Carboy

[TouronVineyards]

Ive seen a few people on here placing a piece of wood under the carboys while the wine is in it. The only reason I can think of is that it may be a little easier to get all the wine out when racking it. Is there any real big advantages of this?

 

[photony]

I can think of two reasons...if it's on a concrete floor, especially in a basement, it will help insulate it from the cold slab, and if you bump the carboy a little too hard against it, it's less likely to break as opposed to hitting it against concrete.
For racking you need to be much higher off the floor, about kitchen cabinet height is ideal.

 

[ffemt128]

It's done for racking purposes. The piece of 2x4 goes under only one edge which forces the lees to the low side of the carboy. When when racking you can lower the carboy off the board slowly and have a clearer area to rack from thus resulting in more wine out of the deep sediment.

 

[TouronVineyards]

That's what I thought. Pretty good idea, cause I want as much wine as I can get-lol. I'll have to try it with my next batch, thanks

 

[Affe]

They actually make wedges specifically for this. Though a piece of wood will work just fine.

 

[Runningwolf]

They actually make wedges specifically for this. Though a piece of wood will work just fine.

I use short 2x4's, I think the carboy sits on it more stable and its cheap.

 

[brothermoo]

This idea is genius.. Saves me trying to invent a third arm for racking!

 

[Norton]

I tried a towel and it worked fine .

 

[GTS]

Rather than buying the wedges that are made for tilting a carboy, I have been using a couple of the old fashioned rubber door stops for any 1 gallon batches, and I also found magnum size door stops that work great with 3-6 gallon carboys. Much cheaper than the wedges.

GTS

 

[Boatboy24]

So, no issues with using these in your secondary? The only potential issue I'd see is the airlock being at an angle. Or would you only do this for bulk aging/degassing?

 

[Turock]

We only do this when racking. I wouldn't want a carboy sitting and aging like that. Too easy to bump it and it could fall.

 

[jswordy]

I've use a book, a towel, the lid off the primary, a stack of CD cases... whatever's handy. It kinda amazes me they SELL something to do this. But then again, not really.

 

[GTS]

Sorry for not being more specific. I only use them for racking as Turock stated. I have found them to be a less costly alternative to the ones sold at the LHBS.

GTS

 

[Dugger]

I use a couple of bungs when I do this - they are the right height, always nearby, don't take up much space and don't slip.

 

[ffemt128]

I keep all mine that way until they stop dropping sediment. If doesn't matter if racking or not. The purpose is to keep the sediment lower at one side of the carboy. I use a long enough piece of wood that the carboy doesn't rock. I haven't come close to knocking one over or moving it at all.