Water balloons in carboy to offset headspace?

[TRueff]

I'm trying to think of creative and effective ways to displace O2 headspace after transferring my apfelwein to secondary. I've seen suggestions for marbles, but that sounds like a pain, plus I'm not even sure where to buy enough marbles to offset headspace from a 5 gallon batch.

I had the thought that water balloon(s) may be a great solution, especially the really large ones like from party city, because you could put the body of the balloon into the carbon with the wine, and inflate it to your exact need before tying off and pushing it down to the bottom.

My main concern with this would be that the balloon rubber would effect the taste of my wine. I'm curious if anyone has ever tried this or similar techniques and what the results were. Or if there are any other recs. And if anyone has ever used balloon material with cider brewing before and noted any off tastes/effects as a result?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Interesting idea!

Gasses (e.g. air, helium) leak out of balloons. I'd wager that water would also leak out.
Also there's the risk of it popping.

Keep in mind not all materials are considered food-safe. I'd feel more comfortable with a ziploc bag or something similar, double sealed to prevent leakage. This should be food-safe and carry drastically less risk of off-flavors or other disaster since it's not pressurized like a balloon. ....This seems like a great alternative to marbles!

 

[TRueff]

Yeah, ideally there'd be something almost like an IV bag or Camelbak reservoir that you could have down in the carboy, and then inflate through a thin tubing to the proper degree. Hmmm...

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

I highly doubt the balloons are food grade. Sounds like a great way to get some serious rubber flavor.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I highly doubt the balloons are food grade. Sounds like a great way to get some serious rubber flavor.

I was thinking they might not be, but on the other hand they are generally designed to be put into your mouth, so probably not toxic.
He could fill a balloon with cider and then taste it after a few weeks or whatever if he really wanted to find out about flavor changes.
I think food storage bags would be a lot more reasonable than balloons so I didn't bother mentioning these bits in my first reply.

 

[pigroaster]

You should be able to get a spray bottle that has an inert gas in it to spray in and displace oxygen that is made for sealing paint cans. I use CO2 hooked up to a air compressor nozzle to displace Oxygen in the head space if I open a fermentor to add something. I have a shut off valve hooked in front of the air line connector so I will not have leaks. It has worked well for 7 years.

 

[Scrumpy!]

I think pigroaster has it nailed by replacing the O2 with CO2 you don't need to worry about the headspace. You could do the same thing with a bike tire inflation kit and some plastic tubing.

Here is what I have in mind though I'm not suggesting you buy it from Amazon. You can get one of these at any bicycle shop.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07351DLP9/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[RPh_Guy]

I think the idea was to have an relatively easy solution for someone without a CO2 tank.

 

[MSK_Chess]

Yeah I saw one guy put sanitised glass marbles in the bottom of his cider to reduce the head space. He had a big jar of them.

 

[MarkKF]

Yeah I saw one guy put sanitised glass marbles in the bottom of his cider to reduce the head space. He had a big jar of them.

It's probably the best idea, short of having several different size carboys. You can get glass marbles in bulk and I'd buy ones close to the mouth size of your carboys. You can always put them in a sanitized hop bag, too.

 

[Grod1]

great idea brother keep thinking outside the box.(Mylar balloons?)

 

[TallDan]

How about a condom?

Unlubricated, for christ's sake, you're going to drink the beer, not screw it.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysck7zXbiZ0[/ame]

 

[MSK_Chess]

It's probably the best idea, short of having several different size carboys. You can get glass marbles in bulk and I'd buy ones close to the mouth size of your carboys. You can always put them in a sanitized hop bag, too.

It was on this video about making meade, if you jump to eight minutes you can see him loading in the marbles.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ld4hO_GeP0[/ame]

 

[madscientist451]

If you don't want to go with marbles, a 3 gallon carboy along with a gallon jug a half gallon jug, a 1.5L and 750ml wine bottles should cover all the bases.
You need to plan ahead when making cider/wine that needs to be aged. I make wines in 6.5 gallon carboys and then rack to a 5 gallon carboy and some other container with any remainder. Look on your local craigslist for deals on used carboys, but new plastic ones aren't really all that much.

 

[Vrishnak]

Sanitized glass marbles is what I use when I need to reduce head space. More Beer carries them. Or you can try to find a lead free option by google. I wasn't successful so when with More Beer.

 

[Maylar]

I use lead free glass stones sold in crafts stores for flower vase filler. Cheaper than marbles.

 

[user 125772]

damn, can't imagine fussing with any of that stuff when you can get these little cartridges of a dollar...obviously this is more expensive, but you get the idea. : https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Cartridges-Picnic-Ball-Lock/dp/B008MZG3JC

 

[bleme]

I have used marbles, glass stones, or just topped off with more apple juice.

 

[Maylar]

damn, can't imagine fussing with any of that stuff when you can get these little cartridges of a dollar...obviously this is more expensive, but you get the idea. : https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Cartridges-Picnic-Ball-Lock/dp/B008MZG3JC

CO2 in the headspace is not a long term solution. Airlocks and bungs are permeable and in time oxygen will seep in and mix with it. I'll top off a carboy with CO2 for secondary sometimes if it's only going to be a couple weeks, but long term aging needs headspace management.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Am I missing something here?

What's wrong with transferring to a smaller container, ( or 2, or 3), for your secondary?

 

[MarkKF]

Am I missing something here?



What's wrong with transferring to a smaller container, ( or 2, or 3), for your secondary?

Nothing! It's the best option!