Anyone using a dewijohn?
- Thread starter NeverDie
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OP
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NeverDie
Well-Known Member
Typo. Demijohn. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Demijo...rds=demijohn&qid=1554916002&s=gateway&sr=8-24
You'd have to drill a hole in the cover for an airlock with the big mouth version. I think the standard necked ones take regular stoppers.
bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
Buckets and big mouth fermenters are great as primaries. There is no issue of too much "headroom" in a primary. The issue is when you use this as a secondary or to age a wine. Then you want as little volume of air above the surface of the wine or mead as is possible. But if you are fermenting fruit or you have a vigorous fermentation, a narrow neck and a bung is (IMO) the last thing you need. A towel to keep out dirt and pets (and kids) is perfectly adequate.
Brett_Bellmore
Me and my better half.
Well, you're right about that, as I learned to my sorrow once trying to make a cantaloupe mead. The foam turned solid and popped the airlock off, and by the time I caught it, the fruit flies were having a feast.
OTOH, that these babies are made of glass is something I find rather attractive. Call me backwards, but glass just has that "Hey, I'm inert, don't worry!" vibe to it.
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NeverDie
Well-Known Member
I like the glass aspect as well. I had a look at a demijohn up close, and it's pretty thick glass, which is a definite plus.
Alternately, Walmart sells a 2.5 gallon glass barrel jar for just $15, so I picked up one of those. Made by Ankor Hocking. The bottom is just flat enough that I can put it on a stirplate.
Blacksmith1
Captain Cheap
Is that the glass pickle barrel?
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NeverDie
Well-Known Member
Blacksmith1
Captain Cheap
Yup. That's it. I was looking at those just a few days ago. I was thinking it would be great for JAOM and similar recipies.
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NeverDie
Well-Known Member
Me too. I've read about people fumbling their 5 gallon glass carboys and getting injurred from the resulting glass shrapnel (not to mention a huge mess), but I think I can probably handle 2.5 gallons without having an accident like that. I figure ferment a two gallon batch and have a half gallon of headroom. That would make it roughly 20 pounds, which is a lot easier to lift (and not drop) than a 40+ pound thing.
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Blacksmith1
Captain Cheap
I was just looking at how easy it would be to get the oranges etc out of it.
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NeverDie
Well-Known Member
Reporting back: On wednesday I received the 4 gallon demijohn. Even fresh out of the box both the glass vessel and the plastic carrier were covered in heavy dirt-like dust--LOL, just like the one at my LHBS, so I assume they simply all arrive that way straight from Italy, if indeed that is where they are actually made.
The glass itself appears to be a green soda lime type glass. It's a thick glass, though it does have some air bubbles in it. I guess the overall thickness may engender enough strength to compensate for the air bubbles. As a whole, the vessel gives the appearance of having been made at the early part of the last century.
Anyhow, I was able to fill it with 165F water without cracking it, and that's good enough for efficiently putting oxyclean to work on it, which is what I did.
Given the price and the free rapid FedEx delivery, and its ability to take some heat without cracking, I have no complaints. I look forward to fermenting my first large sized batch of mead in it.
P.S It did come with a non-airtight lid that fits it, so that's a nice bonus. However, I do need to find an air-tight bung for it so that I can install an airlock on it.
The glass itself appears to be a green soda lime type glass. It's a thick glass, though it does have some air bubbles in it. I guess the overall thickness may engender enough strength to compensate for the air bubbles. As a whole, the vessel gives the appearance of having been made at the early part of the last century.
Anyhow, I was able to fill it with 165F water without cracking it, and that's good enough for efficiently putting oxyclean to work on it, which is what I did.
Given the price and the free rapid FedEx delivery, and its ability to take some heat without cracking, I have no complaints. I look forward to fermenting my first large sized batch of mead in it.
P.S It did come with a non-airtight lid that fits it, so that's a nice bonus. However, I do need to find an air-tight bung for it so that I can install an airlock on it.
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