Degassing my wine

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Eorling

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Hey folks,

I'm thinking of getting some wine on the go as my TC was very enjoyable to make and I can't wait to try it (smells just like Addlestons at the moment mmmm :cheers: .)

Reading around I see that it is neccessary to degass wine when it has fermented - and I think I may have just the right piece of kit! I have a large 70ltr vacuum degassing chamber that I use for resin casting which is my day job. It can degass down to -30 psi and I thought it may just be the ideal thing for degassing wine (I knew it would come in handy for fun as well as work!) So, will it work? Even when I degass water you get quite a bit of air bubbling out, so I suppose it would pull the CO2 out of wine in pretty short order! Its plenty big enough to put a DJ in there, or I could siphon it off into another vessel before I degass it in case it bubbles furously like all my resins do.

What do you think, will it work?

Will.
 
Sounds brilliant to me, absolute genius :thumb:

DJs will not withstand any pressure, positive or negative, but if you're putting the unsealed jar into that chamber there isn't going to be any pressure imbalance between inside and out.

I want one :mrgreen:
 
Yes I wouldn't put a sealed vessel in there, that's a sure recipe for 'splosions. Will it significantly reduce the time it takes for me to make drinkable wine? I hope so :D!

You can pick one up on ebay for £500 or so, bit much for hobby use but my job depends on it - best investment I ever made!

Will.
 
Eorling said:
Will it significantly reduce the time it takes for me to make drinkable wine? I hope so :D!
Proper degassing is meant to significantly reduce clearing time. In my opinion, some people seem to take things to extremes, degassing over a period of a few days, whereas my own wines get a few good shakings over a period of half an hour maximum.

I do wonder though, at what point do you stop shaking CO2 out and start shaking oxygen in? That wouldn't be a concern with your chamber.

I'm not about to spend anything like that sort of money for a proper gizmo, but you have got me wondering how I could contrive something which would do the job for a fraction of the price.
 
Something like a syringe you can replace the fermlock with, pull it out to create slight partial vacuum

Hand-operated mini vacuum pumps on ebay for about 25quid. fit 1/4"ID tubing (or possibly a standard holed bung). 0.8bar
 
Yes there's no way I'd have one if it weren't so important for my regular income, but I'm sure there is a cheaper alternative. With the resin, the small gas pockets only start escaping at around -26 psi, but it it were combined with shaking you could get them out at a higher (lower? :hmm: ) pressure. I'll see how it works out.

Will.
 
Moley said:
Eorling said:
Will it significantly reduce the time it takes for me to make drinkable wine? I hope so :D!
Proper degassing is meant to significantly reduce clearing time. In my opinion, some people seem to take things to extremes, degassing over a period of a few days, whereas my own wines get a few good shakings over a period of half an hour maximum.

I do wonder though, at what point do you stop shaking CO2 out and start shaking oxygen in? That wouldn't be a concern with your chamber.

I'm not about to spend anything like that sort of money for a proper gizmo, but you have got me wondering how I could contrive something which would do the job for a fraction of the price.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQwphCnFdak I tried this when I was visiting my parents. Made them a juice wine and this worked amazingly!
 
Seems like it will work like a charm then! Great! The food saver looks like a much more affordable piece of kit for the job :).

Will.
 
I played around with this idea, not with a compressor but with a hand wine pump.
Initially v excited but then noticed that a vigourous hand shake throws out a LOAD more bubbles.
Sometimes simple is best.
Like the sound of that resin thingy tho
 
stu9000 said:
I played around with this idea, not with a compressor but with a hand wine pump.
Initially v excited but then noticed that a vigourous hand shake throws out a LOAD more bubbles.
Sometimes simple is best.
Like the sound of that resin thingy tho


Yea, I also tried the hand pump, but wasn't too impressed with the amount of degassing it got done in the time it took to use.
 
Be careful it doesn't foam up too much. As the pump will reduce the pressure in no time at all, the co2 will come out in a hurry, so leave a good headspace. But you should get a nice clear wine :D

Bob
 
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