Creative punch down tools

[tingo]

So as I was scanning over presque isle wine's catalog and drooling over the stainless steel cap masher they sell, it occurred to me that this is the only one I have ever seen (minus the potato masher most sites sell). So I got to wondering, what is everyone else using? I myself have grown fond of using my deep sauce pan which was passed down to me from my grandfather. Although he used to fill it with about ten gallons of pasta, sauce, and meatballs, its stainless steel deep body and rigid handles make it quite useful for "turning over" a 55gallon barrel of reds. Any other Mcgyvers in the room?

 

[Stressbaby]

The small scale commercial winemaker I visited with last weekend claims that everyone he knows uses canoe paddles.

 

[cmason1957]

My wife and I use a composite rake. Easy to sanitize. It is in our wine area and used for nothing else, ever.

 

[Rocky]

I had to chuckle when I think of making wine at home years ago with my Grandfather. He had a 4' or so length of 2x4 and that is what we used to break up the cap and stir the wine. It is a wonder we survived.

 

[Runningwolf]

Tingo, that punch down tool works great. You're doing exactly what it says, and you can pull the stuff on the bottom (oak and yeast) back up into solution. Of course it all depends upon the vessal your fermenting in. If it's a large tank or 4x4 grape bin you'll need a good tool. If you're talking under 50-100 gallons you can get away with something less.

 

[mjrisenhoover]

I have one of them overgrown potato mashers, works good although grapes get stuck in it sometimes.

 

[tingo]

I use 55gal food grade barrels and those large potato mashers just dont seem like they would work right to me. When I punch down the cap I just feel like a large surface area like the one presque isle sells (or the bottom of a saucepan) is needed to push the top layer of the cap down through the wine. Wolf whats the price again?

 

[Runningwolf]

I use 55gal food grade barrels and those large potato mashers just dont seem like they would work right to me. When I punch down the cap I just feel like a large surface area like the one presque isle sells (or the bottom of a saucepan) is needed to push the top layer of the cap down through the wine. Wolf whats the price again?

It doesn't show up on line right now and I don't have a catalog here. They're not cheap. I'm going to take a wild guess at around $60. GW Kent has one for $175 but it's huge and would work for really deep tanks.