Degassing equipment

[brushwood24]

I'm new to wine making so spending the money for an electric pump doesn't really make sense yet but I definitely noticed that the most time consuming and frustrating part for me so far is the degassing. I don't know if I'm being overly meticulous or what but I used one of those drill stirrers and then a vac-u-vin and after about 3 hours of pumping every ten minutes or so, there were still little bubbles coming up. I was trying to get to the point where there were no more bubbles so I would know for sure that my wine was fully degassed. What's a "normal" time for degassing with a vac-u-vin?

 

[ibglowin]

I used the Vacuvin on my first couple of batches. I stopped after about 30 minutes or so. All the big foam and bubbles had long since passed. Both batches were bulk aged for 6 months and when bottled they were fully degassed. As long as you let them sit for a few months before bottling any residual with outgas.

If your really in a hurry to bottle then I would do it for 30 mins or so. Then put the airlock back on and let it sit for another week and then hit it again with the Vacuvin and see what you get. Should not be much left after that but at least you should be safe to bottle if your in a hurry.

 

[JimCook]

Brushwood,
If you are not necessarily in a hurry to bottle, time works wonders for degassing. I have stopped using a drill of any kind and found that wines were degassed even after sitting for about a month with no discernable levels of CO2 in when swirled in a glass or felt on the tongue.


Also note that the CO2 bubbles are really small and tend to run up the sides when using a VacuVin - if you're pulling out bubbles larger than effective pinpoints, it's like not CO2.


- Jim

 

[pao1x]

I agree with Jim. I can find no compelling reason to beat my wine to death. I find that splash racking to an open primary and giving it a gentle stir does the trick quite well. I do this a couple times before barrel aging, which will guarantee no gas as well.



Paul

 

[brushwood24]

Brushwood,
If you are not necessarily in a hurry to bottle, time works wonders for degassing. I have stopped using a drill of any kind and found that wines were degassed even after sitting for about a month with no discernable levels of CO2 in when swirled in a glass or felt on the tongue.


Also note that the CO2 bubbles are really small and tend to run up the sides when using a VacuVin - if you're pulling out bubbles larger than effective pinpoints, it's like not CO2.


- Jim

I didn't even think about that. The bubbles I was pulling up were definitely larger and not coming from the sides of the carboy.

I'm going to try bulk aging my next batch for three months before bottling.

 

[JimCook]

Brushwood,


If you are going to use the clarifiers in the wine kits, do note that they generally require the wine to be degassed first. Of course, you don't have to add clarifiers immediately either (Mosti Mondiale instructions note that clarifiers can be added closer to bottling if needed). To amend my previous statement about not using a drill to degas, I also generally do not use post-fermentation clarifiers preferring to rely on time as well for this purpose.


By your description of the bubbles, it sounds like you had already driven off the CO2.


- Jim

 

[brushwood24]

I was still planning to use the clarifiers but I just assumed that I should use them after aging and right before bottling. I guess I need to read some more forum posts and figure it out.

 

[JimCook]

That is a fine way to use them - the wine should be degassed through time at that point, so then it's justa matter of whether or not the clarifier needs to the secondary lees to work properly. You can also take a sample of the wine after aging and see how it looks in a glass to determine clarity. Three months of time would help to drop quite a bit of solids out of the wine.


- Jim

 

[pracz]

So...Let me get this straight (as I absolutely hate degassing and cannot afford to invest in a vacuum pump just yet).

I am about ready to start a couple of CC's with grape packs (Showcase Zin and Red Mountain Cab). I plan on bulk aging for at least three months. Can I bypass the degassing phase (and the clarifiers for the bulk aging period)? If necessary I can alway add the clarifiers after the 3 months, correct?I just don't want to leave any gas in the wine.

Thanks,

Pete

 

[Wade E]

3 months wont be long enough to naturally degas. Ive had a few wines that didnt degas themselves after 1 year so I dont play that game.

 

[JimCook]

Pete,


Depending on the wine, three months can be enoughtime to degas - I've had kit wines degas in four weeks, although this can depend on environmental conditions as well as racking techniques used. The most important thing to do is to test your wine (thumb-over bottle, swirl in glass, prickle-tongue taste, VacuVin, etc.).


In regards to 'adding clarifiers for bulk aging period',the clarifiers should not sit in the wine for an extended period of time. If you are following kit instructions then degas and add the clarifiers and bulk age at the end if so desired. It's very important that the overall process not be compromised for the sake of shaving off some work at one point of the process.


One of the advantages of a forum is the exposure to a variety of personal experiences that you can reference. Most importantly, however, are your own personal experiences, and those can only be gained through testing.


- Jim

 

[robie]

One thing I have learned about degassing is just before starting the bottling cycle and while the wine is still in a glass carboy, vacuvin the wine again and really pump on the vacuvin. I have been surprised at how many times I can still get out some additional CO2, even when I thought I had done a good job degassing earlier.

 

[harryjpowell]

Someone mentioned two types of bubbles small and big, with the earlier being co2 and what is the other?


My first Vac. attempts I mainly saw small bubbles that made a denseer foam as I continued. I'm about 2 months into bulk with these and sounds like I should try the Vac again before bottling just to make sure?

 

[ibglowin]

The think the consensus is its just Air/Oxygen being pulled into the system via leaks in the cap etc.

If I am totally off the mark here I am sure someone else will chime in!

 

[Pablo]

I picked up a brake bleeder from Harbor Freight. Works great.

 

[grapeman]

I picked up a brake bleeder from Harbor Freight. Works great.

And after you use it enough you look like Popeye!

One ArmStrong Power Rating!

 

[Wade E]

I would also assume its air after the C02 gas been pulled out but dont go panicking as its very small amounts unless you are sitting there with an electric running and running at this point. Its still way less then sitting there with a drill mounted stirrer IMO. I do use the drill mounted stirrer first vey quick before I apply the vacuum just to get some of the major amount out.

 

[brushwood24]

I just bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FWIVCA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

from wal-mart for $17. It fit's perfectly on the bung and works great for degassing. Hopefully, it will last me a while.

 

[Wade E]

It will burn out fate though and since you dont have a gauge on it you still will not know if its done but it will be an improvement most likely over just the drill, I would use both with the drill being first.

 

[KSGuardsman]

Well, I broke down and bought the Gas Getter after seeing it in a back issue of Wine Maker. The gas getter is a vacuum injector (essentially a venturi) that connects to your your standard 1 hp (or larger) air compressor and draws a vacuum on your carboys. Since I already owned a compressor, I figured I'd give this a try.

I have a 905-4, which has a four-way manifold, allowing you to degas up to 4 carboys at one time. They have smaller and larger sizes as well.

I just used it this past week on two six gallon carboys In spite of the fact that both had sat in bulk for over two months (one for three months), I was amazed at how much gas I was able to extract. Taste was significantly improved, but since I have a personal bias, I will wait until they have had some bottle age time, then spring them on some of my wine loving friends for their opinion (they are used to stealing and drinking my green wine, so if they react favorably, I will know they perceive a difference).