This fall, due to spouse induced space restrictions, I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne

Wayne Harris wrote:

This fall, due to spouse induced space
restrictions, I am fermenting about 25 5-gallon
buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know
this last year, but appearently we have a
standing "no-barrel" policy in my house)



I feel your pain. Luckily I have two barrels in
the house (basement) but the standing order here
is - no dog in the house.



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining
back into the original bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into
each individual bucket. (less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.



On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris said:

This fall, due to spouse induced space restrictions, I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne

On Apr 22, 5:36*pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:
Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris said:



This fall, *due to spouse induced space restrictions, *I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of the
seeds behind. You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route others
use? I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe

On Apr 22, 6:29*pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
On Apr 22, 5:36*pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:





Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris said:

This fall, *due to spouse induced space restrictions, *I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. *I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of the
seeds behind. *You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route others
use? *I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. *It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. It that is the case, I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, But most trash barrels are
LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

you mentioned liners, i don't know what you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the spouse.

Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 22, 6:29*pm, Joe Sallustio
wrote:
On Apr 22, 5:36*pm, AxisOfBeagles
wrote:





Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a
barrel anyway. What about getting two or
three large plastic fermentation buckets with
lids? Will Mrs. Harris allow that?


http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to
increase risks, and would be terribly
inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris
said:

This fall, *due to spouse induced space
restrictions, *I am fermenting about 25
5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I
did not know this last year, but
appearently we have a standing "no-barrel"
policy in my house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap
individually,draining back into the
original bucket? (More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back
into each individual bucket. (less time
consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of
a pain. *I drain off the free run and scoop out
the cap into the press leaving most of the
seeds behind. *You really can't fill them over
4.5 gallons and mine hold 6.5 gallons
technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear
plastic poly bag route others use? *I don't
know how many pounds you are talking but it
sounds like close to a ton. *It would be a lot
less work and a lot less space. You might have
only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather
than 25 buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic
trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. It that is
the case, I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, But
most trash barrels are LDPE plastic, (not food
grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

Go online to US Plastics. They sell a wide
variety and sizes of HDPE containers that are
excellent for fermentation. Ask them to mail you
a catalog. I bet you will find other things
(toys) that would come in handy for winemaking



you mentioned liners, i don't know what you
mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the
spouse.

On Apr 23, 9:02*am, Wayne Harris wrote:
On Apr 22, 6:29*pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:





On Apr 22, 5:36*pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris said:

This fall, *due to spouse induced space restrictions, *I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.

On Apr 23, 5:51*pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
On Apr 23, 9:02*am, Wayne Harris wrote:





On Apr 22, 6:29*pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 22, 5:36*pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris said:

This fall, *due to spouse induced space restrictions, *I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. *I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of the
seeds behind. *You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route others
use? *I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. *It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. * It that is the case, *I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, *But most trash barrels are
LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

you mentioned liners, * *i don't know what you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the spouse.
- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They sell large plastic food grade inserts here for trash cans but I
am talking about huge clear plastic bags; we called them body bags
because they were 6 feet long... *Industrial supply places sell them.
They are pretty heavy grade plastic.

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I *think* i know what you mean. We call them "contractor bags"
hmmm,,, mental wheels are turning here....

I saw the food grade HDPE primaries on the morewine.com site, they
are perfect. Its just that the shipping costs are outragous.

24 buckets are a little (not much) more expensive, but the shipping
costs are within reason. (And, my poor back can move these around)

I'm really not sure what to do here. I've been thinking about this
for about 6 months, and really, i'm still not any closer to a
decision.

Its funny you know,
I've found a way to make my rather talkitive wife clam up. Sometimes
my wife will ask me over dinner; "You seem distracted honey, what's
wrong?" then I'd say something like "the acidity in this batch is
off, and I'm not sure what to do", or, I need to figure a way to press
next falls grapes better" or I need a better process for monitoring
MLF"
-End of conversation- ;-)

This really is one of those things that i do still ponder, and don't
know exactly how i'm going to proceed.

Wayne,
In fact, the HDPE Brute barrels at lowe's are indeed food grade. I
noticed this when I saw the same barrel for sale in a catalog, and
also at the local wine hobby store. I called brute myself and asked
them. They assured me that the barrels at lowes are the same AND food
grade. The trick is that the only ones that are food grade are gray,
white and yellow ones (I believe). I have a gray one. I put a large
spigot in the bottom.
Marc



On Apr 23, 7:06*pm, Wayne Harris wrote:
On Apr 23, 5:51*pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:





On Apr 23, 9:02*am, Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 22, 6:29*pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 22, 5:36*pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris said:

This fall, *due to spouse induced space restrictions, *I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. *I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of the
seeds behind. *You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route others
use? *I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. *It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. * It that is the case, *I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, *But most trash barrels are
LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

you mentioned liners, * *i don't know what you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the spouse.
- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They sell large plastic food grade inserts here for trash cans but I
am talking about huge clear plastic bags; we called them body bags
because they were 6 feet long... *Industrial supply places sell them.
They are pretty heavy grade plastic.

