Adding Oak Chips in Brew Bag

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Raptor99

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I would like to be able to add oak chips (or spices, vanilla beans, etc.) to the secondary in a brew bag. rather than adding them directly. That way I don't have to rack to get them out.

I use 1-gallon carboys for my secondary and bulk aging. I can squeeze a small bag of oak chips or spices into the carboy, but it is very difficult to get it out without racking, especially if it sinks. I considered tying a piece of string (or fishing line?) to the bag so that I can pull it out, but I wonder if that would cause the airlock to not seal very well.

I'd be interested to hear what sorts of solutions others have found for this problem.
 
I would like to be able to add oak chips (or spices, vanilla beans, etc.) to the secondary in a brew bag. rather than adding them directly. That way I don't have to rack to get them out.

I use 1-gallon carboys for my secondary and bulk aging. I can squeeze a small bag of oak chips or spices into the carboy, but it is very difficult to get it out without racking, especially if it sinks. I considered tying a piece of string (or fishing line?) to the bag so that I can pull it out, but I wonder if that would cause the airlock to not seal very well.

I'd be interested to hear what sorts of solutions others have found for this problem.
I used to “hang” oak staves in my 6 gallon carboys using a piece of 10 lb test fishing line, and just put my bung in place as normal, with no issues. Good idea to tie a toothpick on the tag end of the line so it can’t get pulled into the carboy when the bung is out.
 
I should post an update. I tried a mesh tea bag including a few marbles, secured to the carboy handle with a piece of fishing line. It did not work out well. The bag kept trapping CO2 and floating to the top, pushing against the airlock. As a result, I don't think that the wine made good contact with the oak.

I decided to try a simpler approach. I use a minimal amount of oak chips and leave them in until the next racking. By using a small enough amount of chips, they become depleted and won't contribute any further oak flavor even if they are left in for several months.
 

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