"Oliver King-Smith" > wrote in message
...
> I need a pump for racking my wine out of the barrel. I bought one a few
> years ago that did not work very well (and then broke). I was wondering
> what other people are using, and how much they paid.

For racking from barrel I use inert gas pressure. You need a two-hole
rubber stopper that fits the bunghole tightly. The racking cane goes into
one of the holes. To drain the barrel you slide the cane to the appropriate
depth in the barrel, connect a hose leading to the receiving vessel to the
outside end of the cane, and apply gas (nitrogen or argon) pressure to the
other hole in the bung. Voila! No pumps, no aeration of the wine - in fact
this is the gentlest way there is to move wine around.

A couple of caveats:

DO NOT APPLY EXCESSIVE GAS PRESSURE TO THE BARREL! I usually use about 3
psi. That'll empty a barrel plenty fast. Under no circumstances should you
use more than 5 psi or you risk bursting the barrel and possibly injuring
someone in the process. I've done this for over 20 years with 60 gallon
barrels and never had a problem.

NEVER use counterpressure to rack from a GLASS container! Stainless steel
kegs are OK though.

If the bung isn't tight in the barrel the gas pressure may pop it out. This
is no big deal, but it's a hassle to lose the gas pressure and have to
restart. Holding the bung in place while racking isn't a bad idea.

Do not use CO2 for counterpressure racking unless you like fizzy wine.

I use pumps for moving around wine and juice, but your question was
specifically addressing emptying barrels.

Tom S

Pumps for home winemakers
 

Tom S wrote:
> "Oliver King-Smith" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I need a pump for racking my wine out of the barrel. I bought one a few
>>years ago that did not work very well (and then broke). I was wondering
>>what other people are using, and how much they paid.
>
>
> For racking from barrel I use inert gas pressure. You need a two-hole
> rubber stopper that fits the bunghole tightly. The racking cane goes into
> one of the holes. To drain the barrel you slide the cane to the appropriate
> depth in the barrel, connect a hose leading to the receiving vessel to the
> outside end of the cane, and apply gas (nitrogen or argon) pressure to the
> other hole in the bung. Voila! No pumps, no aeration of the wine - in fact
> this is the gentlest way there is to move wine around.

That's a neat idea. Do you buy or rent the gas cylinder? Is your
stopper just a silcone bung type with 2 holes?

Also for pump usuage what are you using?

Tom S wrote:
> "Oliver King-Smith" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I need a pump for racking my wine out of the barrel. I bought one a few
>>years ago that did not work very well (and then broke). I was wondering
>>what other people are using, and how much they paid.
>
>
> For racking from barrel I use inert gas pressure. You need a two-hole
> rubber stopper that fits the bunghole tightly. The racking cane goes into
> one of the holes. To drain the barrel you slide the cane to the appropriate
> depth in the barrel, connect a hose leading to the receiving vessel to the
> outside end of the cane, and apply gas (nitrogen or argon) pressure to the
> other hole in the bung. Voila! No pumps, no aeration of the wine - in fact
> this is the gentlest way there is to move wine around.

That's a neat idea. Do you buy or rent the gas cylinder? Is your
stopper just a silcone bung type with 2 holes?

Also for pump usuage what are you using?

"Oliver King-Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Tom S wrote:
> > "Oliver King-Smith" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> >>I need a pump for racking my wine out of the barrel. I bought one a few
> >>years ago that did not work very well (and then broke). I was wondering
> >>what other people are using, and how much they paid.
> >
> >
> > For racking from barrel I use inert gas pressure. You need a two-hole
> > rubber stopper that fits the bunghole tightly. The racking cane goes
into
> > one of the holes. To drain the barrel you slide the cane to the
appropriate
> > depth in the barrel, connect a hose leading to the receiving vessel to
the
> > outside end of the cane, and apply gas (nitrogen or argon) pressure to
the
> > other hole in the bung. Voila! No pumps, no aeration of the wine - in
fact
> > this is the gentlest way there is to move wine around.
>
> That's a neat idea. Do you buy or rent the gas cylinder? Is your
> stopper just a silcone bung type with 2 holes?

