Degassing Techniques...Need everyones input please!!!

[pightr]

Hi all, I just wanted to post this thread up because I have searched around this forum and there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated degassing thread. Seeing how there are so many different ways and opinions on how to degas I would like to see everyone’s different techniques here. Seeing how gas gave me a big problem with my first attempt at making wine and I am still a newbie here I would greatly appreciate all the input. In my opinion this should be a dedicated thread like the wine terms is. I have looked around the forum for different suggestions on how to degas but I think it would benefit many beginners like myself on how to degas properly.

Please leave your technique in detail on this thread. What you use, what you have used in the past, what you feel works best, what you feel works worst, how long you do your degassing process, how you have handled problems with gas before, and any other information you feel will be useful for people like myself new to wine making. Thanks in advance to everyone who replies to this thread.

 

[Wade E]

Well I started with using the spoon to degas and found that very labor intensive and not very good so immediately upgraded to a drill mounted mix stirrer which works pretty well but leaves you guessing on if you did a good job or not. From there I used the Mityvac brake bleeder after using the drill mounted stirrer and together they make an awesome team as you have a gauge to know when you are done. Now a days I use an electric vacuum pump and get the job done fast and perfect.

 

[pightr]

Well I started with using the spoon to degas and found that very labor intensive and not very good so immediately upgraded to a drill mounted mix stirrer which works pretty well but leaves you guessing on if you did a good job or not. From there I used the Mityvac brake bleeder after using the drill mounted stirrer and together they make an awesome team as you have a gauge to know when you are done. Now a days I use an electric vacuum pump and get the job done fast and perfect.

Which vacuum pump are you using these days? Could you give a model number or something similar to it and a price range? That would be great thanks!

 

[Wade E]

These are bought on Ebay typically for under $100 with shipping. The model I have is rarely seen on Ebay but is where I got mine. Here is a great deal for one and its a good brand. If your intersested I would bid on it. You can degas, rack up hill meaning youll never have to lift a 6 gallon carboy off the floor again. You can also bottle with it if you purchase a boun Vino auto filler which costs about $35. and then you can also hook up a whole house water filter cartridge in between and filter your wine. Its really a multi purpose unit and if you have a bad back its a must.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Schuco-Aspirato...495?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5f6453f7

 

[KSmith3011]

Degassing is a very important part of proper wine making. However, I have spent days trying to understand when my wine is properly degassed. I read somewhere to put some of my wine into a bottle and shake it, if it has bubbles, it still has gas in it. I always question authority, instead of shaking my wine, I shook a bottle of commercial wine, it filled with bubbles. That said, do your best to remove bubbles with what tools you have, work hard at it, but even commercial wineries don't remove everything.
I use a drill mounted gas wand for a few minutes to a few days.
Drink, and be Merry

 

[Wade E]

You dont want to totally rid your wine of every bit actually as it would really make your wine very flat but this can only really be done oif using a vacuum pump with either no regulator on it or just by leaving it on for hours. Using any other method can sometimes be a real bear to get rid of the gas. The best thing to do is make sure yor wine temp (not ambient room temp) is 75* as C02 is much harder to get out at cooler temps.

 

[Ernest T Bass]

I don't have a answer, only another question. When do you degas and do you degas only one time?

Semper Fi

 

[Runningwolf]

I pretty much do the same as Wade but have a different set up. His is a lot more resonable to buy on Ebay and comes complete. Mine is a lot stronger and can pull more wine longer distances quicker. It also takes additional parts to get it up to speed for the wine cellar. If I had to recommend one, it would be the one Wade uses. I am attaching pictures of mine I just recently took for another thread with it degassing. Wade has a better picture of using it for racking.

 

[Wade E]

Dan I see yours is an oil needed unit while mine is maintenance free but not really what Im asking. What I want to know is Ive heard these oil units can blow oil out the exhaust and even stink up a room, is this true? Heres a pic of mine doing a racking.

 

[djrockinsteve]

This is why I ferment dry, splash rack, and stir vigorously for a minute or so in the carboy. Top off and clear for 6 weeks. Followed by aging for 6 -12 months then bottle. I will check for CO2 when I bottle but by this time all is gone. Aside from racking to my carboys, I siphon thereafter.

