Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I saw
that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
electric drill.
I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone has
some idea how to make one.

> wrote in message
...
> Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
> spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
> saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
> electric drill.
> I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone has
> some idea how to make one.
>
The device I use is Fizz-X. yes it's worth the $20. SS rod with plastic
wings that flip out when placed in the drill (a slow drill I might add). I
use a battery powered drill for this.

I guess you could make one as long as you used stuff you would eat off of.

> wrote in message
...
> Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
> spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
> saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
> electric drill.
> I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone has
> some idea how to make one.

I don't thnk it is worth $20. Go to: http://www.homebrewit.com/aisle/1070
and look at The Whip - Wine Degasser. It is only $6.95, shipping not
included.

But Wait! Go down to your local hardware store and buy a length of
food-grade plastic or an aluminum rod and bend it to the general shape in
the picture of the The Whip. That's what I did. Mine works great.

--
Regards,

Casey Wilson
Freelance Writer
and Photographer

Anyone tried using a vacuum pump for degassing instead? Just a thought....

> wrote in message
...
> Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
> spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
> saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
> electric drill.
> I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone has
> some idea how to make one.
>
>
>

On Apr 10, 11:55 am, "JR" > wrote:
> Anyone tried using a vacuum pump for degassing instead? Just a thought....
>
> > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
> > spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
> > saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
> > electric drill.
> > I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone has
> > some idea how to make one.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Yes, many people do.

http://www.winepress.us/forums/index...te=vaccum+pump

Guy

Might give it a go. I've got a suitable pump, although its probably best not
to do it on a 5 gallon plastic carboy as it will just suck down......

"guy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> On Apr 10, 11:55 am, "JR" > wrote:
>> Anyone tried using a vacuum pump for degassing instead? Just a
>> thought....
>>
>> > wrote in message
>>
>> ...
>>
>>
>>
>> > Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a
>> > stirring
>> > spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
>> > saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to
>> > an
>> > electric drill.
>> > I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone
>> > has
>> > some idea how to make one.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Yes, many people do.
>
> http://www.winepress.us/forums/index...te=vaccum+pump
>
> Guy
>

Definitely don't apply any sort of vacuum to plastic carboys! Even
glass might be dicey but plastic will just collapse and there goes
your wine... running on the floor...

Pp

On Apr 11, 1:47 am, "JR" > wrote:
> Might give it a go. I've got a suitable pump, although its probably best not
> to do it on a 5 gallon plastic carboy as it will just suck down......
>
> "guy" > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
>
>
> > On Apr 10, 11:55 am, "JR" > wrote:
> >> Anyone tried using a vacuum pump for degassing instead? Just a
> >> thought....
>
> >> > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> >> > Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a
> >> > stirring
> >> > spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
> >> > saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to
> >> > an
> >> > electric drill.
> >> > I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone
> >> > has
> >> > some idea how to make one.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> - Show quoted text -
>
> > Yes, many people do.
>
> >http://www.winepress.us/forums/index...E=simpleresult...
>
> > Guy- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Excuse the pun but vacuum degassing a carboy, well... sucks. I don't
think it's worth doing. You almost need to stir the wine while
degassing to liberate the gas; it does not seem to pull all of the gas
out. Other have mentioned loss of aroma too.

Joe

"Definitely don't apply any sort of vacuum to plastic carboys! Even
glass might be dicey but plastic will just collapse and there goes
your wine... running on the floor..."

Hey, you don't go crazy with pumping! You pump only so much that the
wine level goes up close to the bung and then you stop pumping. After
a while, the wine level will go down as CO2 has been released and has
taken the place of the wine. You then stir the wine and use the pump
again or pump and shake the carboy.

I have been using a vaccum pump for many years on a few hundred kits.
In fact, I have many carboys with vaccum rather than airspace and
airlock. Every other day I pump more CO2 out and then lock the
vaccum. I don't care about a change in temperature or pressure, my
wine is not affected as I keep 2 in. of vaccum/CO2 below the bung.

Try it and you will like it as they say.

Guy

On Apr 11, 2:33 pm, "guy" > wrote:
> "Definitely don't apply any sort of vacuum to plastic carboys! Even
> glass might be dicey but plastic will just collapse and there goes
> your wine... running on the floor..."
>
> Hey, you don't go crazy with pumping! You pump only so much that the
> wine level goes up close to the bung and then you stop pumping. After
> a while, the wine level will go down as CO2 has been released and has
> taken the place of the wine. You then stir the wine and use the pump
> again or pump and shake the carboy.
>
> I have been using a vaccum pump for many years on a few hundred kits.
> In fact, I have many carboys with vaccum rather than airspace and
> airlock. Every other day I pump more CO2 out and then lock the
> vaccum. I don't care about a change in temperature or pressure, my
> wine is not affected as I keep 2 in. of vaccum/CO2 below the bung.
>
> Try it and you will like it as they say.
>
> Guy

Guy:

I was really talking about plastic carboys because those were
mentioned in the original posting about vacuum but granted, lot of
this depends on the setup, especially what kind of vacuum pump one
uses. I'm curious about your setup, especially that part about locking
the vacuum - how do you do that?

