How much to fill?

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spinnychick

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I haven't run across any time it would make a difference yet, but this is probably something I should figure out before I've got a siphon pinched off and am typing questions with my toes... ;)

How full should a carboy or jug be filled when racking? Landmarks please... "to the shoulder" doesn't mean much - bottom of the shoulder? top of the shoulder?

I would also assume that when siphoning into a secondary I'd leave a bit more room for foaming than on subsequent racking?

One slightly related question - when going from primary to secondary, how much difference does the amount of space on top make? The reason I'm wondering is because I was given a HUGE carboy (no idea how many gallons, but if I could squish through the neck I could almost sit inside it). I'd love to make it earn its keep, because it takes up quite a bit of floor space. If I used it as a secondary, would the extra air its able to hold cause any problems?

Thanks,
Vikki
 
This is the level you want to be at give or take an inch.

picture.php
 
Vikki either you are very small or thats one heck of a big carboy.

Generally when you rack to finish fermenting in a carboy (I do not do this) you can fill it to the point where the glass has what we call a knuckle. You want some but limited airspace. If you still have an active fermentation going I would let it ferm. dry in your primary or wait until it subsides as you do not want it overflowing. Be sure to carry over all the dead yeast (sediment) in the bottom of the primary as your living yeasts need that.

I prefer to ferment dry in a primary but will stir very well and snap on a lid with an airlock when the gravity reaches 1.000 and allow the wine to finish under cover a few more days.

Then rack into a carboy with 1/4 teaspoon sulfite per 5 gallons, leaving sediment (gross lees) behind. Fill to the point where the glass starts to curve in. Add your clearing agent and stir vigorously to blend well and to degass the wine. Fill to the knuckle and add a few more drops of your clearing agent and stir if at all possible.

Add an airlock and allow the wine to clear 4-6 weeks.

Rack off and add a pinch of sulfite and add an airlock and allow it to age.

We'd love to see this mastadon of a carboy if you can take a photo of it next to you.
 
(no idea how many gallons, but if I could squish through the neck I could almost sit inside it)
Thanks,
Vikki

LMAO, is that spinnychick or skinnychick? How did you pick that for a user name?

Sly is showing an excellent example of carboy levels aging. Secondary's can as low as 3/4 full as long as you leave the air lock on the entire time.
 
LMAO, is that spinnychick or skinnychick? How did you pick that for a user name?

HAH!! It's been a looong time since I've been accused of being skinny. :: I did say I could almost fit in it.... lol

The name isn't nearly as thrilling as it sounds. I spin yarn. I knit too. That makes me Loopy. ;)

The light is terrible right now so pics will have to wait. Jugzilla takes a #11 bung and has this nifty plastic basket with handles to carry it. It looks kind of like a laundry basket (and I've considered "borrowing" it for that purpose) A previous owner put a piece of masking tape about 2/3 the way up the bottle, which has 10 gallons written on it. There's a lot of space above the tape. I cannot wrap my arms around the widest point (it's kinda teardrop shaped). Definitely not the kind of bottle you would attempt to move when its full!

Maybe next spring it'll hold an entire summer's worth of skeeter pee. LOL
If I can find a swimming pool to use as a primary. :b

Vikki
 
Generally when you rack
----%<-------snip--------
add an airlock and allow it to age.

Thanks for that! I love when people can turn a very large boring book into 2-3 paragraphs! That's the problem with a new hobby... the "how to" guides have too much advanced information that makes my brain hurt before I even understand what they're talking about.

I mean... my dad's uncle could hardly read and write - I'm pretty sure he didn't read any big huge volumes of winemaking manuals, and I'm equally positive the authors of those books would faint if they saw his setup of burlap filters and the bathtub he used as a fermentation vessel. But his wine was known all around the area, and anybody who was offered a glass or two knew they were pretty special. If only it was possible to get HIS tips and tricks!

VIkki
 
LOL, Vikki that is a demi jon but I like Jugzilla a lot better. The glass is a lot thinner then a carboy and they are more difficult to handle when full. I wish I had one of them. I think there could be a lot of possibilities for blending and aging large quantities of wine.
 
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