Doing the best we can

[arcticsid]

I didn't want to hijack Becks thread in terms of degassing, but I did mention that it would be neat to see a thread on homemade wine making equipment. Having said that, an airlock is just that (and I appolagize for not having a photo handy to submit) I have always used a tube from my secondary (ulage I think is the word, and all that into consideration) run that tube from your secondary into a bottle of water, it will be able to "burp" and no outside air can come back in. I believe it was Steve who refered to this as a blow by tube or something to that affect.

And....having said THAT, there has been much discussion on here about the way things were done in the past, "my grand daddy did it this way, pops did it this way, etc. The principles remain the same. There is nothing to say these old style techniques can not be improved upon. However, just for one minute lets remember the knowledge we have today came from the way our elders did in the days before us.

If we can do it better based on new ways, more sanitary, etc. and thereby more assured for a measured success, lets do it like that. But we must always remeber the basic principles.

People in jail have been making hooch for years. I am pretty sure they don't have access to the variety of yeasts that are available to us.

I speak French and Spanish and though I realize the root language is Latin, I do not need to speak Latin to have an understanding of these two languages.

I realize this probably is an unorthodox way to present my statement, but what I mean is do the best you can with what you have.

Troy


Troy

 

[Conquistadude]

I will add a bit of home made knowledge

If at the time of racking, you find that you have misplaced, broke, over used, purchased 1 less then you need, or need to retire a bung, a quick fix you can do is to take medical bandage tape and wrap it around the bottom of your airlock until it fits just a little over snug. I speak this from experience. I say medical "bandage" tape because they are sanitized, and when you get your replacement bung, the adhesive is easy to remove from the stem of the airlock seeing as it is meant to come off skin. also if it is to big, you can just peal back some tape.

for best results use 1-inch tape

 

[Wade E]

Articsid, it is a Blow by tube and many beer makers use these cause te Krausen(foam) of beer making is incredible and can creep way up on you. Most use a carboy with a 1" hose stuck right in the mouth of the carboy and into a bucket of water.

 

[arcticsid]

I have been using a 3/8" tube, would increasing the diameter for wine have a better effect?

 

[wingnutooa]

its going to evacuate the gas at the same rate regardless.

3/8 is more than ample.

and easier to handle than 1"


i would say the only reason they went with large tubes was to accomodate the foam.

 

[arcticsid]

kind of what I was figuring.

 

[Wade E]

If you are using a carboy for primary then I advise to use the 1" tube for sure or if you are using a primary bucket and the must level is very close to the top before fermentation even starts then again I would use the big one. Ever seem what happens when an airlock blows!!!!!!!!!!!!