I bought the gas cylinder and regulator. (Actually, I have both argon and
nitrogen cylinders. Nitrogen is much cheaper.)

> Also for pump usuage what are you using?

At home I have a Jabsco flexible impeller pump and an Amtek peristaltic
pump. I use the peristaltic for pumping wine containing D.E. because that's
too abrasive for the Jabsco.

At the commercial winery I've been using a 1½ inch air powered diaphragm
pump. Those are really sweet! They're self primimg, don't care about
running dry or at stall, and are quite gentle on the wine.

Tom S

Tom S wrote:
>
> I bought the gas cylinder and regulator. (Actually, I have both argon and
> nitrogen cylinders. Nitrogen is much cheaper.)
>

What size cylinder do you recommend. Some of the regulators look
similar to type I use on the my kegging system. I don't think the
controll is good enough to say I am getting 3PSI. Do you recommend a
particular regulator.

>
> At home I have a Jabsco flexible impeller pump and an Amtek peristaltic
> pump. I use the peristaltic for pumping wine containing D.E. because that's
> too abrasive for the Jabsco.

It looks like for a good food grade pump you need to spend around $500.
Is this a reasonable assumption?

"Oliver King-Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Tom S wrote:
> >
> > I bought the gas cylinder and regulator. (Actually, I have both argon
and
> > nitrogen cylinders. Nitrogen is much cheaper.)
> >
>
> What size cylinder do you recommend.

I use a short one that's the second one down from the full size (~220
liter). It's a couple feet tall, about 5 inches in diameter, and light
enough that I can one-hand it by the neck.

Some of the regulators look
> similar to type I use on the my kegging system.

Those are made for CO2 I believe. That won't work. Airco makes one that
has 2 gauges and a needle valve on the low pressure side. They aren't
cheap, but you might be able to find a used one on e-Bay - and you'll only
need to buy it _once_.

> It looks like for a good food grade pump you need to spend around $500.
> Is this a reasonable assumption?

You should be able to find something reasonable for less than that, but it
depends on the flow rate you need - and that depends on the volume you're
moving.

Tom S

Tom,

Would you be willing to share some specifics on this pump? Is it 1
1/2 TC or 1 1/2 hose ID? Also, does it work for must?

Thanks,
Charlie



>"Tom S" > wrote
>
<snip>
> At the commercial winery I've been using a 1½ inch air powered diaphragm
> pump. Those are really sweet! They're self primimg, don't care about
> running dry or at stall, and are quite gentle on the wine.
>
> Tom S

"PCW" > wrote in message
om...
> Tom,
>
> Would you be willing to share some specifics on this pump? Is it 1
> 1/2 TC or 1 1/2 hose ID? Also, does it work for must?

The fittings are 1½" Tri-Clover. It would not be suitable for must. I
don't know who makes it, but they are made of injection molded plastic and
cost ~$500.

Tom S

If you're going to spend $500 then spend just a bit more and buy a
really nice pump.
Take a look at:
http://www.stpats.com/pumps.htm
We have one of the Euro/30's and it is a 'beaut.
Stainless construction, 1.5hp, self priming, has a bypass valve, and
will pump juice over 10 feet straight up.
This is our work-horse for juice pumping.

Dave Stacy

On 31 Aug 2004 13:54:08 -0700, (PCW) wrote:

>Tom,
>
>Would you be willing to share some specifics on this pump? Is it 1
>1/2 TC or 1 1/2 hose ID? Also, does it work for must?
>
>Thanks,
>Charlie
>
>
>
>>"Tom S" > wrote
>>
><snip>
>> At the commercial winery I've been using a 1½ inch air powered diaphragm
>> pump. Those are really sweet! They're self primimg, don't care about
>> running dry or at stall, and are quite gentle on the wine.
>>
>> Tom S

On 8/29/2004 2:21 AM, Oliver King-Smith wrote:
> I need a pump for racking my wine out of the barrel. I bought one a few
> years ago that did not work very well (and then broke). I was wondering
> what other people are using, and how much they paid.
>
> Any advice appreciated.
>
> Oliver
>

I use the Liverani EP Junior http://www.liverani.com/frame/fra.prod2.htm
Works great, don't remember how much I paid for it.

Steve