Using a fine strainer over the siphon?

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Larryh86GT

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When I use my auto siphon racking from the primary bucket to the secondary I still pull up quite a bit of lees even though the siphon is made to not suck up the lees. I been giving it some thought and am going to try using a gold mesh coffee basket, cleaning it well, stick the siphon in it, slid it down to the bottom of the bucket and see how that works. The very fine mesh may be an efficient filter. And I would think I could tilt the bucket and this would keep the lees from being sucked up and I would end up with more wine pulled up. Anyone tried this?
:b

Larry
 
I have a funnel that has a screen in it - and i find it takes forever to do that. There is so much fine sediment that it begins to fill up the funnel faster than the screen can filter it. I have to stop the siphon - clean the screen - and start again.

I just transfer it all over - and siphon of the lees in a few weeks - much quicker.
 
When I use my auto siphon racking from the primary bucket to the secondary I still pull up quite a bit of lees even though the siphon is made to not suck up the lees. I been giving it some thought and am going to try using a gold mesh coffee basket, cleaning it well, stick the siphon in it, slid it down to the bottom of the bucket and see how that works. The very fine mesh may be an efficient filter. And I would think I could tilt the bucket and this would keep the lees from being sucked up and I would end up with more wine pulled up. Anyone tried this?
:b

Larry

I don't bother. I'm xferring to sec so close to the end of ferment, that I'll be racking in a week or so anyway. I always rack off of the first heavy deposit right away.

IOW, I think the initial xfer is too early in the process to give up wine while racking!! :)
 
I agree with Bob. On the first racking from the primary get all the wine you can and don't worry about the extra lees you get. If you keep your primary tilted with a 2x4 under it during fermentation it makes it easier to rack from the high end first then slowly level the bucket as your juice gets lower. I also keep my carboys tilted for the same reason. As your wine ages in the carboys the sediment gets compacted making it easier to do this also.
 
Yup - that is pretty much what i do - i probably get more lees that you guys do in my secondary - but like bob said - i am racking it in about a week anyway.
 
Here's what you do. After fermentation has finished, I pour (splash rack) my wine carefully thru the large funnel with screen. I stop at shoulder level add sparkelloid and carefully fill to neck. The remaining wine I will pour into another carboy and not concerned if I get some of the lees.

After doing several wines and adding the remaining wine to the carboy (or not) I will place it into the refer. with airlock. After a few days the sediment has settled and you can siphon more off.

With the auto siphon start around a few inches from bottom, then as you get closer if you have to lower the tube and raise the carboy with a bung.

If you get a small amount of sediment into the new carboy it's okay.

A month to 6 weeks later when you clear do the samething. If a small amount of lee's follows still not a problem.
 
I actually tried something different yesterday when I moved my SP's over to carboys from the primary...

Had a couple of these:
http://www.gettankedaquariums.com/i....Bag.File/25.Micron.Filter.Bags.Main.Page.htm
Sitting around (unused) from my aquariums. They're food grade...

Cleared it up pretty good - and given they're designed for many thousands of gallons passing through before clogging up... And they're definitely washable/sterilizable :sm

might start hunting around for some finer filter socks, see if I can get a 1micron for final filtering...
 
I was thinking of using one of my mesh bags also but felt it was too large and bulky but it would probably work. I'll give my little mesh basket a try. It's very fine, the siphon would sit in it, I don't think clogging would be an issue. I'm pretty sure I've read on this forum the less lees in your wine the better and if this is easy to do then why not? It seems to run against the grain of what folks do but other than saying they don't do it there doesn't appear to be any valid reason not to. :b
 
I was thinking of using one of my mesh bags also but felt it was too large and bulky but it would probably work. I'll give my little mesh basket a try. It's very fine, the siphon would sit in it, I don't think clogging would be an issue. I'm pretty sure I've read on this forum the less lees in your wine the better and if this is easy to do then why not? It seems to run against the grain of what folks do but other than saying they don't do it there doesn't appear to be any valid reason not to. :b


When that little basket hits the bottom, I bet it stirs up junk you're trying to avoid :)

Seriously, experimentation is part of the fun. You might come up with something really kool that others want to do once they know it works.
 
I was thinking of using one of my mesh bags also but felt it was too large and bulky but it would probably work. I'll give my little mesh basket a try. It's very fine, the siphon would sit in it, I don't think clogging would be an issue. I'm pretty sure I've read on this forum the less lees in your wine the better and if this is easy to do then why not? It seems to run against the grain of what folks do but other than saying they don't do it there doesn't appear to be any valid reason not to. :b

TIME is what you need. You cant rush winemaking. Time will clear your wine.
 
I have found that after racking my berry wine, the sediment that is left in the secondary to be racked again is still too fine to try and filter with a coffee filter. When I rack from the secondary to the carboy the third time, I still just don't worry about the little I loose.
After having my first few batches show up some sediment, I just let it set as long as I possibly can and then leave whats there that needs to be left.
 
I use the tilted carboy but also keep my racking cane above the lees until the vert last second.
 
Now I know some traditional folks out there are not interested but I tried it today and it just may work. It certainly did not hurt anything. Future trials still have to be made. The lees were very fine in this batch but I believe it would help a lot keeping the chunky lees out.

Strainer Pic  9 4 10.jpg
 

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