Comment on the cost of an AO apparatus ... I agree that this is one of
the more costly items a home winemaker might invest in, but I would
argue that it is also one of the more critical tools in a home winery
.... knowing the SO2 levels helps the home winemaker manage their wines,
and winemaking decisions, such that they can avoid some costly mistakes.

I was able to 'build' a kit for somewhat less than your estimate.
Titration stand, beakers, tubes, etc can all be purchased separately
from any of the better online science supply houses. And rather than
pay for the more expensive vacuum pump, the system can be 'reversed'
and a cheaper aquarium air pump used - as long as all the fittings are
tight it works just fine (and can be demonstrated to do so by
comparative tests with vacuum aspiration kits). Still costs a couple
hundred bucks tho, so your point is well taken.

For my $, investing in an AO appartus ranks along with a top-quality pH
meter, a good TA titration kit, and a paper chromatography set up as
'essentials' in my winery lab.

Now if I could only figure out how to build an accurate ebulliometer on
the cheap!




On 2008-01-25 10:27:01 -0800, Joe Sallustio said:


Measuring sulfite levels for red wines requires both a decent
calibrated pH meter and an aeration oxidation apparatus; that will run
approximately $300 so if you are not looking to jump into that water
it's understandable. Titrettes from Chemetrics work fine on whites
and are relatively cheap.