I broke in my bulldog pup today to rack a barrel of syrah. Things
were going well until near the very end and then the hose started
filling with lees and air, started to shake and then flopped out of
the destination barrel... before I could stop the nitrogen tank, then
hose did a Jackson Pollock number all over the floor and walls (and
me) with purple lees. An hour later and it's all clean. But I
digress.

The real problem however is that I was trying to get all of the lees
out of the source barrel before I racked the wine back in, but I can't
move the source barrel to clean it as there is another barrel that is
stacked on it. So I ended up with a hose with a spray nozle aimed at
the bottom of the barrel, hoping to dislodge the lees with about 5
gallons of water. Then I racked this out. I did it twice and then
racked the wine back in. I think the bulldog pup left a bit of
lees/water on the bottom. Is there a better way?

"Michael Brill" > wrote in message
om...
> I broke in my bulldog pup today to rack a barrel of syrah. Things
> were going well until near the very end and then the hose started
> filling with lees and air, started to shake and then flopped out of
> the destination barrel... before I could stop the nitrogen tank, then
> hose did a Jackson Pollock number all over the floor and walls (and
> me) with purple lees. An hour later and it's all clean. But I
> digress.
>
> The real problem however is that I was trying to get all of the lees
> out of the source barrel before I racked the wine back in, but I can't
> move the source barrel to clean it as there is another barrel that is
> stacked on it. So I ended up with a hose with a spray nozle aimed at
> the bottom of the barrel, hoping to dislodge the lees with about 5
> gallons of water. Then I racked this out. I did it twice and then
> racked the wine back in. I think the bulldog pup left a bit of
> lees/water on the bottom. Is there a better way?

Assuming that moving the barrel is not an option, you need to use a siphon
with a square end and a flexible impeller pump to suck out the stuff at the
bottom. Blast the bottom of the barrel with water from a pistol grip nozzle
and pump it out again. Repeat until the water runs clear and the barrel is
empty.

Also, you're pushing the Bulldog Pup too deeply into the barrel if you're
sucking (blowing?) lees through it. The idea is to separate the wine as
cleanly as possible from the lees.

Tom S