Why carboy?

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theomen723

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Hey all,

I'm just wondering why they say to use a carboy as a secondary fermentor as oppossed to another 5 gallon bucket? Is it the bung and air lock? I have a 5 gallon bucket lid with a hole in it that the air lock fits in.

Why use a carboy?

Thanks.
 
theo,

Oxygen is bad for a wine as it will become oxydized ( off color, bitter). The Carboy allows for little headspace as long as the level of wine is high enough in the carboy such as up around the neck of the vessel.

What you making? Welcome aboard.
 
The two major reasons to use a glass carboy are to minimize the surface area if wine exposed and to allow visual inspection of the wine for amount of sediment, clearing and potential problems. Another debatable reason is long term wine exposure to plastic vs glass.
 
Thanks.

I'm makin' a Chianti. So far everything is goin' well and I'm learnin' a lot. I asked the question about the carboy because I'm c-5/6 quadriplegic (limited hand grip) and I'm havin' trouble taking samples from the carboy. When it was in the bucket testing the SG level was easy. I just put the hydrometer directly in the bucket. You guys have any suggestions? I thought about drillin' a hole about halfway up the carboy and inserting a tap.
 
I have also at times used a piece of thread tied to the hydrometer and lowered into the carboy for a reading - it may be not quite as accurate this way but it's fast and easy.
 
A mini jet filter pump would work for you too but you cant have solids such as stems or oak chips Or the pump will clog the pump
 
not to sound like the hick of the group but..... i use a turkey baster to draw wine out and into a glas for testing....i do not use it for food, only wine, and i steralize it right before use and wash it right after.....was only a buck at the store so very cheap ..... again, i hope i dont sound like the hick LOL!
 

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