primary size

[StBlGT]

Hello all. I am just starting out and have a primary fermenter at 6.5gal. My question is, if i decide to make a wine kit with grape skins, will this size be enough? Or should i get a 7.9gal fermenter?

 

[Treeman]

If you want to add a lug of crushed grapes to a kit, the Cheapest way to go is two 6.5 gal buckets, then split the fermentation in half once you finish adding water to the juice concentrate. This will give you enough room to form and punch down a cap.

 

[TonyR]

Way to small. Do a search on the web. Look for brute trash cans and find out which ones are food grade. They sell them at Home Depot I forget which colors are food grade. That is what you look up.

 

[StBlGT]

I don't want to add any more grapes/skins, just what is supplied. I am looking at making the 12L rjs grand cru international washington merlot or australian cab kit. I thought a 7.9gal would be enough room for fermentation, no?

 

[TonyR]

If the kit is 12 liters total size then yes. 12 liters is just over 3 gal in size

 

[StBlGT]

Thanks TonyR...i appreciate it! Just out of curiosity, would the 6.5gal be too small, or do i definitely need a 7.9gal? I don't want it to bubble over or anything.

 

[bkisel]

From my experience... You'll want at least a 7.5 gallon primary bucket. Even with that you'll be near the top once you add your skins and you'll need to be careful when stirring and such. For some kits with skins and dextrose mixture to be added on top of the 6 gallons of must you'll want to do your fermentation in something like the 10 gallon Brute bucket.

Good luck!

 

[TonyR]

I like bigger buckets that way when I stir the must every day I don't spill it all over the place. And yes you have to stir it good at least once a day while it is fermenting

 

[StBlGT]

Thanks for the responses everyone! It helped me out a lot!

 

[StBlGT]

I have another quick question. The 6.5gal i have is a big mouth bubbler. Will this still be too small for a white wine batch? I am going to make the rjs international sauv blanc, too.

After the responses, i was going to get another 6.5gal big mouth bubblet to split my red wine kits with skins, but was hoping a 6.5gal will be enough for white wine kits. Thanks!

 

[Johnd]

You can get away with the 6.5 on whites if you have a low foaming yeast, but I still wouldn't risk it. Sometimes when I add nutrients, even a low foaming yeast will foam momentarily. It has more to do with CO2 gas forming on the particles than it does the yeast, but it does happen regularly. Why chance it?

Get a 7.9 gallon fermenting bucket and lid. They're cheap and can be used for all kits that make 6 gallons, red or white, skins or no skins.

 

[StBlGT]

True. I was thinking of the 7.9gal route. This is probably the best way. It is quite weird the wine kit i purchased came with the big mouth bubbler. Seems the 6.5gal really can't be used, maybe for beer, but not wine.....and it was advertised as a wine kit haha. Oh well.

 

[Boatboy24]

For a white wine, it is probably OK, though I'd prefer a little more space, just to be safe. For any red with skins, go with 7.9 gal or larger. As was mentioned up thread, you can get food grade Brute buckets in a 10 gallon size. That might be your cheapest option. (I use 20gal Brutes for my wines from fresh grapes).

 

[richmke]

Here is what you can do with the 6.5 gallon primary:

Sanitize two 1 gallon jugs.
Mix your juice per instructions except for Skins, Yeast, and Oak.
Remove 2 gallons of the juice, and store in the fridge.
Add skins, oak, and yeast per instructions.
When fermentation has slowed (around day 4), add back 1/2 gallon per day.

 

[JohnT]

For what it is worth, my rule of thumb is to have at minimum 30% headspace in my primary.