Thx,

Pp

Cut or break the handle off a bottle brush. A straight one like you use for
wine bottles rather than a bent one used for carboys, and use it with a
variable speed drill. Shouldn't cost more than 2 or 3 dollars asuming you
have the drill.

Ray

> wrote in message
...
> Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
> spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
> saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
> electric drill.
> I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone has
> some idea how to make one.
>
>
>
>

I understand that some people do use vacume but I have not so I am not
speaking from experience. I have read that the vacume would draw off some
of the volitiles that give the wine its aroma. That was enough to stop me.
Vacuming is a shortcut and short cuts usually have negatives.

Actually, I generally do not degas but let time remove the CO2, and it will.
The few exceptions to this are wines that have short lives like many white
kit wines and some juice wines. I have found that Welch's Niagara
concentrate makes an excellent fruity wine but it goes over the hill in 9
months. I sure do not want to wait 6 months for it to degas by itself.

Ray

"JR" > wrote in message
news
> Anyone tried using a vacuum pump for degassing instead? Just a thought....
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
>> spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
>> saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to an
>> electric drill.
>> I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone
>> has some idea how to make one.
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

I'm curious about your setup, especially that part about locking
> the vacuum - how do you do that?
>
> Thx,
>
> Pp- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


I use a Mity Vac vaccum pump, but I do not connect it directly to the
rubber bung. Here is how to do it so that the carboy retains the
vaccum once the pump is disconnected.

1. Cut a piece of a flexible plastic hose about 6 in. in length.
2. Thread that short piece of plastic hose halfway through a white
plastic clip (the one used to shut the flow of wine.
3. Insert one end of the short flexible hose into the hole of the
rubber bung fitted to the carboy.
4. When you want to use the vacuum pump, insert the vacuum pump hose
black tip into the other end of the flexible hose.
5. Pump to extract air from the carboy.
6. clip shut the flexible hose so that the vaccum is kept.
7. Remove the pump/pump hose and black tip from the short flexible
hose.
8. You can then go to the next carboys!

As far as removing aroma when degasing with a pump, you probably loose
some in a shorter time compared to a longer time using TIME to degas.
But how sure are you that it's not the same amount?

Guy
Guy

Ok. Have just started experimenting with vacuum degassing. I found a really
easy way to do it. I found some old "Boots" fermentation locks which had a
large opening in the top, about the size of a wine bottle neck. I fitted
them in a rubber bung into a glass demi. I then got my vacuum "wine saver"
and found that the rubber stoppers were a perfect fit into the fermentation
lock.

I then just sucked a depression and watched the bubbles! One thing to be
aware of is to make sure you have racked off first. Also, I found it best to
use some headspace as a vacuum reservoir, and also not to pump too hard. My
wine-saver makes a click when you achieve the right holding vacuum. It is
possible to just ignore this and keep pumping. I think you could spoil the
wine with too high a vacuum. In the limit, the alcohol will boil off!

I tried pumping one hard on a demi which had not been racked and had 1/2
inch of lees. The entire floor erupted in a very spectacular way, and the
wine was fizzing like the clappers! So much that it filled the headspace and
came through the lock. So I am now proceding which a lower vacuum, stopping
when the indicator clicks.

I have 5 gallons of shiraz that is nearly ready to bottle (having been stirr
degassed conventionally), I think I'll rack that off from the plastic carboy
to 1 gallon glass demi's and give some of it a vacuum degas as well to see
if it pulls any more gas and changes the taste.

John

"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
. net...
>I understand that some people do use vacume but I have not so I am not
>speaking from experience. I have read that the vacume would draw off some
>of the volitiles that give the wine its aroma. That was enough to stop me.
>Vacuming is a shortcut and short cuts usually have negatives.
>
> Actually, I generally do not degas but let time remove the CO2, and it
> will. The few exceptions to this are wines that have short lives like many
> white kit wines and some juice wines. I have found that Welch's Niagara
> concentrate makes an excellent fruity wine but it goes over the hill in 9
> months. I sure do not want to wait 6 months for it to degas by itself.
>
> Ray
>
> "JR" > wrote in message
> news
>> Anyone tried using a vacuum pump for degassing instead? Just a
>> thought....
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Up to now to de-gas the wine, I have been using the handle of a stirring
>>> spoon to stir the wine hard enough to create foaming on the surface. I
>>> saw that you can purchase some stirring device that can be attached to
>>> an electric drill.
>>> I wonder if its worth it to spent $20.00 for this device. May someone
>>> has some idea how to make one.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>