Filtering with a whole house filter...?

[Brewgrrrl]

I've just started using a vacuum aspirator to rack and bottle, and I'd like to add a whole house filter to filter the wine. When I look for these online, what typically comes up (at least in the under $100 price range) is usually called a "whole house sediment filter." Is this the same thing? And is it possible to filter .5 microns or less with these filters? Most of the cartridges I've seen are only between 1-20 microns.


What do you guys use for this???


Thanks!

 

[Tom]

I have a whole house filter. I use the Charcoal filter only.
Remember, you do not want to take all the "minerals" out

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Really? I was actually thinking we shouldn't be using anything with charcoal because it might strip the wine too much. I noticed that some filters were paper, some poly, and some had added charcoal...

<------ (very confused at this point)
Also, what tubes/connectors did you use to insert the filter inline?

 

[Dean]

A whole house sediment filter is usually a water filter that you put on your house main supply to filter out sediment and other nasties.

A cheaper alternative to a nice stainless housing ($500) is the Enolmatic Tandem filter housing (about $130), and then a set of membrane filters for it.

I don't want to send you to other retail sites, so I'll just say that if you google "enolmatic filter" if you follow a few links you'll find the Tandem unit. It works with any vacuum aspirator.

 

[AlFulchino]

stripping the wine of what makes it a wine is what my biggest fear in filtering is...sounds like a wine making *mistake*

 

[Dean]

Al, I've yet to find a wine that I've stripped by filtering.

Fining a wine too aggressively can strip things out, but filters generally cannot. Use too much egg white, and you can lose most of your tannins. Use too much Bentonite and you can lose a lot of color compounds. Use a really harsh fining agent like Sparkalloid or SuperKleer and you can lose tannins, and color.

For those of you doing kits, those fining agents above work very well in the amounts provided by the manufacturers. Kits are different from wines made from grapes and have been color stabilized, and usually are lower in tannins anyway.

 

[AlFulchino]

i hear you...but i would also have to see some research that said filters categorically are either beneficial or totally 100% impartial to a wine...sediment removal not withstanding

some part of the flavor just has to go..

 

[Tom]

Gee Al I just might have to send you something to prove it.
Here it just filters out the sediment from my water not my wine. I have not noticed and flavor missing nor has my Wine Club.
Now If I filter my wine with my Mini-Jet and use the sterile filter then I would agree

 

[Tom]

Remember I am talking about FILTERING WATER

 

[Brewgrrrl]

I am asked about the possibility of adding a filter *to the vacuum line while racking the wine* - to filter the WINE. That does make your first answer about this make SO much more sense - I did not think that using charcoal with wine would ever be a good idea!

 

[AlFulchino]

wait a minute Tepe...you got me confused ...(easy to do)

can you restate this for me?
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[Tom]

Damn!


I really messed up on this question


MY BAD !

Sorry

 

[Tom]

I just read using a "whole house filter" and didnt read the whole message.
Call it jumping to conclusions !
I really need to answer when I'm not dringing...

 

[grapeman]

The filters I use are a cartridge type filter made out of a clothy sort of material-not really cloth but I don't know how to describe it. The .45micron filters are a form of paper though. I will go browse and find the type of filter for you.


I do like Deans idea of a membrane filter though. That would give a better sterile filtration.


Here you go
http://www.omni-water-filters.org/RCwholehouse.htm


look at the RS2 cartridges


Edit:
That isn't quite it either. I will see if I can look it up after checking my brand in the morning.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Aha! Thanks, Appleman! If your brand is a little different, I'd like to know so I can comparison-shop. Is your filter the same type as the "whole house sediment filter systems" I've seen?

Edit: these filters don't seem to go down to even 1 micron, let alone .5 or less... ?

 

[grapeman]

Like I said before, I will check in the morning. I have 5,2, and 1 micron filters and then the .45 micron filter. Yes they do come that small.

 

[Wade E]

Here is a filter that will sterile filter for your whole house filter system. This 1 is .35 micron but maybe appleman has found 1 cheaper.
http://valleyvintner.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&amp;Product_Code=WE-30-4855&amp;Category_Code=PF

 

[grapeman]

That's the one I got. I tried to ID it to find cheaper but couldn't for that one.The others had a label on, so I sourced more elsewhere a lot cheaper.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Oh, if only I was making giant vats of delicious wine that would make such a "not recommended for re-use" filter make sense... (sigh)... Obviously, I need to get some bigger fermenters...

 

[grapeman]

I rarely use those filters brewgrrl since they are for sterile filtering. The 1 micron filters work great and make the wine sparkle, but they just aren't sterile filtering capacity.