Starting to think degassing is an unachievable feat....

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cmybeer

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So we are really struggling with this degassing phase. We've gone through the battery pack on the drill three times now while trying to use the whip thing to degas and there is still pressure building up when we take a sample and shake it up.

Is there something I'm missing? We've tried doing it at the bottom of the carboy, at the top, moving it around.....
It seems like it's getting better, do I just need to keep going?
 
Had same issue with my first batch. Called winexpert. Very good CS. Told me to degas per instructions. 2 minutes. Add clarifier then 2 more minutes. Was told that as long as theres a vortex in the carboy for the 2 min. And again for 2 min. It would be fine. I did this (4min degas) for my second batch of island mist and theres no carbonation. So it did work.
 
I was told by winexpert CS that i now know the difference between CO2 and foam. If you whip too long its foam. She told me that even milk or water will froth/foam he same way (which it will) if whipped. It doesnt mean its CO2.
 
I was told by winexpert CS that i now know the difference between CO2 and foam. If you whip too long its foam. She told me that even milk or water will froth/foam he same way (which it will) if whipped. It doesnt mean its CO2.

But if pressure is building up when a sample is shaken like the OP mentioned, it's not just foam.

+1 to the still fermenting question.
 
Call winexpert 1-888-424-4888 x 241. Linda. She's great. Sent me a word document on how to degas. Great info. There only there m-f
 
My riesling was still puffing in the test vial. She told me it was fine. Prob. Whipped too much. I bottled it on Sat. And it is fine. No carbonation.
 
Have you recently added k meta, k sorbate, or sparkolloid? After I add these I can Degas bubbles all day. Give them time to settle if so. If you haven't then you are probly good, you don't want to take every little bit out. I used to Degas with a wand like that then got a vacuum for degassing. I tried the vacuum on a wine that I was having the same issues as you are and thought the vacuum wasn't working but I had actually did a great Degas with the wand without knowing. I'm guessing you are degassed by now then.
 
I'm nearly certain it's done fermenting. Adjusting for my hydrometer which reads a bit off it was at .995 (I think, I don't want to go get my notes) and it's been in there now for more than the recommended time at a warm temp right near the high end of what they recommended so I'm pretty sure it's done. It is foaming plenty when I do this, just can't get it to stop puffing in the test vial. At this point might just go with it, we've added whatever it is you were supposed to at this step.
 
I used to beat my head against the wall trying to get all the Co2 out of the wine, then I figured out a method that works flawlessly with very little effort. TIME!

Just let it sit and degas itself, best method I have used by far.
 
If you're going to make wine on a regular basis, you might want to go with vacuum degassing. I bought a brake bleeder pump from Harbor Freight Tools for something like $30. Been using it for over 5 years now without problem. I simply attach the vac pump to a piece of racking hose that is inserted into a drilled rubber stopper. Put this on the carboy and vacuum out the air. I take mine to around 20 inches of mercury and the CO2 comes out quite easily. Of all the pieces of equipment that I have, I'd have to say that it is the one that has improved my wine the most for the lowest cost.
 
how long could you let it sit under vac? could you put it on say the night before bottling and just leave it? for sure it would degas by the next day. also, i have this exact tool i've used hundreds of times for mechanical reasons. could you elaborate a bit on how to make fittings for the #6 bung and this tool? would appreciate it tons!
 
I too ran into this problem. Wine was in a carboy for 7 months as I tried to degas it regularly. I just gave up last week and bottled. I even bought a glass carboy and used one of those wine saver pumps which didn't pull out any gas at all. I just hope it comes out ok as it was a $150 kit!
I do have another, cheaper kit, but I am reluctant to make it as I don't want to have to deal with another 6 months of degassing! Maybe I might look into getting one of those harbor freight pumps as the stores are all over around here.
 
I don't have the recipe on me, but there's a stabilizing solution that stops fermentation and halts and new fermentation. I know one part is campden.
 
I too ran into this problem. Wine was in a carboy for 7 months as I tried to degas it regularly. I just gave up last week and bottled. I even bought a glass carboy and used one of those wine saver pumps which didn't pull out any gas at all. I just hope it comes out ok as it was a $150 kit!
I do have another, cheaper kit, but I am reluctant to make it as I don't want to have to deal with another 6 months of degassing! Maybe I might look into getting one of those harbor freight pumps as the stores are all over around here.

If your wine had gas in it the wine saver pump would have pulled it out. Lots of people mistake trapped Co2 for the air bubbles that they whip up when they are degassing. In 7 months a wine would nearly degas itself without any help!
 
+1 (or 2) on the vaccuum if you're really concerned about it. I can use a drill and a whip all day long and still have some CO2, though not to any great detriment. Get as much as you can out within a few minutes and don't worry about the rest.
 
I use the food saver to degas it works great. Just rig a hose to fit into a drilled rubber bung. You could watch it clear as it degases. there is a video on you tube
 
If your wine had gas in it the wine saver pump would have pulled it out. Lots of people mistake trapped Co2 for the air bubbles that they whip up when they are degassing. In 7 months a wine would nearly degas itself without any help!

That is what I thought. Bottled it up and after aging for at least 6 months in bottles, you can still smell the carbonation and almost sweetness when you pop a bottle. Bad enough I can't serve it to my wine friends.
 
Fizz-X or wine whips don't get all the gas out, IMHO the only way to degas wine is time or vacuum. Time is a wildcard, I have found some that even after months are still chalk full of C02 where as others off-gas easily...but I'd say most wines after 9-12 months are perfectly still.

I bought a roll of polyethylene 1/4" tubing, 3/16" barb fittings, 3/8" barb fittings, some adapters and connected them to a vacuum pump.

A break bleeder works fine but you have to keep going back and pumping it up more. A Venturi vac works also but they are painfully loud.
 
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