How to stir a carboy?

[JimboJ]

I'm making a Vintners Reserve kit, and the instructions say that once you rack it to the carboy for secondary fermentation and add the additional chemicals, you need to stir it vigorously inside the carboy. What do you use to stir inside a carboy? Even if I had a spoon long enough, it wouldn't fit inside the neck. When they say stir, do they really mean shake it? I'm thinking shaking would accomplish the same thing, but a 6 gallon carboy is gotta be pretty heavy for shaking. I'm curious what everyone else does.

 

[Iordz]

I use my racking cane, it's a pain but it works. You might want to get one of these if you plan to make lots of wine: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=7035

 

[BigKahuna]

I use a plastic shirt hanger...I cut it to make a very long J then chuck it up in a drill. It'll make a 6 gallon whirl pool pretty quickly.

 

[ClutchDude]

I used a long handled spoon and let it fall to the wide part of the spoon. After that, I just spun it back and forth. Did a decent job of whirlpooling.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I just tip it to the side and move it in a circle on the bottom rim. That'll swirl it.

 

[Yooper]

Degassing a kit is a huge pain. It takes alot of stirring. I used to use a dowel, and stir until my arm fell off, then did it again. And again, and again. Now, I have a wine degasser to put on my drill. It works great!

 

[JimboJ]

Degassing a kit is a huge pain. It takes alot of stirring. I used to use a dowel, and stir until my arm fell off, then did it again. And again, and again. Now, I have a wine degasser to put on my drill. It works great!

How long do you need to stir it? How do you know when its done?

 

[Yooper]

It's done when you get no more gas out of it. I've read that some people have used a mity vac to do this. You know, the tool you use to bleed brakes?

After it's stirred enough, the gas will be gone and it'll no longer foam up when shaken or stirred. At first, it'll be like a volcanoe. Then it'll get gradually less gas coming out. When very little gas comes out (or almost none), then you're done degassing.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I have been using one of these $5 plastic paddles, the small end fits in & they reach all the way to the bottom. But I see a degasser in my future before any more wine.

 

[bobjenkins79]

I have an extra racking cane I use. I put the straight end into a power drill & then put the elbowed portion down into the carboy. Go easy at first, or you'll regret it. It vibrates a lot but it works sooooooo good

One other thing that works great is a suction unit from a hospital/clinic. I've borrowed one from the clinic a few times & used it on a few of my wines. I don't think it's ever even been used other than for degassing my wines.

bob

 

[etp777]

Heh, definitely be careful with the racking cane, trust me, ti's not fun when you break your only one in the carboy and have to run out to LHBS (even though it gave me excuse to pick up a new BB kit ).

Also, I'm a little leery of vacuumdegassing as you are pulling out some of the more volatile aromatics that contribute to the taste. I got corrected on that one on some other forum years back.

I use one of those plastic paddles, myself.

 

[bobjenkins79]

I think I read on Jack Keller's website that he used one of those plastic rods from a window blind. Apparently he heated up the end and tapped it flat w/ a hammer. It slides right down into the carboy perfectly.

 

[MikeInCtown]

LOL I had the same question about my kit and then someone told me you use the handle end of the plastic mash paddle or plastic spoon. They also sell a cool gadget that will fit inside the carboy and chuck up to a drill. Cheap method is $5 and the drill thing is like $15 at my LHBS.

 

[Wade E]

A SS Mix Stir is a good investment for making wine. I also use the vacuum degassing and havent seen any difference in taste but a much better product in the bottle cause you never know when you have all the gas out it seems until its in the bottle and then have a glass a year later after it has been aged. Thats not a really big deal though as you will just have to decant your wine for an hour or more.