On May 21, 5:04*pm, "bobdrob" > wrote:
> we've always erred on the conservative side; two thirds of the
> primary/barrel's volume is our headspace rule. *So, the low 20's would be my
> belt & suspenders limit on headspace with grapes. *Coming down to the
> basement at 5:30 AM in my pjammies & finding "must overboard" isn't a
> pleasant way to start my day... We've never just juiced it, so no experience
> there. *just MHO * regards, *bob
>
> "Wayne Harris" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > Well, I just invested in four 32-gallon Brute barrels that will serve
> > as my primaries.
> > Today i am testing my new diaphram pump from Morewine, and marking my
> > barrels for volume.
>
> > And generally playing in my wine cellar. * * *:-)
>
> > My plan was to use them to hold 25 gallons of juice each. *But in
> > filling them with 25 gallons of water, I noticed that i only have
> > about 6 inches of headspace. *The barrel is about 20 inches in
> > diameter. I would esitmate that the proportion of wine in the barrel
> > is about 85% full. *This gives me only 4.3 cuft of headspace.
>
> > Depending on fermentation rates, 80% full 5-gallon buckets can get
> > full when full-on fermentation.
>
> > Having never fermented this large of a batch, i don't know what to
> > expect.
>
> > Is this too little headspace? *Should i back it down to 20 gallons?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Oh yeah. I have overflowed too many primaries, it's messy. I like
2/3 to 3/4 as a rule. I do the same with beer.

Joe