degassing with better bottles

[JBmadtown]

From their website -

"Agitating the unsettled contents of BetterBottle carboys in order to mix ingredients, add oxygen, or remove CO2 is very simple and, in contrast to glass carboys, no special equipment is required. If the wine or beer has already been settled in preparation for racking, slapping the side of the BetterBottle carboy will cause shock waves that will drive CO2 out of the liquid and hasten the settling of low density suspended or clinging solids – without significantly disturbing the sediment on the bottom of the carboy. To prevent oxygen contamination during degassing, carboys should be closed or equipped with a DryTrap air lock. Use the DryTrap tab to the left of this page for detailed information."

You can check their website under product info and how to... (I don't have 5 posts yet)

Anyone tried this or had success with it?

 

[arcticsid]

Good question. I will be waiting along with you for an answer.

 

[djrockinsteve]

How about just playing rap music really loud. Wouldn't that shock wave the co2 out of it?

 

[cpfan]

I've tried two things with the Better Bottle. Neither seemed to cause a surge of tiny bottles to the surface.

1. slapping the BB hard - like OW that hurt hard
2. putting a tennis ball in the indent in the bottom of the BB, and rocking it back and forth so that it thumped on the counter.

To be fair I've only tried a couple of times a year or so ago. But I don't recall the exact seuqence of operations. I'm sure that I stirred the K-meta in first. But did I try these steps after further degassing, and the addition of clearing agents? Sorry I don't recall.

Steve

 

[ashappar]

I stir to degas the better bottles and then rack to another BB and then bulk age a bit. gas comes out eventually, and stirring after letting it sit in my warmer kitchen helps a lot. gotta watch for an eruption during the first stir. it can be violent.

I dont have the drytap airlocks, just the plain ole 3 piece cheapos. and my BBs arent ported. I think the 3G BB is perfect for small batches / experiments. love 'em. super easy to clean also. no scrubbing yet, just turn them upside down and hit them with a garden hose.

 

[xanxer82]

I like using the BB to stabilize and degassing because the mouth is large enough for the drill mounted mix stir to fit in.
Let it sit a couple of weeks then rack to glass for more clearing and aging.

 

[gird123]

I vibrated the BB using a sander(never took the air lock off) and it bubbled like crazy. I think it worked to degass. Any thoughts?

 

[JBmadtown]

How did you use a sander? Electric I am guessing. If you sample the must and it is still then it worked.

I only have 1 BB, so I racked back to the bucket, degassed, stabilized, and transferred back to the BB for a few more weeks. When I bottled there was no carbonation that I could see or feel.

 

[Wade E]

If youve ever degassed wine using other methods like with a drill mounted stirrer or even an electric vacuum pump you will know that the C02 doesnt usually come out of suspension too easily so IMO I dont think that method would get enough out but I dont have a BB so cant say for sure, please test before bottling cause bottling with C02 really bites and some say it can change the profile of the wine and not let it age properly.

 

[gird123]

Yeah. I don't know how well it worked, but I turned the sander on high then applied pressure with the handle of the sander to the outside of the BB. I thought it was like slapping the outside only much faster.