degassing rig

[daugenet]

When I looked into the foodsaver option, I read similar stories. That's why I went in a different direction.

I still believe the a aspirator is the way to go, you can find them new for a little more than a foodsaver, you can rack, bottle and degas with it and it will last forever.

I can't see the foodsaver as a viable long term solution.

Agreed. For 125 you can have this baby delivered to your house!

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Heavy-Suction-Machine/dp/B001ADA5HY/ref=sr_1_19?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1321039195&sr=1-19


I was pleasantly surprised with how quiet it was. Not too different from the food saver.

 

[BryanThompson]

Nope, don't do that.

Why not? I've heard that degassing while the must is still fermenting is a good idea. Why is it not ok to do with a foodsaver?

 

[GMA]

Why not? I've heard that degassing while the must is still fermenting is a good idea. Why is it not ok to do with a foodsaver?

Degassing during fermentation is meant to restore O2 to the yeast. The foodsaver is not getting oxygen back into the must, simply pumping out the CO2. I think this would be a good way to force your yeast to vastly under perform. You want to use an air stone setup for degassing during fermentation. I guess I've not heard of this being employeed in wine making as much as beer and mead but I suppose the same principle applies.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Stirring will give you all the O2 your yeast needs.

 

[Insomniac]

Airstone during the first few days of fermentation, maybe. But later on you don't want to be adding oxygen. I've not heard of degassing during fermentation so i imagine its not really needed, I occasionally give the carboy a bit of a shake to off gas a bit, but that's more because it looks cool

 

[BryanThompson]

That makes a lot of sense. I thought the degassing was to only get rid of CO2. It seems really obvious that it would pull the O2 out of solution as well. Thanks for helping me avoid that mistake guys.

 

[Clifton]

SteveHoward, thanks for posting this. I just bought an Ekco Winesaver and was worried that I wouldn't be able to use it. I just pulled gas out of a wine I thought was already still.

 

[vinper]

So you de-gas so you can bottle ? and not have to pasturize?

 

[DoctorCAD]

So you de-gas so you can bottle ? and not have to pasturize?

Degassing and pasteurization are not in any way related.

Degassing is to remove CO2 that is held in suspension during fermentation. The CO2, when it hits your palate, turns into carbolic (or carbonic, I can never remember which one) acid and that gives you a strange taste sensation. The amount in the wine isn't enough to affect the bottle like a restarted fermentation would. A totally degassed wine can restart if there are viable yeast cells and sugar left in the wine.

Pasteurization will kill any yeast left over, so it wouldn't restart and it might remove any trapped gas, but I don't know about the last part. In fact, I have rarely heard wine and pasteurizing mentioned in the same sentence.

 

[Blue_Monkey]

Please dont buy a gasgetter. you can make your own for WAY cheaper. (~$20)

I will admit that mine is not as pretty but has the exact same function. The first item has to be ordered. Everything else may be found at lowes Here is the parts list.

http://www.sourcingmap.com/6mm-6mm-tube-type-plastic-pneumatic-vacuum-ejector-generator-p-116195.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=froogle&u tm_campaign=usfroogle

Plumbing section
1/4" OD polyethylene tubing (goes in bung)
3/8" OD polyethylene tubing (1/8' ID)
1/8" bard 1/4" MIP (should be brass)
3/8" to 1/4" plastic adapter (tubing reducer)
smallest stainless worm gear clamp (mine was 99 cents i believe)

Tool World
air compressor connector (I got the wrong one the first go round so check what your compressor requires)

The order of how the parts are connected goes like this;

bung, 1/4", reducer, 3/8", vacuum ejector, 3/8", barb(clamp on it), air compressor piece.

The tubing doesnt have to be as long as it is (i have 12ft total) but I have been lazy and not cut it to length just yet.

I just made one of these. Thanks! The vacuum ejector was purchased on Amazon for $13 and everything else, including the compressor fitting was bought at Lowes.

