Recent content by blackfin1

Thanks for watching my back, Rocky. Your all right in my book! Sal

yes I have to say I soak my corks. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Sal

When I make wine from kits, I tend to use less water then required. Especially when topping off, I try to supplement water with wine as much as possible. I also bulk age for longer periods of time then required by the kit manufactureres. I once added fresh grapes, crushed of course, to help...

Try oxyclean its cheap and effective and it cleans the bottles at the same time. When using the goo gone, all I do is wipe on and wipe off. The glue comes right off. No scrubbing required. Just a thought, Sal

Thanks Guys, I will do just that. I soak my corks in sanitizer (Star San) and I will have to wipe or blow dry. Thanks Again, Sal

I just bought an italian floor corker and was wondering if there is any maintenance, oiling or anything else that should be done to the machine? I notice some moving parts especially the part that holds the corks, does this get oiled? Thanks, Sal

I soak mine over night with oxyclean, then scrape with a razor blade or wood scraper, then the clue comes off easily with Goo Gone. I spray the goo gone on an old rag and wipe off. Its that easy. Sal

I have what might be a dumb question but here goes. Can you cold stabailize a wine (Fruit Wine) after bottling? I used Potassium Bicarbonate on my apple wine and I bottled but did not cold stabilize. I heard that if you use Bicarbonate and do not cold stabilize you get off flavors in the...

I ferment with a towel and rubberband. When the SG reaches 1020 I rack to a carboy to finish fermentation. Sal

Good Advice, Thanks, Sal

I like the Hanna meters and they have one that measures PH with temperature. I use the Hanna Instruments HI 98128W pH and Temperature Tester with Solutions for Wine. I think it works great and its waterproof. This meter is about 98.00 at Amazon. Sal

THank for the advice. I contacted Midwest supplies and complained about selling me the .2N NaOH and they told me to dilute it with distilled water by 1/2. So if I use 10ML I would have to use 5ml NaOh with 5Ml water and that should do it. Heck, I just ordered two bottles of the .1N NaOH why...

Mike all I see is a .2 N what ever that means. Is this the strenght, I purchased at Midwest supplies. Does this change the formula or should I just purchase the .1N. Thanks, Sal

Mike, I realize the end point should be 8.2 but I kept over shooting that number. I used the instructions on the site, "measuring acidity with PH meter. My sample size was 10ml, I then added .5ml of hydroxide until the meter reached 8.2 but like I said I kept overshooting it. I added .5ml...

Hi guys, after testing the acid with the ph meter I am at .75 acid and PH 4.1. I want to reach .6 so I added Potassium bicarbonate 1/4 tsp to lower acidity to .6. Can the acidity only be .75 or am I doing something wrong. is my ph too high, should I add more bicarbonate until the ph goes...