WineXpert Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot

[jgmann67]

And yes, a little bit of oil vapor if you let it run for longer than ten second bursts, but no big deal at all.

If you like to see the readings from the gage on the bleeder, take it off of the bleeder, use little pieces of the clear hose and the three way hose connecter to put it in the line between the carboy and the pump.

Where does this oil vapor go? Oil vapor in a well ventilated room is fine, I guess. The risk of oil vapor in my carboy, not so much.

I like the idea of cannibalizing the brake bleeder to get you where you need to go (especially the gauge).

I may just go down this road myself.

 

[jsiddall]

Where does this oil vapor go? Oil vapor in a well ventilated room is fine, I guess. The risk of oil vapor in my carboy, not so much.

I like the idea of cannibalizing the brake bleeder to get you where you need to go (especially the gauge).

I may just go down this road myself.

The oil mist is pretty minimal, and quickly settles to the ground IME. I put a paper towel around the outlet port to minimize it but don't consider it an issue. Remember the carboy itself is under vacuum when the pump is running so nothing is going in there.

 

[Johnd]

The pump was sitting on a towel, it just settled there, no way for it to get into your carboy anyway, it's under vacuum.
I suspect that if you used this pump to create a vacuum for racking, it would run for longer and the oil could be an issue, but the short bursts needed to degas are no problem at all.

 

[scram]

Pulling that strong a vacuum on a carboy is awful brave...

 

[jgmann67]

I'd put a gauge on it to keep it from pulling too much.

 

[scram]

I personally have had good success with Steve's all in one vacuum pump

 

[jgmann67]

I personally have had good success with Steve's all in one vacuum pump

I'd love one of those.

 

[cmason1957]

I'd love one of those.

And I am sure he would love for you to have one. Best thing my wife ever bought me for wine making.

 

[David219]

I'll also give a big shout out for the All in One. Vacuum transferring is a two-for-one benefit for me...minimal carboy lifting to save my back and simultaneously helps with degassing. Win/win. And if someone is considering buying a pump anyway, why not support an active member of this forum? Win/win/win.

 

[jgmann67]

That's kinda how I feel - if I'm going to spend $100 on a pump to degas, spend the extra $100 and have something that does it all.

I have 3 plastic and 1 glass carboy, though. Need to transition to all glass.

 

[sour_grapes]

I bought a Pittsburgh Automotive 2.5 CFM vacuum pump off of Harbor Freight (99 bucks). Use the hose off of the brake bleeder and slide it over the nipple on the pump and watch in amazement. A few short bursts of power at first to prevent volcano, pulls it down to 29 inches and totally degasses in a minute, with no hand pumping. Done. Period.

You may want to consider adding a small reservoir between the pump and your carboy, like those found on a medical aspirator:

If your wine foams up enough during degassing to suck liquid into your pump, it is going to be rough on your pump! I fashioned my reservoir from a mason jar, putting two barbed fittings into the lid (and sealing them with epoxy). Alternately, Steve (@vacuumpumpman) will sell you a two-holed bung that allows you to use a wine bottle for this purpose.

Also, you CAN get oil backstreaming into your carboy from an oil-sealed vacuum pump. This happens when you are in the molecular flow regime. However, it is unlikely that home winemakers will reach deep enough vacuum levels for this to be the case.

 

[Johnd]

Paul, I agree that it's unlikely to get a sufficient vacuum to put oil back through the system into the carboy, but appreciate the potential.

I didn't mention it, but in my case, when the carboy is fairly full, I make use of the reservoir furnished with the brake bleeder, it simply gets attached in line between the carboy and the pump, catching any foam that gets sucked into the line. I try not to let that happen, but the foam does rise up pretty quickly.

Scram, I pulled a vacuum of 29 in. on an empty carboy, curious to see if it would implode, it didn't. The pump won't pull any more than that regardless of how long it runs, so I'm unconcerned, and there is an even less chance of a sound carboy full of wine imploding. Degassing is complete, in my observation, at a vacuum of under 25 in.

I don't mean to discourage anyone from using the AIO, just sharing a tool I use in my chosen process. I'll eventually get a AIO. Whoever dies with the most toys wins!

 

[GaDawg]

I opened a bottle of this Merlot (6 weeks on oak cubes that came with kit) and at 16 mo. it is coming around. It should be really good by Christmas.

 

[jgmann67]

I hope I can wait that long.

 

[jgmann67]

Prepping for a Monday bottling. Ah, Labor Day.

 

[jgmann67]

Done - 27 @750ml and 6 @ 375ml. What's left on my list: Capsule, label and shelf. And DRINK.

 

[scram]

I stopped labeling my bottles early on. Can't stand peeling off labels just to stick em on again and then repeat repeat... Hope you enjoy this Merlot! I'll be racking mine in a month

 

[jsiddall]

I stopped labeling my bottles early on. Can't stand peeling off labels just to stick em on again and then repeat repeat... Hope you enjoy this Merlot! I'll be racking mine in a month

I agree. I have been using different color shrink caps to identify the batch. It adds about $0.10 per bottle but looks nice and is easy to remove. However, I am now running out of colors!

 

[jgmann67]

The labels I use soak right off in warm water and it really adds to the presentation, IMO. It makes me happy. =)

I let them stand for a day. They're in their side now and will be getting a black satiny capsule tomorrow.

It's pretty good right now. Should be outstanding with age.

 

[jgmann67]

So, I'm thinking of naming this one after my wife... well, sorta.

"Petite Fille avec les Cheveux Rouges"

I'm a Peanuts/Charlie Brown fan...