Cheep sterile solution for air lock

[lethargy]

hey everyone, im back again with my third attept at making wine. this time ill be making a nice banana desert wine . this time i went out and actualy bought some equipment, not proper equipment mind you, but stuff that can easily be jimmy rigged to work well enough (eg, instead of a coke bottle, this time im using a 5 gallon snap on tupperware container as my primary fermenter, instead of baking yeast i actualy went out and bought brewers yeast, instead of straws i actualy bought some food grade hoseing). all my plans are well set and i will be starting tonight. however i still have one big problem... the air lock.

i have a good design for the air lock- that being a peice of tubeing leading from secondary fermenter into a container full of some solution. however i dont know of any kind of solution i can use in the container- water failed last time, and my wine was spoiled. i though about vinegar or lemon juice, but decided against both. im now thinking about perhaps soapy water, but im not too sure about this.

suggestions?

 

[Love_in_Texas]

Im pretty sure someone who knows alot more will answer you question...but, how far are you from a homebrew store? They're uber-cheap at mine ....

 

[robie]

i have a good design for the air lock- that being a peice of tubeing leading from secondary fermenter into a container full of some solution. however i dont know of any kind of solution i can use in the container- water failed last time, and my wine was spoiled. i though about vinegar or lemon juice, but decided against both. im now thinking about perhaps soapy water, but im not too sure about this.

suggestions?

Why did the hosw under water not work? If the hose was secured so that it would not surface, that should have been an OK solution. When I get wine volcanoes in my secondary carboy, I use that as an airlock solution. It also works with barrels.

 

[lethargy]

Why did the hosw under water not work? If the hose was secured so that it would not surface, that should have been an OK solution. When I get wine volcanoes in my secondary carboy, I use that as an airlock solution. It also works with barrels.

the wine turned sour and i could find no other reason for this other then something in the water must have tracked back up the tube and into my wine... i could be wrong however.

 

[robie]

the wine turned sour and i could find no other reason for this other then something in the water must have tracked back up the tube and into my wine... i could be wrong however.

Of course nothing beats a real airlock with kmeta, vodka, or some other non-toxic liquid inside.

Did you sanitize the hose you used between the water container and the bung?
How about the tube and the bung on top of the wine?
With what chemicals did you sanitize?

With the 'water in the bucket' method, you can use a weak kmeta solution instead of plain water if you like. Even a week solution should ward off must anything harmful, under that particular scenario.

For a cheap fermentor, you can go to almost any bakery, like at Wal-mart, and they will give you food grade buckets, sized from 1 gallon to 5 gallons. They clean up nicely and work very well.

Just don't go cheap on sanitization, or you will loose in the end.

 

[captainl]

Get some star-san(not cheap initially). Mix up 1 gallon and save it. It should last at least a month or two mixed with water. Keep some in a water jug and some in a spray bottle for sanitizing. It won't affect flavor or fermentation if you accidentally get it in the wine.

 

[lethargy]

Of course nothing beats a real airlock with kmeta, vodka, or some other non-toxic liquid inside.

Did you sanitize the hose you used between the water container and the bung?
How about the tube and the bung on top of the wine?
With what chemicals did you sanitize?

yeah i did sanatise all the stuff i used, not with chemicals but with boiling water- let water boil in large pot and drop parts in for a litle while, or if it was too big, pour boiling water into it or through it repadativly.

With the 'water in the bucket' method, you can use a weak kmeta solution instead of plain water if you like. Even a week solution should ward off must anything harmful, under that particular scenario.

For a cheap fermentor, you can go to almost any bakery, like at Wal-mart, and they will give you food grade buckets, sized from 1 gallon to 5 gallons. They clean up nicely and work very well.

Just don't go cheap on sanitization, or you will loose in the end.

where might i find this kmeta, i suppose its something from a specialty shop, or is there some sort of equivelent (aside from high proof liquor, which would end up in my belly instead of in the operation.

and i think this fermentor will work well enough, i just finished preparing the must, and threw my yeast in- fingers crossed for good luck.

*edit* and there was a slight change in plans- grapes cost less then bananas, so im gonna make a nice red wine instead.

 

[sly22guy]

I would assume that your previous wine spoiled from lack of sanitizing and the fact you did not add any K-meta. The tube with the water should work fine. but expect to fail again without K-meta. (Seriously a small pack is only like a couple of dollars) Potassium Metasulfate or Sodium Metasulfate. Or even the Camden tablets. All of these are real cheap and can't make wine without it. Potassium Sorbate if your going to sweeten.

 

[sly22guy]

Found at a local Home Brew Shop.

 

[grapeman]

Go to a wine supply store and get a few cheap things so you don't keep wasting money on fruit.

What size batch are you making? If a gallon, buy a one gallon jug or two for about $4. A rubber stopper will cost about a buck fifty and the airlock a whole dollar - maybe less. If you are making a larger batch, the cost of fruit adds up in a hurry to keep losing. There is thrifty and then there is cheap. I always opt to be thrifty. I am the king of thriftiness if truth be known..............

 

[Airplanedoc]

Airlocks at my nearest store cost $.69 You can't reinvent the wheel for less than a buck?


