As a newbie I started out with one gallon batches. My kit came with a mini siphon and that seems to work ok. I recently purchased a 3 gallon carboy, not realizing my mini siphon would not work for racking. 3 gallon is as big as I can go because that’s all I can lift and I can’t justify buying the all in one pump at this point. I have limited funds and need to get some experience under my belt before I invest any further. Anyone have any tips for me on racking? Do I need to purchase a longer racking cane? Or any tips for a beginner are appreciated!
Tips on racking, please
- Thread starter Newbie Mel
- Start date
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purchase the next size racking cane
The goal of racking is to separate the good wine from the stuff you don’t want to keep. I’ve racked plenty of times with just a hose and gravity. You just need to walk the hose down as the level drops and when it gets down to the last 10%, carefully tip the container on edge to get as much good wine as possible.
You really need a longer racking cane but it doesn't have to be bent. A straight 3/8 or 1/2" OD plastic pipe will work just as well. Then get the proper size tubing and start the siphon by sucking on the tubing. Primitive but it's an inexpensive solution.
I just got a piece of plastic tubing from my local auto parts store ,and fit it over the end of my liquid extractor ( also from an autoparts store $9) I attached a wire the size of coat hanger wire to the bottom.. I used about 6 inches of wire and with cable ties ,also from the auto part store .I tied the wire to the bottom end of my hose , I let about 3 inches of wire protrude so the wire hits the bottom of my carboy ,but not the tubing . This way the clear wine is drawn up, leaving the unwanted sediment on the bottom.. By pulling on the wire I can adjust the length ..
