Home made Degassing tool

[shanek17]

hey everyone so I got some batches of wine which are finishing up soon, and I got thinking how im going to degas them; this is actually my first time that I will be trying it since im new to wine making! Im making an apple wine and a red grape wine and thought okay I could degas them by hand, but then I hear others talking about these tools that they stick in their cordless drills to improve the process.

So it got me wondering if anyone has succesfully made their own home made de gassing equipment? Any luck with this , or any ideas ?

 

[Duster]

I tried once to cut and heat up a plastic coat hanger with boiling water and bend it into a shape that would fit in the carboy, this looked just like the ticket but when I put in the drill I found out real quick that it was out of balance and did not last long. mean while the wife is thumping me in the head for sending a plastic missal through the house

 

[Wade E]

Ive heard of people doing this with a few dowels together. Me, Id spend a fw bucks on the stainless steel mixstir. It will last forever and the blades are replaceable for a few bucks when they wear out. After 5 years I replaced the blades and its like brand new again. This being perfectly balanced is much easier on your drill and wont werar out the bearings in your drill like anything off balance will. These are also great for whipping in some 02 into your must and getting it stirred up good so you can get a accurate starting sg unlike when not mixed up well and then over shooting your starting sg.

 

[shanek17]

yea iv seen the plastic de gassers and alot of people were giving it bad reviews because it was leaving plastic in the wine, that may have just been that specific product though, but the metal ones look real nice! I just dont wanna spend 20 - 30$ on that rite now, maybe later on down the road when this hobbie picks up. In the mean time i got creative and tried out a couple different ways to make my own and came up with this guy.

and thats a good point about making sure its balanced in the drill wade.

 

[grapeman]

The plastic pieces in the wine come from the platic degassing tool scraping the sides of the plastic bucket. While your tool may work in a bucket, it will scrape the sides horribly. It also won't collapse to allow it to fit in a carboy. Even if you could, it might break the carboy. It will work, but use caution.

 

[shanek17]

Yea maybe thats why there were the plastic was breaking off for these people, they didnt explain in their product reviews , there just seemed to be alot of ticked off people that bought that product lol.

I have not tried using it in the bucket yet but cant you just keep it rotating in the middle of the bucket without it touching the side ? I will have to try this out sometime with just some water and see what happens.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

That blade you have looks like it might be galvanized metal. Not sure how food grade that might be. Be careful what metals you use.

 

[shanek17]

damn I just read about galvanized metal and they said its not safe for using around beverages or "brewing". But im not sure what kind of metal this tool is.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

I'd guess the bolt part is probably steel but as I said the blade appears to be galvanized. Get a magnet and it will tell you if it's steel or not. It won't tell you if it's galv steel though. If I were you I wouldn't use anything but stainless, aluminum or plastic. Well I guess you could use gold but that will get expensive

 

[grapeman]

That blade you have looks like it might be galvanized metal. Not sure how food grade that might be. Be careful what metals you use.

That was my thoughts also, but I didn't want to sound totally negative about the tool. Good effort, but it has it's problems.

 

[shanek17]

yea i dont know too much about the different metals, but stainless steel sounds nice. Its not like I would be leaving the wine sitting in a galvanized bucket for extended amounts of time; I just want to give it some quick de gassing, but If its not safe its not safe. I guess Ill have to do a bit of reading on it and maybe invest in a good one!

and hey i appreciate the feedback , id rather have good wine then tainted wine !

 

[shanek17]

I just read this on another message board, for anyone interested, the one guy used galvanized steel in his beer batch and was worried he tainted his brew. actually the entire discussion is pretty good, as some of the other members make good points

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/galvanized-steel-wort-dump-batch-243020/


Galvaniced is mostly sink IIRC
having a couple of those beers dayly shouldnt be a big problem but heavy drinking from that batch would probably not be advisable

Zinc coatings on galvanized steel do not hold up well when placed in contact with acidic foods and beverages. The zinc is converted to zinc salts which are readily absorbed by the human body. Excessive levels of these salts can cause headaches, nausea and malaise.

Foods containing citric acid such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit juice should not be in prolonged contact with galvanized steel. Foods containing lactic acid (milk and dairy products), breads, cakes, custard, buttermilk and fermented beverages should come into contact with galvanized steel cooking utensils. They should also not be stored in containers made of galvanized steel. Acetic acid in vinegar, pickles and relish can also cause corrosion in galvanized steel.

Read more: Hazards of Galvanized Steel With Food | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_7367397_hazards-galvanized-steel-food.html#ixzz1L7ja0UjH

 

[DirtyDawg10]

I wasn't meaning to be a party pooper either, sorry if it came across that way. I just wanted to point out that it may not be food safe. I personally wouldn't use it if it is galvanized. That is just one persons opinion though and you should come to your own conclusions.

 

[shanek17]

no not at all dude, I appreciate the feedback and its good to have a discussion about this stuff, as im sure others may have the same questions and concerns.

 

[robie]

I agree with Grapeman. That tool will be no help for a carboy because the end won't swivel. It will seriously scratch up the sides of your plastic primary bucket. Such scratches will end up being homes for all kinds of bad bacteria.

 

[pioneergirl]

I am still on the degassing adventure. I've made the bent coathanger and that really didn't work; I've broken off the back paddle of the long handled spoon (I am putting that in the "didn't work" category) leaving the handle behind in the carboy until next racking. In the meantime I was searching the topic here and a member mentioned that he uses a carboy brush/big bottle brush solely for degassing. I tried this out of the emergency broken handle in the carboy event and it really did a great job bringing bubbles up to the surface.

Only after that did my husband "surprise" me with the other wine stirrer/degasser tool that you attach to a drill. It's long with 2 foldable little flaps at the end. That flick out, perpendicular once you start it up spinning....How well that works I am still not sure, as I had already degassed with the brush at that point. I'll continue to try it, but I have to say that the brush seems, even logically, to be the better tool. It's simple, all those little bristles will attack the little bubbles and send them flying upto the surface with very little effort (a couple of swishes up/down). But, I'd have to agree that you'd want to keep one solely for this purpose alone.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

I forgot to try that out...maybe next time.

 

[OldYamaha]

yea iv seen the plastic de gassers and alot of people were giving it bad reviews because it was leaving plastic in the wine, that may have just been that specific product though, but the metal ones look real nice! I just dont wanna spend 20 - 30$ on that rite now, maybe later on down the road when this hobbie picks up. In the mean time i got creative and tried out a couple different ways to make my own and came up with this guy.

and thats a good point about making sure its balanced in the drill wade.

Here is my bucket degasser/oxigenator. Lowes, $8.00

 

[shanek17]

Here is my bucket degasser/oxigenator. Lowes, $8.00

what the heck is that thing ? it looks like the perfect shape for a de gasser, you just picked it up at a local hardware store? Im thinking of going with one of those long handled carboy cleaners, I heard they are good for degassing, and alot cheaper than buying the OFFICIAL degassing tool .

 

[OldYamaha]

what the heck is that thing ? it looks like the perfect shape for a de gasser, you just picked it up at a local hardware store? Im thinking of going with one of those long handled carboy cleaners, I heard they are good for degassing, and alot cheaper than buying the OFFICIAL degassing tool .

Its a 5 gallon paint mixer. The steel shank is galvinized, but since it is only in contact with the wine/beer for under 1-2 minutes, it sure won't leach anything.
IT DOES churn the mix, so if you degass with it, play around slowly until you get a handle on it, or you'll foam out the top of the bucket(LOL I know!!)