ended and it's O2 boiling off.

Fred

[Wade E]

Im not sure all models will hold a vac like mine can cause I tried telling a friend about this method and either his doesnt do it or he was just being an idiot that day which is quite possible. He never seems to understand anything I say until show him! Maybe its just me not knowing how to communicate? Maybe I dont speaka English!

[Runningwolf]

Can you slow down and repeat that again please. I don't get it.

[Wade E]

Why I oughta!

[RadarLuv]

I find is a vacuum splash rack out of the secondary (around day 35), degassing is not an issue. It is all gone.