Marbles, Are these OK?

[FABulousWines]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UJC8JC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

There seems to be at least 4 schools of thought concerning air space in the carboy:
1) Add water
2) Add wine, commercial or from another batch
3) Add marbles or something similar to take up space
4) Rack down to smaller vessels

I've done 1) with the Tropical Riesling. A mistake IMO, because that kit is pretty weak to start with. For the Malbec I did 2) with a commercial wine. It is OK, but the purist in me would rather not blend wines unless that is the intention from the start. I have considered 4) but I am not real fond of keeping track of multiple smaller vessels. So I am considering using the marbles on my next kit. Are these aquarium type marbles OK to use with wine?

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Are they made overseas, think lead and cadmium. One more thing to add to your top up list is a similar alcohol/acid mix, if your finished product is going to be 12% alcohol, make a 12% solution of etoh, if your TA is .65% add acid blend to equal that level, this way you are not diluting the alcohol or acid levels like if you just add water, and you are not poisoning yourself with cadmium and lead with marbles and can still think of it as "pure" from the original ingredients standpoint.

WVMJ

 

[GEM]

You can also get marbles at your local wine making store. they are used all the time to top-up and don't add to the dilution of the wine. I am not sure about the cadmium and lead as WMMountianeerJack indicated, but you might check them out. A number of publications suggest topping-up with marbles.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I am a seasoned pro of 2 months...I could not buy marbles where I live.
I used some 1/2 pvc pipe cut in various lengths, filled with silica sand, and capped..... you can make then as long are short as needed...sometimes the carboy got too full....i just sample the too much.

 

[FABulousWines]

I can't tell much from the online ad. All I can infer is that they are safe for aquarium use. I just check with my LHBS and they don't carry marbles; they are in the "rack down" camp and just want to sell me a 5 gal carboy which I may do at some point.

So let me turn the question around. For those of you who are using marbles, where is a good place to purchase?

 

[FABulousWines]

I am a seasoned pro of 2 months...I could not buy marbles where I live.
I used some 1/2 pvc pipe cut in various lengths, filled with silica sand, and capped..... you can make then as long are short as needed...sometimes the carboy got too full....i just sample the too much.

James, that is an interesting idea.

 

[Chiumanfu]

I got glass gems from the dollar store and tested them with a lead test kit.

Google "leadinspector".

 

[FABulousWines]

I found this link. According to their FAQ they are lead free and otherwise nontoxic. I reckon 1000 marbles ought to tide me over for a bit, LOL.

Ice Clear Crystal Accent Marbles, 12mm, Bulk Bag

 

[ibglowin]

Anyone else noticing quite a few post disappearing from this thread?

 

[FABulousWines]

I did notice that; so maybe I am not going crazy?

 

[Julie]

I did notice that; so maybe I am not going crazy?

Well you maybe crazy but Txbrew was changing servers and lost a few posts. I'm thinking it was his evil way of seeing if anyone was paying attention!

 

[FABulousWines]

Well, for completeness, and to show that I haven't completely lost my mind, somebody (sorry I can't remember who, I may not be crazy, but I do have CRS) posted the following link as another safe source:

Glass Marbles For Topping Up - 3 lbs

 

[saramc]

I know MarbleKing USA carries lead free glass marbles. They can actually talk to you about any marbles they carry.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Thanks Sara, they are right across the state from us. WVMJ

 

[jamesngalveston]

I noticed it also...

 

[dburling]

Well, for completeness, and to show that I haven't completely lost my mind, somebody (sorry I can't remember who, I may not be crazy, but I do have CRS) posted the following link as another safe source:

Glass Marbles For Topping Up - 3 lbs

CRS... Haven't heard that in a while. I suffer from the same disease!

On another point, those that use marbles to top up, can you explain any process you use on the next racking to ensure you don't lose too much wine?

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Its called void space, where there was once air is not marbles with wine in between them that has sediment in it so now they actually may have lot more than they planned on of their original wine instead of just topping off I am using mine to weigh down spice bags not loosing wine to the dreaded void space. WVMJ

 

[seth8530]

I am going to buy me a bag of these marbles for my fermentation this fall!

 

[FABulousWines]

I found this link. According to their FAQ they are lead free and otherwise nontoxic. I reckon 1000 marbles ought to tide me over for a bit, LOL.

Ice Clear Crystal Accent Marbles, 12mm, Bulk Bag

FYI, I was ready to pull the trigger on the above link until I saw where they wanted over $18 to ship and some sort of $1.99 additional charge (for what, I don't know).

I ended up going to eBay at the link below. They are Marble King and should be safe for wine.

1000 (APROX ) "MARBLE KING" 5/8 INCH MARBLES OVER 10.LBS 25.99

That is about the best bargain I could find, but if you do know of another source, please post. It may help someone else down the road.

 

[montanarick]

I got glass gems from the dollar store and tested them with a lead test kit.

Google "leadinspector".

Did your testing come up positive?