Degassing

[Wiz]

Has anyone tried a piece or up to 3 pieces of plastic cord used in a weed eater in an electric drill motor for degassing?

 

[jeepingchick]

nope not i...i use a reynolds handy vac...

 

[NSwiner]

I must say this is the first time I have heard of that method .I'm not if that would be consider food safe plastic .

 

[Tom]

I would NOT use. Reason is you will certainly be adding air (O2) which is bad. The idea of degassing is to stir not whip to a froth. By stirring you will make a vortex (roadway) so the trapped gas can rise to the top.

 

[Frank_The_Magic_Hobo]

I just made a paddle out of a coat hanger and chucked it up in my drill.

It isn't fancy, but works like a charm.

Weed whacker is just not the best of ideas. Points for ingenuity though!

 

[Dugger]

I would NOT use. Reason is you will certainly be adding air (O2) which is bad. The idea of degassing is to stir not whip to a froth. By stirring you will make a vortex (roadway) so the trapped gas can rise to the top.

Tom, that's an interesting theory; most recommendations I've heard are that whipping to a froth is actually more beneficial than a vortex i.e. the froth is the CO2 coming out of suspension and a vortex creates a larger surface area for air exposure.
Have you had good success with the vortex method?
Degassing is my single biggest headache ( don't have a vacuum pump but always looking for one) and I'm always looking for more info on methods used.

 

[Frank_The_Magic_Hobo]

Tom, that's an interesting theory; most recommendations I've heard are that whipping to a froth is actually more beneficial than a vortex i.e. the froth is the CO2 coming out of suspension and a vortex creates a larger surface area for air exposure.

I find that frothing isn't very useful. As far as I can tell the froth is mostly outside air that you've beaten into the mixture which is rising back out. When i first started I did a lot of frothing, and it took hours of stirring witht he drill to degas. Vortex method does a similar thing in that at the bottom fo the vortex, air is introduced then rises back out.

The best method I've found is to just stir gently in one direction so that you have a lot of movement, but not enough speed to cause a whirlpool, then change directions every so often to agitate it.

Though this is personal preference.... I am using a bit of coat hanger chucked up in a drill after all.

 

[Tom]

Tom, that's an interesting theory; most recommendations I've heard are that whipping to a froth is actually more beneficial than a vortex i.e. the froth is the CO2 coming out of suspension and a vortex creates a larger surface area for air exposure.
Have you had good success with the vortex method?
Degassing is my single biggest headache ( don't have a vacuum pump but always looking for one) and I'm always looking for more info on methods used.

Not theory fact. You do not want it introduce air in the wine, rather let the trapped gas out. By "frothing you will help suspend the trapped gas. You will never know if what you see is gas or what you just made. Slow you will be making it easier for the gas to get to the top.

 

[Lurker]

A vacuum cannot be beaten for degassing. You automatically degas as you rack.

 

[Dugger]

Vacuum degassing is somewhere in my future for sure!
Technical guru, Tim Vandergrift, for WineExpert strongly advocates " whip it, whip it good"!! for degassing and that's why I try to follow that procedure and that, combined with using a vacuvin, seems to do a good job, compared to when I used to just stir. I also try to degas at a warmer temperature now and that makes a big difference.
I don't know for a fact which is the better method but I try to follow Tim's advice whenever possible for kit wines.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Has anyone tried a piece or up to 3 pieces of plastic cord used in a weed eater in an electric drill motor for degassing?

You know this has The 3 Stooges routine written all over it. I ferment to dry, then splash rack. Any remaining CO2 will disapate over aging.

 

[Mud]

...Weed whacker is just not the best of ideas...

Just want to point out that he's not talking about using the weed whacker itself. He means the line chucked up in an electric drill.

Using a weed whacker sure would be funny to watch though. Long as it wasn't in my kitchen.

 

[Wiz]

Frank, will you give a description of the paddle you made out of a coat hanger. Thanks.

 

[Frank_The_Magic_Hobo]

Frank, will you give a description of the paddle you made out of a coat hanger. Thanks.

How about a picture?

As you can see, I just cut it before the curve at one end, and left part of the curve on the other end to make a "J" shape. Left just enough to be able to squeeze it into the carboy.

Even more effective if you cover the J portion in tape to make a solid paddle, but it works as it is, and I don't want to run the risk of infection from bacteria hiding int he folds. I also don't like the idea of getting the glue from the tape, or the tape itself floating in my wine.

 

[Wiz]

Fantastic Frank, glad you did a pic. Seems simple enough.

 

[Wade E]

Just remember that it is a 1 sided stirrer so it wont be too great for the drills bearings and armature being off balance.