 

[jagec]

I start with a wine whip (well, a cut-up plastic hanger I made myself) attached to a cordless drill, and after a couple minutes of that to get most of the CO2 out, I finish with a Mityvac.
I like it because it actually has a vaccum guage, and can pull a much harder vacuum than the foodsaver or a vacuum cleaner. I pump it down to -23 or -24 inches Hg, then when the vacuum drops to -15 or so I'll pump it down again. After the first few cycles, less gas will come out, and pretty soon it will keep the vacuum pretty well. Leave it like that overnight and you know it's done.

 

[helibrewer]

I liked the idea of using the wine savers to create negative pressure over the wine for degassing much more than I liked the idea of stirring until my arms were tired. I tried several ideas that sounded so simple to make it work (drilling the bung, etc.) None of those worked quite as well or as easily as I had hoped. Then ... I had a sudden epiphany that made it all work quite simply. I thought I'd post it for critique, or for the benefit of anyone else who is looking for a way to make it work:

View attachment 36116
View attachment 36117

My brother does this but uses a stopper jammed into a large bore funnel to connect the vac to the carboy.

I use Better Bottles so the whole vacuum thing doesn't work for me. Maybe I need a couple glass ones for the final racking.

 

[daugenet]

I just made one of these. Thanks! The vacuum ejector was purchased on Amazon for $13 and everything else, including the compressor fitting was bought at Lowes.

Glad that it worked out for you! I figured many people had an air compressor around. This way you turn it on and come back to degassed wine

 

[ShaKeyJ]

I'm trying to decide the most cost effective route for me. I don't own an air compressor so cost wise I would need to purchase one along with the parts to make a de-gasser, or purchase an aspirator pump. Of course I could use the compressor for other things which is a plus. What would be a good size air compressor? I had a small one before, smaller than a pancake compressor and it burned up when I used it to build my deck. Another option I'm toying with is I have a vacuum pump for HVAC use that can pull 30"mc. I wouldn't be able to use my freon gauges tho so I'd have to add one inline somehow.

 

[daugenet]

I'm trying to decide the most cost effective route for me. I don't own an air compressor so cost wise I would need to purchase one along with the parts to make a de-gasser, or purchase an aspirator pump. Of course I could use the compressor for other things which is a plus. What would be a good size air compressor? I had a small one before, smaller than a pancake compressor and it burned up when I used it to build my deck. Another option I'm toying with is I have a vacuum pump for HVAC use that can pull 30"mc. I wouldn't be able to use my freon gauges tho so I'd have to add one inline somehow.

I would say to get something you can control the vacuum you are pulling. I have both a pump and this rig and i like both

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Heavy-Suction-Machine/dp/B001ADA5HY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1347840230&sr=8-14&keywords=vacuum+pump+aspirator

 

[vinper]

I hooked a hose up to the inlet side of my small nail gun compressor , then piped it into the plastic carboy. Bad idea so much suction started to collapse carboy ,sucked water and oak chips into compressor. compressor stopped working. Had to take head off and reset the valves. plastic carboys can't handle but a few pounds of neg. pressure ,I found out the hard way.

 

[feffer]

I'm trying to decide the most cost effective route for me. I don't own an air compressor so cost wise I would need to purchase one along with the parts to make a de-gasser, or purchase an aspirator pump. Of course I could use the compressor for other things which is a plus. What would be a good size air compressor? I had a small one before, smaller than a pancake compressor and it burned up when I used it to build my deck. Another option I'm toying with is I have a vacuum pump for HVAC use that can pull 30"mc. I wouldn't be able to use my freon gauges tho so I'd have to add one inline somehow.

When this thread was started last year, I was exactly in your position. I ended up getting a brake bleeder from Harbor Freight for about $28. This works fine for me. It's a manual tool with just one function. I tried the wine-whip, but I think you really have to combine that with fairly long bulk aging. For someone who already has an air compressor or wants a combo bottling pump that would be different.

 

[crispyc21]

I just made one of these. Thanks! The vacuum ejector was purchased on Amazon for $13 and everything else, including the compressor fitting was bought at Lowes.

I know this is an old thread. But can someone post a link to the correct vacuum ejector on amazon?