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I *think* i know what you mean. *We call them "contractor bags"
hmmm,,, *mental wheels are turning here....

I saw the food grade HDPE primaries on the morewine.com *site, *they
are perfect. Its just that the shipping costs are outragous.

24 buckets are a little (not much) more expensive, *but the shipping
costs are within reason. *(And, my poor back can move these around)

I'm really not sure what to do here. *I've been thinking about this
for about 6 months, and really, *i'm still not any closer to a
decision.

Its funny you know,
I've found a way to make my rather talkitive wife clam up. * Sometimes
my wife will ask me over dinner; * "You seem distracted honey, what's
wrong?" *then I'd say something like "the acidity in this batch is
off, and I'm not sure what to do", or, I need to figure a way to press
next falls grapes better" or I need a better process for monitoring
MLF"
-End of conversation- * *;-)

This really is one of those things that i do still ponder, and don't
know exactly how i'm going to proceed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

A food grade barrel will say so on the bottom somewhere. It's usually
accompanied by the NSF logo (National Sanitation Foundation.) NSF is to food
handling products as UL is to electrical. We chefs & bakers have long used
Brutes for food storage. Your local restaurant supplier ought to carry food
grade barrels in sizes from 10 gals. up to 55's. HTH. regards, bob.


wrote in message
...
Wayne,
In fact, the HDPE Brute barrels at lowe's are indeed food grade. I
noticed this when I saw the same barrel for sale in a catalog, and
also at the local wine hobby store. I called brute myself and asked
them. They assured me that the barrels at lowes are the same AND food
grade. The trick is that the only ones that are food grade are gray,
white and yellow ones (I believe). I have a gray one. I put a large
spigot in the bottom.
Marc



On Apr 23, 7:06 pm, Wayne Harris wrote:
On Apr 23, 5:51 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:





On Apr 23, 9:02 am, Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 22, 6:29 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 22, 5:36 pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What
about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids?
Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and
would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris
said:

This fall, due to spouse induced space restrictions, I am
fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know
this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy
in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the
original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual
bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of
the
seeds behind. You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route
others
use? I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. It that is the case, I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, But most trash barrels are
LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

you mentioned liners, i don't know what you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the spouse.
- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They sell large plastic food grade inserts here for trash cans but I
am talking about huge clear plastic bags; we called them body bags
because they were 6 feet long... Industrial supply places sell them.
They are pretty heavy grade plastic.

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I *think* i know what you mean. We call them "contractor bags"
hmmm,,, mental wheels are turning here....

I saw the food grade HDPE primaries on the morewine.com site, they
are perfect. Its just that the shipping costs are outragous.

24 buckets are a little (not much) more expensive, but the shipping
costs are within reason. (And, my poor back can move these around)

I'm really not sure what to do here. I've been thinking about this
for about 6 months, and really, i'm still not any closer to a
decision.

Its funny you know,
I've found a way to make my rather talkitive wife clam up. Sometimes
my wife will ask me over dinner; "You seem distracted honey, what's
wrong?" then I'd say something like "the acidity in this batch is
off, and I'm not sure what to do", or, I need to figure a way to press
next falls grapes better" or I need a better process for monitoring
MLF"
-End of conversation- ;-)

This really is one of those things that i do still ponder, and don't
know exactly how i'm going to proceed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Apr 24, 8:11 am, "bobdrob" wrote:
A food grade barrel will say so on the bottom somewhere. It's usually
accompanied by the NSF logo (National Sanitation Foundation.) NSF is to food
handling products as UL is to electrical. We chefs & bakers have long used
Brutes for food storage. Your local restaurant supplier ought to carry food
grade barrels in sizes from 10 gals. up to 55's. HTH. regards, bob.

wrote in message

...
Wayne,
In fact, the HDPE Brute barrels at lowe's are indeed food grade. I
noticed this when I saw the same barrel for sale in a catalog, and
also at the local wine hobby store. I called brute myself and asked
them. They assured me that the barrels at lowes are the same AND food
grade. The trick is that the only ones that are food grade are gray,
white and yellow ones (I believe). I have a gray one. I put a large
spigot in the bottom.
Marc

On Apr 23, 7:06 pm, Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 23, 5:51 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 23, 9:02 am, Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 22, 6:29 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 22, 5:36 pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What
about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids?
Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and
would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris
said:

This fall, due to spouse induced space restrictions, I am
fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know
this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy
in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the
original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual
bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of
the
seeds behind. You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route
others
use? I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. It that is the case, I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, But most trash barrels are
LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

you mentioned liners, i don't know what you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the spouse.
- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They sell large plastic food grade inserts here for trash cans but I
am talking about huge clear plastic bags; we called them body bags
because they were 6 feet long... Industrial supply places sell them.
They are pretty heavy grade plastic.

