How to degas wine with a home made degassing wand

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Chippy_Tea

Landlord.
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
53,833
Reaction score
20,855
Location
Ulverston Cumbria.
Shaking a DJ to get rid of the CO2 takes time and is a bit of a PITA and using a big spoon to degas 23 litres is a bigger pita.

You can buy degassing wands at most home brew shops or you can make your own they make degassing a two minute job.

Watch click tricks video on how to make a degassing wand from an old coat hanger below.

When using the wand start in forwards for 5 seconds then switch to reverse for 5 and keep doing this for a minute.

This is mine -

(I removed the part i have blacked out in the picture as it made it difficult to get it into the DJ it also works in a FV)


333333333333333-jpg.2687




 
Last edited:
Could i ask what it is made of. Thanks.
Its a plastic coat hanger.



Edit 5/7/24 to add -
(nearly 10 years later)

After a few years my home made coat hanger degasser broke so i replaced it with a stainless steel one which i bought from a home brew shop -


1720189151095.png
 
Last edited:
Thanks chippy, i love making things my self, i am a very enthusiastic DIY'r, i can turn my hand to just about anything. Could i ask how you bend it? The coat hangers i have are made of brittle plastic. Is it a wire coat hanger with a plastic coating?

I have just been to aldi to buy a pipe bender to make my own wort chiller but it will only bend pip through through 180 degrees, so its a no hope'r. I'm just wondering if i can make a square chiller, i wouldn't have thought that the shape mattered, be it round or square. as long as the cold water flows through it. I'l give it a go at some point.

Does any one know how it actually removes the gas?
 
I boiled some water in the tallest pan we have then dipped the coat hanger in and used pliers to bend it, i found running it under a cold tap when the bend was where i wanted it saved a lot of time.
 
Last edited:
I boiled some water in the tallest pan we have then dipped the coat hanger in and used pliers to bend it, i found running it under a cold tap each time the bend was where i wanted it to be saved a lot of time.

If i can find a suitable coat hanger i'll be giving it a go, Thanks for the info chippy. :p
 
Finding round coat hangers can be difficult, i imagine D.I.Y shops would sell something that could be used instead.
 
I did this last weekend, I was super lazy though and did not even bend the coat hanger. I started the drill slowly and gradually built up speed, this prevented it from being too whippy and snapping, it worked an absolute treat.
 
I tried the vacuum cleaner method he mentioned, and no success.
I will follow kit instructions (doesnt mention degassing, only agitation during clearing) and see how it goes.
Dont have a drill so cant use the other method...
 
I did this last weekend, I was super lazy though and did not even bend the coat hanger. I started the drill slowly and gradually built up speed, this prevented it from being too whippy and snapping, it worked an absolute treat.

Don't do it in one direction only as it ends up like a vortex, this is more likely introduce air rather than remove the CO2, i find 5 seconds in one direction before switching to the opposite direction for 5 seconds works best.
Don't overfill your DJ when you start the wine, i fill to the bottom of the shoulder and top up after racking and degassing.
 
Last edited:
Another way is have two small buckets once stableized and finings sorted syphon into a bucket and then poor into 2nd bucket half dozen times then back into a clean DJ
Only know that as i got a wine kit which had wine and equipment came with two buckets
 
I now use a cigarette lighter to warm the plastic then bend it and run it under a cold tap to fix it in position, much faster then using boiling water.
 
Last edited:
I now use a cigarette lighter to warm the plastic then bend it and run it under a cold tap to fix it in position, much faster then using boiling water..

Good idea but I'm guessing I will have to be restrained with the lighter otherwise I am bound to melt and burn the plastic.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just bought 2 coat hangers from ebay for £1.50 including postage. They looked suitable in the images so fingers crossed they will be ok.
 
Back
Top