bung pop

[timothyg]

I'm trying to age my Cabernet Sauvignon in my 6 gal carboy and I noticed that the solid bung popped off yesterday. Then as I was writing this post it popped off again! I did push the bung in with a little pressure and I'm pretty sure the wine isn't fermenting... could I have pushed it in too much? So 3 questions.

1. Should I be using a solid bung or airlocked bung for bulk aging? Does it matter?

2. What can I do to prevent my bung from popping off in the future? For now I taped it on. Is this typical for solid bungs to pop off?

3. The carboy is filled to the top with less then 2 inches of air before the bottom of the solid bung. Do you think my cab was damaged from the air exposure of up to 24 hours? How much air exposure (time-wise) would damage the wine?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[djrockinsteve]

Tim, always use a bung with an airlock attached. As the temperature and air pressure change your wine will expand and contract, having an airlock will allow this pressure to be released within your carboy.

Your airlock popping off could be just that, a solid bung and temperature changing or it could be degassing causing the bung to pop.

I wipe the inside of my carboys with a towel sprayed lightly with sulfite/water. This makes the inside non slippery and will contain the bung much better. I will squeeze the bung and insert, then release and twist to ensure a tight fit.

With the bung off over night I wouldn't worry as long as you sulfited your wine.

 

[ibglowin]

If the temp is rising where the wine is stored, yes. You have a sealed system with a solid stopper. As the wine warms, the carboy contracts and the wine has no place to go so the stopper is the pressure release mechanism so to speak. Either use an airlock or each day you must crack the stopper and release the pressure while the temps are rising. One they are stable and steady you should be OK. You have to use a temp gauge attached to the outside of the carboy so you can see what the temps are doing in order to do this.

Is your wine ruined? No, I have had this happen as well on several occasions. As long as you catch it within 24-48 hours and the carboy is topped up it will be fine. You should check your SO2 levels though as they could have dropped faster than normal due to the exposure.

Is this typical for solid bungs to pop off?

 

[timothyg]

Yeah - I definitely sulfated my wine, so it should be good.

Ha, I completely forgot about temperature, but yes that is a very logical answer (the wine expanding and decreasing due to temperature change).

So it seems like a solid bung is pretty much useless. I'll buy one with a airlock for bulk aging.

By the way how do I check my SO2 levels in order to determine if I need to sulfate more?

 

[ibglowin]

I use solid bungs for bulk aging but I have a couple of digital temp gauges taped to the wall of the carboys and I check the temps every time I walk into the winery. You don't have any problems in the Fall/Winter when temps are falling as the carboy is actually expanding when its cooling. But once the temps start to rise in the Spring/Summer then you have a problem using solid bungs unless you crack them every day or few days when the temps are rising. Once the temps have stabilized in the Summer then your OK again and should not have to crack them anymore.

If your just starting out and have no testing equipment then an Accuvin test strip is the cheapest entry method into SO2 testing. They are not very accurate but they are better than nothing I suppose. Accuracy cost $$$ in this hobby!

 

[robie]

Along the lines of what Steve said, the bungs are tapered some, so if the inside of the mouth of the carboy is wet and the sides of the bung get wet, the bung can slide out quickly. I always dry the inside of the mouth of the carboy before I put in any bung, solid or air locked. Otherwise, I have found the bung will slip out about the time I walk out of the room.

 

[ibglowin]

Agreed, if they (or the inside wall of the carboy) are wet they are worthless!