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I *think* i know what you mean. We call them "contractor bags"
hmmm,,, mental wheels are turning here....

I saw the food grade HDPE primaries on the morewine.com site, they
are perfect. Its just that the shipping costs are outragous.

24 buckets are a little (not much) more expensive, but the shipping
costs are within reason. (And, my poor back can move these around)

I'm really not sure what to do here. I've been thinking about this
for about 6 months, and really, i'm still not any closer to a
decision.

Its funny you know,
I've found a way to make my rather talkitive wife clam up. Sometimes
my wife will ask me over dinner; "You seem distracted honey, what's
wrong?" then I'd say something like "the acidity in this batch is
off, and I'm not sure what to do", or, I need to figure a way to press
next falls grapes better" or I need a better process for monitoring
MLF"
-End of conversation- ;-)

This really is one of those things that i do still ponder, and don't
know exactly how i'm going to proceed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well, if you can go bigger and don't need a liner, all the better.
You can keep more of the heat of fermentation in a bigger barrel and
pull a little more color than using the 5's. We can buy used food
grade barrels here. I would rather punch down 3 or 4 barrels than
25.... You could built a platform to raise them up but most people
use a bucket to pull it over to the press.

Joe

Joe

On Apr 24, 8:11*am, "bobdrob" wrote:
A food grade barrel will say so on the bottom somewhere. It's usually
accompanied by the NSF logo (National Sanitation Foundation.) NSF is to food
handling products as UL is to electrical. *We chefs & bakers have long used
Brutes for food storage. *Your local restaurant supplier ought to carry food
grade barrels in sizes from 10 gals. up to 55's. * HTH. * regards, *bob.

wrote in message

...
Wayne,
In fact, the HDPE Brute barrels at lowe's are indeed food grade. *I
noticed this when I saw the same barrel for sale in a catalog, and
also at the local wine hobby store. *I called brute myself and asked
them. *They assured me that the barrels at lowes are the same AND food
grade. *The trick is that the only ones that are food grade are gray,
white and yellow ones (I believe). *I have a gray one. I put a large
spigot in the bottom.
Marc

On Apr 23, 7:06 pm, Wayne Harris wrote:



On Apr 23, 5:51 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 23, 9:02 am, Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 22, 6:29 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Apr 22, 5:36 pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment Cab in a barrel anyway. What
about
getting two or three large plastic fermentation buckets with lids?
Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me only to increase risks, and
would
be terribly inefficient from a time / work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne Harris
said:

This fall, due to spouse induced space restrictions, I am
fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know
this
last year, but appearently we have a standing "no-barrel" policy
in my
house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap individually,draining back into the
original
bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press as one
evenly divide up the resulting juice back into each individual
bucket.
(less time consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a bit of a pain. I drain off
the free run and scoop out the cap into the press leaving most of
the
seeds behind. You really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons and mine
hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel, clear plastic poly bag route
others
use? I don't know how many pounds you are talking but it sounds like
close to a ton. It would be a lot less work and a lot less space.
You might have only 3 55 gallon barrels to deal with rather than 25
buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large plastic trash barrels should not
be used for Primary Fermentation. It that is the case, I am happy
to run down to Lowes and pick a couple up, But most trash barrels are
LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I am worried about the must picking
up smells.

you mentioned liners, i don't know what you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to the spouse.
- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They sell large plastic food grade inserts here for trash cans but I
am talking about huge clear plastic bags; we called them body bags
because they were 6 feet long... Industrial supply places sell them.
They are pretty heavy grade plastic.

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I *think* i know what you mean. We call them "contractor bags"
hmmm,,, mental wheels are turning here....

I saw the food grade HDPE primaries on the morewine.com site, they
are perfect. Its just that the shipping costs are outragous.

24 buckets are a little (not much) more expensive, but the shipping
costs are within reason. (And, my poor back can move these around)

I'm really not sure what to do here. I've been thinking about this
for about 6 months, and really, i'm still not any closer to a
decision.

Its funny you know,
I've found a way to make my rather talkitive wife clam up. Sometimes
my wife will ask me over dinner; "You seem distracted honey, what's
wrong?" then I'd say something like "the acidity in this batch is
off, and I'm not sure what to do", or, I need to figure a way to press
next falls grapes better" or I need a better process for monitoring
MLF"
-End of conversation- ;-)

This really is one of those things that i do still ponder, and don't
know exactly how i'm going to proceed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just got back from Lowes. The Brute 44 Gallon gray barrels are
LDPE.
They were the only ones there. I will look online...

