Vacdegassing: Spinoff has anyone imploded a carboy

[ScubaDon]

Jobe,
Have you been able to find a bung small enough to fit into a wine bottle. Yesterday at our local store he didn't have any that small.
Don

 

[Wade E]

#2 Scuba!

 

[ScubaDon]

Man!, I thought I was #1!!!
I guess the store in Durham just didn't have any.

 

[jobe05]

Wade's right Scuba, it's a #2. I have an assortment of many sizes laying around (on a peg board) so that I can put wine in anything and be able to put an airlock on it, and if I can't, I keep 2 wine glases hanging there as well...........


I went to my local brew shop also yesturday. All summer it has been hard getting in and out of his store due to his expanding his store. Now I finally go there and the new section is all beer, and the old section of the store hasn't changed at all, except he has taken some of the wine making supply area and turned it into beer making supplies.


So here we have George, Older, more refined with a good business sense, getting rid of beer and and sticking with what he knows best. Then we have a young man who is taking over Dad's wine store and wants to get out of wine and wine making to only handle beer and beer supplies............ Go figure.Edited by: jobe05

 

[Wade E]

Hey Scuba, check this out!



Here at finevinewines.com, we have 14 sizes of bungs
(rubber stoppers) for your wine making needs. If you are
not sure which one you need, use the table below to find
the right bung.


<table ="tableNew" align="center" border="2" bordercolor="#0033cc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100">

<t><tr ="#ffff00">
<td> <div align="center">Bung Size</td>
<td> <div align="center">Bottom Diameter (cm)</td>
<td> <div align="center">Top Diameter (cm)</td>
<td> <div align="center">Avg. Diameter (cm)</td>
<td> <div align="center">Avg. Diameter (in.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">2</td>
<td><div align="right">1.6</td>
<td><div align="right">1.9</td>
<td><div align="right">1.75</td>
<td><div align="right">11/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">3</td>
<td><div align="right">1.8</td>
<td><div align="right">2.2</td>
<td><div align="right">2</td>
<td><div align="right">13/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">5.5</td>
<td><div align="right">2.4</td>
<td><div align="right">2.8</td>
<td><div align="right">2.6</td>
<td><div align="right">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">6</td>
<td><div align="right">2.7</td>
<td><div align="right">3.2</td>
<td><div align="right">2.95</td>
<td><div align="right">1-3/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">6.5</td>
<td><div align="right">2.8</td>
<td><div align="right">3.4</td>
<td><div align="right">3.1</td>
<td><div align="right">1-1/4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">7</td>
<td><div align="right">3</td>
<td><div align="right">3.8</td>
<td><div align="right">3.4</td>
<td><div align="right">1-5/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">7.5</td>
<td><div align="right">3.1</td>
<td><div align="right">3.9</td>
<td><div align="right">3.5</td>
<td><div align="right">1-3/8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">8</td>
<td><div align="right">3.3</td>
<td><div align="right">4.1</td>
<td><div align="right">3.7</td>
<td><div align="right">1-7/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">8.5</td>
<td><div align="right">3.6</td>
<td><div align="right">4.3</td>
<td><div align="right">3.95</td>
<td><div align="right">1-9/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">9.5</td>
<td><div align="right">3.8</td>
<td><div align="right">4.6</td>
<td><div align="right">4.2</td>
<td><div align="right">1-5/8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">10</td>
<td><div align="right">4.3</td>
<td><div align="right">5</td>
<td><div align="right">4.65</td>
<td><div align="right">1-13/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">10.5</td>
<td><div align="right">4.5</td>
<td><div align="right">5.3</td>
<td><div align="right">4.9</td>
<td><div align="right">1-15/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">11</td>
<td><div align="right">4.9</td>
<td><div align="right">5.6</td>
<td><div align="right">5.25</td>
<td><div align="right">2-1/16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="right">11.5</td>
<td><div align="right">5</td>
<td><div align="right">6.3</td>
<td><div align="right">5.65</td>
<td><div align="right">2-1/4</td>
</tr>
</t>
</table>




Here are several comments that might also help.

1. The multi-size stopper (#2235) and the #6.5 fit all
   of the carboys we sell.
2. The #6 works well with the glass jugs.
3. The #2 and #3 fit standard wine bottles.

