Mityvac?

[ssteph2747]

Soo....I'm a total GIRL and have no idea how a Mityvac would work on a carboy - can someone please enlighten me as to the mechanics of a mityvac? Is there a better, comparably priced object I could use? I don't want to spend tons of money on a Gomco aspirator or whatever. I currently have a Whip, but I don't think I'm using it right (I was certainly agitating it toooooo much - fortunately I put extra campden in).

 

[Green Mountains]

Steph,

I recently purchased a MityVac for $50. It wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. I had to pump and pump to get the vacuum pressure up to an acceptable level. I probably just had a bad connection somewhere (leak) but never found it.

Being an impulsive individual, I found a Gomco (used) on ebay soon after and got it for $50, 25 more to ship.

GREAT DEAL and an AWESOME product.

Basically you hook the vac device to a bung with a hole in it or better yet they sell orange carboy caps that have holes in. They are a better solution as they go OVER the carboy opening rather than in.

Once you make a vacuum in the carboy to an acceptable psi....the CO2 will bubble right to the top. Keep that up until the bubbling stops and you are essentially degassed.

As I write these we are drinking a red that we bottled two years ago BEFORE I knew a lot about degassing. The CO2 is present, and while not that big a thing...certainly detectable.

Let us know what you decide on, or ask more questions. Many people here have been doing this much longer than I have so others can give your further direction I'm sure.

Darren

 

[Wade E]

Here are some pics of how I used to use mine until i bought my electric vacuum pump. these are just a few ways of hooking it up. I would then pump it up till the bubbles are right near the bung and leave it for awhile until the pressure drops down and then pump it again and keep doing that until I was able to hold a vacuum of around 18" for 1/2 an hour. I used a drill mounted stirrer first though to get most of the gas out.

 

[ssteph2747]

Thank you both for the input. I'm still a ways off from upgrading, so all opinions count! (This hobby really lightens my wallet....)

 

[Lurker]

You home vacuum cleaner will work just as well. Put a cork with a hole in it in the hose end. It should be enough vac. to do the job.

 

[Green Mountains]

damn....that would work. noisy, but effective

 

[NSwiner]

ssteph2747 have you watched any of the videos on Youtube of people using different things to degas with Its a good way to see how they work and if it's something you might like to try .

 

[ssteph2747]

NSwiner, I didn't even think about youtube. I more of a reader than a watcher (visual versus auditory learning style, blah blah). But that's a great suggestion. I'll check it out!

 

[Runningwolf]

Mityvac will turn you into Mity Mouse with Popeye forearms. It does work though.

 

[ssteph2747]

Well, to prevent me from looking like a Mouse with Popeye forearms, I could just get my fiance to use it...he likes spinach anyway

 

[Slyder73]

Using my Mityvac (actually a different brand but same tool) for the first time. I drill degassed first and my white kit still had a smoky haze in it.
I ordered my pump and since yesterday have been pulling to about 22 inches vacuum and the bubbles still come.

Just trying to get an idea of how long or what I should be expecting to degass completely? Is this a days long process at such small vacuum pressures? What have others experienced when drill first then using the Mityvac to finish the job?

 

[Wade E]

I do it over time with that tool. Ill work it some and then leave it on until it drops way down and the next time I go by Ill pumpo it up again. It usually takes me a day of doing that. Ill pump it up to about 22" and in 1/2 an hour if it can hold 16" I consider it done. You hve to have a good seal on everything though for this. If your going by bubbles you have to realize that it will always pull up bubbles so you must watch the size, small ones are C02 and big ones are just the vacuum being drawn through your wine.

 

[Lurker]

I'm not a chemist or anything like that, but I have been told that the small bubbles are SO@ (Sulfur Dioxide) and the big bubbles are CO2 (Carbon Dioxide). Neither is desirable to retain in the wine. Also, I you are degassing, and then adding any form of sulfite, I do believe that you are putting more gas (SO2) in. Someone, feel free to educate me.

 

[Teamsterjohn]

Can you degas a wine more then once? On my first wine kit listed below, the one that im aging now. I already added the sulfite and sorbate like the kit said to do, and then I stirred for 5 minutes like it said. Then added the other 2 items and stirred again for 5 minutes. In a day or 2, I will be racking again, and I now have the wand that goes to my power drill and a mityrac. Can I degas again with both or maybe just use the mityrac to degas it better? I will be adding the 1/4 sulfite in about 6 weeks or so, that is the 3 month mark since I last added sulfite from the kit.

 

[Racer]

Sure you can try and de-gas your wine again. Just do what you said, rack the wine first and then try to de-gas. I'd suggest trying the mityvac first to see if you even need to de-gas the wine further or not. That and pulling a vacuum on the wine wont get O2 into the wine like a wine whip can if you get too trigger happy with the drill.

 

[Wade E]

Aree with racer.

 

[Teamsterjohn]

Thanks guys...