$200 to spend....

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Reilly

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Let's say you just bought a new wine making kit. It has all the basics you need to start this crazy journey. Now you have $200 to spend. What tools/equipment/supplies would you buy to supplement the kit???

Remember - the kit only comes with a single primary and carboy & hand corker - just the basics.
 
Well if you're going to get serious in this then I would recommend the allinone. Its the best back, and labor saving device. Its a little more than the 200.00 but worth every penny.
 
Well I am new at this, but the very first penny you should spend is on a hydrometer! An acid test kit if you are not making kits. Then some brushes, plastic spoon, wine thief, and a couple of jugs for cleaner and sanitizer solutions.
 
I agree with dralarms that the All In One pump is a great investment. However, it would not be my first purchase if I only had the basics. Everything will depend on how much wine you plan to make. One or two kits per year, you are probably okay with what you have. If you are like most of us, it will be more like 10 or 20 kits per year you will need some other stuff. I found the following helpful when I got back into wine making:

more carboys of different sizes, e.g. 6.5 gallon, 6 gallon, 5 gallon, 3 gallon, 1 gallon and 1/2 gallon jugs.
holed stoppers for the above
airlocks for the above
a second fermenter (if you plan to make larger than 6 gallon batches, you might consider a 20 gallon fermenter)
potassium metabisulfite, 1 lb bag (for mixing up sanitizing solution)
an Auto Siphon if one did not come with your kit
a second hydrometer and a second thermometer (assuming you have one of each in your kit. If not, buy two of each)
carboy and bottle brushes
bottle rinser/sanitizer (if one did not come with your kit)
beakers 50 to 500 ml, flasks 250 to 1000 ml and a 250 ml graduate
If you are handy, make yourself a bottle drying rack. If not buy a bottle tree.
Carboy drying rack is helpful.
A floor corker.
An All in One pump with racking, filtering and bottling capablities would be great and will cost you about $300.

Note also that you need not buy all this stuff new. Check CraigsList, eBay, garage sales, etc. I just picked up a great looking 5 gallon Italian carboy for two bottles of wine from a neighbor having a garage sale.
 
I believe Rocky nailed this one. His list is a good place to spend the $200. I would add one item after the carboys, stoppers and airlocks. Buy yourself a good wine kit to make with your new toys. Then continue purchasing the rest of the list.

I only have 4 carboys and I told my wife today that I was thinking about buying another one. .... She just gave me that look.
 
A small gram scale, a mid price range pH meter, and extra carboy's in different sizes.
 
All great ideas by Simpsimi, vernsgal and SBWs. Buy a good wine kit (at least 16 liters of concentrate, hopefully with grape skins) and start some wine. Then start collecting goodies. A wine thief is a great item that I left off the list because I assumed that one came with the kit. If not, definitely get one. I use mine constantly to check SG. I just slide the hydrometer into the thief (after sanitizing of course!), put it into the carboy and draw out enough to get the reading. I have a gram scale that I bought on eBay but use it rarely. Checking pH is not as critical for the kit wines I make, but it would be worth investing a few bucks in a test kit mostly for white wines.

Good luck!
 
well I am just starting out too I will tell you what I got when I got my first equipment kit
I ordered from Mid west.
I got a ferment pail
6 gallon better bottle carboy
hygrometer
racking cane
bottle filler
some clips and stops with the hose
and it also came with 30 #8 corks
floor corker
All that was in my kit in addition I ordered:
45 bottle tree and a bottle rinser
local - I got a spoon and my first wine kit which is now bottled.

I just started a Shiraz kit a week ago and move it to the carboy Friday. Then today I started a Chianti from a juice bucket of Chilean juice I got from Harford vineyard.

I just ordered a new carboy, bung, air lock corks and Tuscan oak from mid west. I'm going to need those now that I am quickly producing more.

I don't have Thief and test vial I just float mine in the wine and get a reading but think I might buy one.


I also forgot I hate the racking cane and getting the siphon going so I got an auto siphon... it makes it much easier!
 
Last edited:
Reilly said:
Let's say you just bought a new wine making kit. It has all the basics you need to start this crazy journey. Now you have $200 to spend. What tools/equipment/supplies would you buy to supplement the kit???

Remember - the kit only comes with a single primary and carboy & hand corker - just the basics.

As you make more wine, you'll accumulate buckets by buying fresh juice in season. The buckets will become your new primary fermenters.

I graduated from my starter kit buy buying more carboys and a quality floor corker.
 
For $200, you can probably get an extra 6 gallon carboy, carboy handles for each carboy, wine thief, a plastic drill mounted degassing tool, hydrometer, bung, airlock, and a floor corker. If there are a few bucks left over, I would get stick on thermometers for the carboys and a bottle of k-meta.
 
OK Rocky and company there is one thing we always leave out, PAPER TOWEL!!!

Or is it just me but I buy them in the largest pack I can from Sam's club. No I wouldn't add them to the $200 list when you can sneak them out of the pantry but does anyone else go through a ton of them like I do?
 
Thanks for the great response. I wanted to see if everyone went straight to the Ferrari (all in one) or if it was just the basics. After I purchased my kit off craigslist, I did go ahead and get another carboy, a brew belt and things that Rocky listed at the LBSH. His list was pretty comprehensive and listed things that I hadn't thought of.

I will go ahead and rent the floor corker for a while since it only costs $5 for Sat/Sun rental.
 
Never mind the allinone, can't use it with plastic.

I don't recall him mention that he has plastic carboys ? You can always pull from a plastic carboy but just not into one. More info on my FAQ's on my website

dralarms - I notice you are selling your plastic better bottles cheap - ?
 
- 1 gal jars for storing K-Meta solution and cleaner
- Extra Carboy sizes (6gal, 5gal, 2 1/2gal) I like to rack directly into another carboy but you can rack to your primary and then back into the cleaned carboy
- Bottle filler (This one is very easy to use: http://tinyurl.com/cobzot9
- Wine Thief (This one is great for sampling http://tinyurl.com/c58jaqf
- Bottle tree is a great addition to organize bottles after cleaning before bottling
- Quart spray bottle for spraying sanitizer
 

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