Everyone has their own reasons and ways to degass. It doesn't matter how, just that excess CO2 is removed before bottling.

 

[Runningwolf]

Dan I see yours is an oil needed unit while mine is maintenance free but not really what Im asking. What I want to know is Ive heard these oil units can blow oil out the exhaust and even stink up a room, is this true?

Yes mine does take oil where yours does not. Absolutely it will blow an oil mist out of the exhaust. I keep a paper towel over it and that solves that problem. I have no problem with any smells at all. The mist is very minute.

 

[Wade E]

Okay, thats what I figured and why they dont use these in hospitals as it wouldnt be good for the patients.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yes mine does take oil where yours does not. Absolutely it will blow an oil mist out of the exhaust. I keep a paper towel over it and that solves that problem. I have no problem with any smells at all. The mist is very minute.

Are you sure you don't have too much oil? Mine did that at first - i filled the oil up to the fill line - well later found out that you need to run it good and warm - and then fill to the line. I had way to much oil.

Now that i have it corrected - there is no oil that comes out - little exhaust - but not bad.

 

[abefroman]

I use the thin end of a paddle, stir hard one way, then reverse, that generates a lot of foam.

 

[mcoltezo]

Hi,

I'm pretty new to wine making (on our 4th or 5th at home kit). We found using the spoon rather frustrating and resorted to rotating it back and forth vigorously with two hands at the top of the bottle below the neck. We hang on well and this seems to produce quite a bit of foaming and bubbles. It does mark the table a bit but it's okay with the table we're using.

Good thread idea. I like the one above that lets you keep the bottle on the floor as it takes two of us to lift it up.

Cheers!

 

[Dugger]

... We found using the spoon rather frustrating and resorted to rotating it back and forth vigorously with two hands at the top of the bottle below the neck. We hang on well and this seems to produce quite a bit of foaming and bubbles. It does mark the table a bit but it's okay with the table we're using. ...

Try this with a tennis ball under the carboy and marking the table should not be an issue.

 

[Dugger]

Degassing is the thing I have most difficulty with and I suspect this is true for most.
I intend to get a vacuum pump someday, but they are expensive - an Ebay pump is expensive here because of very high shipping costs.
I will degas at stabilization and make sure the temp is up at 23C/75F. I usually rack to a bucket to stabilize so I can stir easier. I use a paddle rather than a spoon and move it back and forth rather than stirring around. I do this until I get tired, then rack to a carboy, attach a vacuvin and pump additional gas out. I do this until I get tired. This usually completes my manual degassing.
Sometimes I will rent a vacuum pump/filter system and use this prior to bottling and this does a good job. Sometimes I will bulk age for awhile and this helps.
Most times I still seem to have some gassy wine and get frustrated and drink it!
I intend to get a vacuum pump someday.

 

[Lurker]

Everything that Wade E did except that I no longer try to degas. After 4 vacuum rackings, there is no gas or at lease no discernable gas. My pump looks like Running Wolf's but I think mine is a little bigger, not in size but vacuum. It is the 2.5 CFM Vacuum Pump from Harbor Freight. Works great.

 

[Lurker]

This is why I ferment dry, splash rack, and stir vigorously for a minute or so in the carboy. Top off and clear for 6 weeks. Followed by aging for 6 -12 months then bottle. I will check for CO2 when I bottle but by this time all is gone. Aside from racking to my carboys, I siphon thereafter.

Everyone has their own reasons and ways to degass. It doesn't matter how, just that excess CO2 is removed before bottling.

I had no idea how many people splash rack, all we talk about here is how afraid of oxygen we are. It turns out that it really is our friend.

 

[buddy]

There is a you-tube video that shows an interesting way to degas wine in a carboy, but because I am a junior member I am not allowed to post links, so I will break this link up to avoid being red flagged. In order to watch it you will have to remove the spaces between the characters.
h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = Z j L 8 0 h X k H d I
Perhaps a senior member can stitch the link back together for others to see.
I haven't tried it yet but will try it at my next bottling session.
Has anybody tried this and what are your thoughts?