 

[Coaster]

I use the vacuvin and a carboy cap. Place a vacuvin stopper over the bigger hole in the cap (which is over the carboy opening) and pull a vacuum with the vacuvin.


http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=4317


http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=14604

 

[rshosted]

I have one of those and it works pretty well, though can be a workout on the arm

Does anyone know how many inch lbs the Vacuvin pulls?

 

[Dean]

I can get up to 17 or 18" with the vacuvin. I broke my plastic mityvac handle a while ago. Luckily, replacements can be found for as little as $2 per handle. Now I just bulk age about 1 year and the gas problem goes away.

 

[PeterZ]

I have one of those brake bleeder kits, too. $24 at Autozone. Can't use it for wine, though. Already used it on the brakes!!

While it is not necessary to use the little brake fluid catcher bottle, it is not a bad idea. That way, if it foams up fast on you, the wine bubbles will stay in the bottle, and not get into the pump.

All-in-all, though, I must say I am really satisfied with the whip. Since it has a stopper attached, air won't get into the carboy. I got fully degassed to my (and the clarifying agents in the kit) satisfaction in about 10 minutes. 30 seconds in one direction, 30 seconds in the other. Repeat every other minute until no more gas rises.

The drawback to vacuum degassing is that it takes time to pull the gas from the bottom of the carboy. The only thing at work is diffusion, which is slow.

Vacuum is dandy, but agitation is quicker. (OK, it doesn't rhyme!)

 

[Wade E]

Question Peter, If it has a stopper attached, how does the gas get out?
Yes the vacuum seams a little slower but I think the combo works real
well, better than just the drill attachment as I went to town on the
black Currant and went through 2 18 volt batteries and a good amount of
time and the vac. really finished it off nice!

 

[PeterZ]

Wade, the stopper is hard palstic and doesn't seal well. I think it is mostly there to keep the shaft centered. I used my el-cheapo 9.6v drill and didn't wear out the battery. I will admit, though, that it did sit in the secondary from 11/15 - 12/4. I then racked into another carboy (sucking up lots of solids - no tip on the racking cane) before using the whip, so I imagine a lot of degassing took place as I racked.

Two weeks after degassing and fining, I had 1/2" of very dense lees on the bottom of the carboy. Racked again, carefully this time, topped up with 500 ml of water, and put in a solid stopper, sealed with electrical tape. (I no longer have a source of Parafilm, which is the greatest sealer.)

I must have done good, because I can detect no floating dust in the carboy, and no deposits on the bottom. I was just looking at it. With the lights out and the door closed I shined a flashlight (3 D cell) across the carboy. No sign of light. Shining it through directly at me, I could see the light, but there was NO light scatter that I could detect. Even with the flashlight down at the bottom (the carboy is up on wedges) it was clear.

 

[masta]

Good job Peter!

and you bring up a very good point about letting the the wine sit in the carboy extra time before degassing.


In my personal opinion one problem with following the schedule supplied by the kit makers is that they are telling you how to get the wine from start to finish and in the bottle ASAP and successfully every time. This isn't always an issue or nor is it wrong but can cause some to have trouble with the degassing stage since you are trying to force a large volume of dissolved CO2 out of your wine. I know from experience as well as other have seen that a completely fermented batch will almost completely degas on it's own over time without doing anything.


The bottom line: If you have trouble degassing your wine and it seems like it takes way too much effort give it an extra week after the fermentation is complete to degas some on it's own and the task should be easier.

 

[Wade E]

I think my problem is that the temp in my basement is very cold right
now. The fermented wines are at 60* and that is probably to cold to do
a good degassing huh? I didnt have this problem that I know of in the
summer.

 

[masta]

Yes that is a problem since a cooler liquid will hold more dissolved gas. Need to bring upstairs so the temp is closer to 70 to degas and then back to the basement.

 

[Wade E]

I need an elevator or a dumbwaiter now. I need to build a new house around my new hobby or just get a new back!

 

[PeterZ]

Wade, you are patient with your wine making. When I made wines 20 years ago I had never heard of degassing. It was not an issue, because the wines sat in a carboy under an airlock long enough to degass on their own.

Time heals all.