Wayne Harris wrote:

On Apr 24, 8:11*am, "bobdrob"
wrote:
A food grade barrel will say so on the bottom
somewhere. It's usually accompanied by the NSF
logo (National Sanitation Foundation.) NSF is
to food handling products as UL is to
electrical. *We chefs & bakers have long used
Brutes for food storage. *Your local restaurant
supplier ought to carry food grade barrels in
sizes from 10 gals. up to 55's. * HTH. *
regards, *bob.

wrote in message


...
Wayne,
In fact, the HDPE Brute barrels at lowe's are
indeed food grade. *I noticed this when I saw
the same barrel for sale in a catalog, and also
at the local wine hobby store. *I called brute
myself and asked them. *They assured me that
the barrels at lowes are the same AND food
grade. *The trick is that the only ones that
are food grade are gray, white and yellow ones
(I believe). *I have a gray one. I put a large
spigot in the bottom. Marc

On Apr 23, 7:06 pm, Wayne Harris
wrote:



On Apr 23, 5:51 pm, Joe Sallustio
wrote:

On Apr 23, 9:02 am, Wayne Harris
wrote:

On Apr 22, 6:29 pm, Joe Sallustio
wrote:

On Apr 22, 5:36 pm, AxisOfBeagles
wrote:

Neither?

I don;t think you'd want to ferment
Cab in a barrel anyway. What about
getting two or three large plastic
fermentation buckets with lids? Will
Mrs. Harris allow that?


http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/19680/103207

Fermenting 5 small lots seems to me
only to increase risks, and would
be terribly inefficient from a time /
work point of view.

On 2008-04-22 13:19:31 -0700, Wayne
Harris
said:

This fall, due to spouse induced
space restrictions, I am fermenting
about 25 5-gallon buckets of
Cabernet Sauvignon. (I did not know
this last year, but appearently we
have a standing "no-barrel" policy
in my house)



I am thinking about Pressing

Would it be better to:

Press each bucket's cap
individually,draining back into the
original bucket?
(More time consuming)

Collect up all the caps, and press
as one evenly divide up the
resulting juice back into each
individual bucket. (less time
consuming)

thanks. -Wayne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wayne,
I ferment in 6 gallon pails and it is a
bit of a pain. I drain off the free run
and scoop out the cap into the press
leaving most of the seeds behind. You
really can't fill them over 4.5 gallons
and mine hold 6.5 gallons technically.

Why not go the large trash barrel,
clear plastic poly bag route others
use? I don't know how many pounds you
are talking but it sounds like close to
a ton. It would be a lot less work and
a lot less space. You might have only 3
55 gallon barrels to deal with rather
than 25 buckets.

Joe- Hide quoted text

- Show quoted text -

I was under the impression that large
plastic trash barrels should not be used
for Primary Fermentation. It that is the
case, I am happy to run down to Lowes and
pick a couple up, But most trash barrels
are LDPE plastic, (not food grade) and I
am worried about the must picking up
smells.

you mentioned liners, i don't know what
you mean by a a liner.

(I could sell a stackable "trash" can to
the spouse. - Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They sell large plastic food grade inserts
here for trash cans but I am talking about
huge clear plastic bags; we called them
body bags because they were 6 feet long...
Industrial supply places sell them. They
are pretty heavy grade plastic.

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I *think* i know what you mean. We call them
"contractor bags" hmmm,,, mental wheels are
turning here....

I saw the food grade HDPE primaries on the
morewine.com site, they are perfect. Its just
that the shipping costs are outragous.

24 buckets are a little (not much) more
expensive, but the shipping costs are within
reason. (And, my poor back can move these
around)

I'm really not sure what to do here. I've
been thinking about this for about 6 months,
and really, i'm still not any closer to a
decision.

Its funny you know,
I've found a way to make my rather talkitive
wife clam up. Sometimes my wife will ask me
over dinner; "You seem distracted honey,
what's wrong?" then I'd say something like
"the acidity in this batch is off, and I'm
not sure what to do", or, I need to figure a
way to press next falls grapes better" or I
need a better process for monitoring MLF"
-End of conversation- ;-)

This really is one of those things that i do
still ponder, and don't know exactly how i'm
going to proceed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just got back from Lowes. The Brute 44 Gallon
gray barrels are LDPE.
They were the only ones there. I will look
online...

Check out
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/def...ookie%5Ftest=1

They will also send you a print catalog.
They have a LOT of HDPE products and a lot of
different items. I have had good service with
them and they ship VERY promptly. They have
technical people that can handle your questions
and tell you exactly which products are suitable
for making wine if you should have any questions.
The print catalog also lists the specs for each
product.

I could do without the religious stuff they send
with the order though.