Buying equipment soon

[ReefKeeper]

I'm planning on buying a beginer's kit in the next week or two. What upgrades are worth the extra coin? I don't mind spending a little extra if the pay off is worth it, but what's the point of diminishing return?

 

[Tom]

extra glass carboys
Floor corker
get K=meta powder 1#
extra hydrometer
if not making kits get a TA test kit (acid)

 

[tonyt]

Floor corker, floor corker, floor corker.
A case of 375ml bottles, do four or six each kit for tasting as wine bottle ages.
Oh, be sure to upgrade to a floor corker.

 

[jwalker1140]

Floor corker and some 375 ml bottles.

Some may disagree, but I would also forgo a hydrometer and instead buy a 0-32 brix refractometer on ebay for $30 and download the free magic spreadsheet from morewine.com. For me, it's quicker, no less accurate, and I only need to pull out a couple drops of wine rather than ~250 ml.

 

[Rocky]

I assume you are talking about the Beginner's kit from George and I would definitely get the one with a glass carboy. As suggested here, an extra carboy comes in handy but you can get by early on without one (you can also find them from other venues, e.g. Craig's List, garage sales, classifieds, etc.). The floor corker is the beans but, again, you can get by without one early on. Later on you will not be able to live without it! In looking at the kit, the only thing I would add as being needed early on would be more Metabisulfite, mostly for cleaning and sanitizing equipment.

All that being said, it all depends on how much you want to shell out initiallly. George has a nice package discount the more you spend.

Lastly, I would definitely order a wine kit with your equipment and take advantage of the additional discount that he offers. I believe you will save an additional $20 if you order a wine kit.

 

[ReefKeeper]

All right! That's a start. I was planning on a floor corker. A local shop sells the Portugese style for $60 and I figured that would be a great place to save $$$ on shipping. I'm digging the refractometer and 375l bottle ideas. If wine hydrometers are anything like the hydrometers used in the saltwater hobby, I'd just as soon spare myself the headache.

I'm not familiar with George. Is he an online store owner? Could someone please provide a link or contact info?

So you guys recommend glass over Better Bottles? I've also been looking into getting a rack to store all this newly begotten wine. I've found some for a reasonable price, but it also dawneed on me that i could age the bottles upside down in cases as well. Is there a preference beyond asthetic?

I'm also considering doing some homebrewing while I have all this fermentation equipment. Can the equipment be used interchangeably or should I keep the gear seperate?

 

[Runningwolf]

All right! That's a start. I was planning on a floor corker. A local shop sells the Portugese style for $60 and I figured that would be a great place to save $$$ on shipping. I'm digging the refractometer and 375l bottle ideas. If wine hydrometers are anything like the hydrometers used in the saltwater hobby, I'd just as soon spare myself the headache.
These hydrometers work well if you can see them. As always, we suggest buying two so you have one for a spare when you break one.
I'm not familiar with George. Is he an online store owner? Could someone please provide a link or contact info?
George is awesome to wok with. Call him and ask any questions you may have. You can ask for suggestions and he will help you out without ripping you off. http://www.finevinewines.com/
So you guys recommend glass over Better Bottles? I've also been looking into getting a rack to store all this newly begotten wine. I've found some for a reasonable price, but it also dawneed on me that i could age the bottles upside down in cases as well. Is there a preference beyond asthetic?
I suggest glass over Better Bottles for your first few carboys. Several folks here store their bottles upside down in cases.
I'm also considering doing some homebrewing while I have all this fermentation equipment. Can the equipment be used interchangeably or should I keep the gear seperate?

You can interchange but I'll leave this for Wade or Tom to give you a better answer. I do not brew.

 

[jwalker1140]

I used to have a few 6-gallon glass carboys but I broke one recently so I decided to switch over to the PET plastic carboys that MoreWine sells for $25.50. They're made by The Vintage Shop and I love them. Super light, smooth sides unlike the better bottles, and unlike the glass carboys that everyone sells these days (i.e., the Italian versions), these actually are 6 gallons. Typical instructions are to fill your carboy with water, dump it into your primary and mark the level so you know how much water to add to your kit juice. Do that with an Italian carboy and you've just watered down your kit. I have three of these PET carboys now and I wish would have bought them to begin with.

I also found using a hydrometer to be a headache, especially when using with kits that had stuff floating around, like oak chips, or a lot of dissolved CO2. There is a better way.

 

[robie]

George at Wine Maker's Toy Store has several levels of equipment kits. I would get the highest level kit and if it doesn't include a floor corker, I would get him to figure one in. You can start with a lesser kit, but in a few months, you will likely have to go back and buy more.

I bought the middle kit from him and have since bought many more items, including a nice floor corker. I think I am up to 13 or 14 carboys and 5 fermenting buckets, now.

However, if you are not sure you want to continue making wine (Sorry, I am laughing at what I just wrote, as it becomes an addiction for most ), you might start off with a lesser kit, just to get "your feet wet".