You could spend a whole $10 at midwest supplies, and get a rubber bung, airlock, proper wine making yeast and probably something else, select the $4.95 USPS shipping if you keep it all under a pound and your are in.


In answer to your question Cheap Vodka.


Reading this reminds me of my College Dorm Days

 

[lethargy]

i went to the local brew shop today to buy the special yeast, and out of curiousity asked the guy if he had a beginners kit. he did and it was priced at $93.50- far to much for me to pay for on my low budget. i then asked for the price of the hydrometer, carboy, wine theif, and air lock seperatly. hydrometer- 20$, carboy 30$, wine theif- 15$, air lock- 10$. this may not seem much to you folk, but when you have to pay rent, food bills, bus pass, internet, cable, and save up for next semester all on a minimum wage pay cheque, you tend to cut corners everywhere and anywhere. as for the sterilizing chemicals, i didnt ask as i didnt know of them, but i'll return tomorrow.

Reading this thred reminds me of my college dorm days.

well thats about the way of it, sept im not in a dorm, but in an apartment. and before anty of you ask the question, ill answer it now- no im not looking for a cheep drunk for the next party- wine making has always facinated me, and i want to pursue it as a hobby.

on a side note- the inital stage of the operation is going well. pictures related.

 

[Sirs]

i went to the local brew shop today to buy the special yeast, and out of curiousity asked the guy if he had a beginners kit. he did and it was priced at $93.50- far to much for me to pay for on my low budget. i then asked for the price of the hydrometer, carboy, wine theif, and air lock seperatly. hydrometer- 20$, carboy 30$, wine theif- 15$, air lock- 10$. this may not seem much to you folk, but when you have to pay rent, food bills, bus pass, internet, cable, and save up for next semester all on a minimum wage pay cheque, you tend to cut corners everywhere and anywhere. as for the sterilizing chemicals, i didnt ask as i didnt know of them, but i'll return tomorrow.



well thats about the way of it, sept im not in a dorm, but in an apartment. and before anty of you ask the question, ill answer it now- no im not looking for a cheep drunk for the next party- wine making has always facinated me, and i want to pursue it as a hobby.

on a side note- the inital stage of the operation is going well. pictures related.

Man I'm not sure where your local brew shop is but to me he is outrageous on most of his stuff the carboy for $30 is about normal but hydrometer for $20 way to steep airlock for $10 dang guy is trying to stick it to everyone at that price. I mean airlocks are normally from $.75 to $1 about anywhere even at a place thats high their only $1.50 bungs from $1 to $2 at the most at least around here. As far as the hydrometer unless it is one that gets in the must by itself I can't see paying no more than $10 for one at most. Go to any of your local grocery stores and go to the bakery dept. and ask if they have any empty icing buckets you can have with lids most will give them to you for nothing, you can get 2 and use 1 as primary and if you got enough to make 5 gallon use second one for secondary just cut a hole big enough to stick bung into tightly with an airlock, walaaa you got a 5 gallon carboy. On the primary just cover with a towel or old t shirt thats what I used for years, I cut enough out of an old tshirt to cover the top held on with one of those big rubber bands. Hope this helps you been there done that.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Man I'm not sure where your local brew shop is but to me he is outrageous on most of his stuff

Agreed,

check midwest supplies

I don't mind supporting my local shop, but at those prices I would think twice, unless I had to have it right now.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Dear Short on Cash and Long On Hope,
Where are you located? Are you in a country that prevents you from obtaining the items that will lead you to success? If you are in North America, you are actually costing yourself money by not getting a few essential items. You learned from your first experiment that trying to save a few cents ends up costing you the whole effort. The old addage if I remember right reads, "Penny Wise and Pound Foolish".

I would recommend doing some reading, buy the essentials, and do it right. Jack Keller's website is a good one to get you started.
Cheers,

 

[Arne]

You said your first wine turned sour. As you pitched it, you cannot check, but could it be that it fermented dry? If so, the next batch is probably going to do that too. When it is done, stabilize it and back sweeten with sugar. Most of my wines finish dry unless I add enough sugar so the yeast dies out without fermenting all the sugar out. There are lots of posts on this on here, keep reading and it will help you out. Good luck, Arne.

 

[Sirs]

also sour doesn't mean it's spoiled it could've had alot of tannins or like Arne said just been really dry alot f times frsh wines will have an extremely sour/astringent taste I have an Elderberry when it went dry first time I tried it and it was so sour and bitter tasting you could hardly stand to keep it in your mouth but now after about 5 months it is getting really good still fermenting slowly but the taste has went in complete opposite direction getting better each time I try...... So don't think your wine is spoiled just because it tastes sour.

 

[robie]

You can find free gallon glass jugs that will wash clean and sanitize. Walmart, Albertsons, and Target will give you nice food grade buckets for fermenting.

At a minimum, get yourself a hydrometer and a couple of air locks. Without these, you are likely wasting what little money you have.

 

[Flame145]

the wine turned sour and i could find no other reason for this other then something in the water must have tracked back up the tube and into my wine... i could be wrong however.

How were you keeping the air out of the first container where hose leaves it ??? Did the wine oxidize????