# First thoughts on Enolmatic...With pics.



## rshosted (Apr 11, 2007)

Ok, as the dedicated readers of this forum know, I've been considerering getting an Enolmatic for a long time. For those of you not familiar with the Enolmatic, it is a vacuum operated bottle filler. You can also buy a filter to go with it to filter wines alone, or as you bottle. I did NOT buy the filter at this time. I have NOT used the Enolmatic for bottling, so this is merely my first impressions of it... and of course some pictures.

Here is the box it came in.... I was like a kid on Christmas.





George does not sell these (YET! hint hint



)

The box inside the box (in case you can't tell I'm trying to build suspense!)





Oh I was just giddy. It was all I could do to not rip the box open. Yet, I slowly suffered and took pictures at every step.... Ok, but I'm not going to post EVERY STEP!!! Here it is right out of the box without anything hooked up.


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## rshosted (Apr 11, 2007)

OK, so my first impressions were that it felt sturdy. It didn't feel
like light breakable plastic. It felt like it was a good contruction
that upon using I'm not too worried about breaking. I worked to get the
hoses connected. My first complaint of this is the instructions. They
are written in Italian. While I am part pizano, the language was lost a
few generations ago. I flipped to the middle of the book and found an
English page. It had pictures, but still didn't seem to explain
everything. I found that when I put the book down and used common sense
it seemed a little easier to figure out. 



Things I liked about this unit. The on/off switch was covered in a
heavy rubber cover. This is to keep moisture out (I'm sure). But it
felt heavy enough to hold up and not break right away.



Another thing, was the knob on the other side. It is used to adjust
vacuum on the unit to speed up, or slow down bottle filling. 



Part of the reason I bought this solution is for several reasons:

1. I love toys! 

2. I love toys!

ok, really?

1. I wanted a bottle filler

2. I wanted to use something other than siphoning to rack

3. I wanted something that can create vacuum for degassing

4. I wanted to have a filter (later) to filter my wines

5. I wanted all of this to be as easy as possible (hopefully it will be)





Here is a picture of the switch I mentioned:





And of the vacuum control knob:






Now I wondered how it would work for degassing wine. Since i use a brake bleeder that pulls about to 23inches of vacuum, I wondered where this would be. So I hooked it up to the brake bleeder so I could use the guage on it to measure the vacuum. 

The lowest vacuum I could pull with the vacuum knob set all the way to the lowest was around 2 inches of vacuum. (now remember, I'm at about 4,500 feet elevation, you folks around sea level could figure that to be around 5 inches equivilant for you)






For the high I hit between 20 and 21:







And lastly, if anyone wants to know what I might be doing this weekend. Here is a picture of my wine room. Is anyone free this weekend?


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## JWMINNESOTA (Apr 11, 2007)

Makes me giddy just looking at it.


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## grapeman (Apr 11, 2007)

Looks great! You do have a little work ahead of you.








How is the barrel working out for you? What did you put in it-I don't recall.


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## rshosted (Apr 11, 2007)

I'm on my third wine in the barrel. I put reds into them. Mostly crushendos. They oak VEEEEERRRYYY fast, but they are slowing down. I think right now I have the Montac Crushendo by WE now.


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## Wade E (Apr 11, 2007)

RS, that looks awesome and you look like youve been BUSY! Let us know how the Enol works out please.


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## kathy (Apr 12, 2007)

Please explan degassing with this machine, I do not understand the process. While you are bottling please see if you get any tiny bubbles coming up the sides of the wine bottle as you fill. My 15 gallons that we bottled at Chirstmas time, with the Enolmatic are all alittle off, because of the air in the wine, wether it be that we did not degass enough at the beginning or something went haywire with the machine. I have 20 gallons to bottle next week and I am nervous about it. 
No one has had much experience with this machine but it is so much fun to use. Thank you for taking the time to explain.kathy


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## PeterZ (Apr 12, 2007)

rshosted said:


> And lastly, if anyone wants to know what I might be doing this weekend. Here is a picture of my wine room. Is anyone free this weekend?



rs - I'm easy, but I am not cheap!!!


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## Wade E (Apr 12, 2007)

RS, Im free this weekend, just send over some round trip tickets and Ill be there!


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## jobe05 (Apr 12, 2007)

RS, I'm free thie weekend, but Im afraid if I come out there I won't be much help to you......... Nor will muc of that wine reach the bottle......... You see......... I degas with a straw!







That setup looks awesome. And for those die hard Christmas Vacation fans (like I am), Iffen ya don't mind Clark, can I ask how much that set ya back?


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## rshosted (Apr 12, 2007)

Well I don't mind telling. I paid 295 + 15 in shipping. Sounds like a party at my house this weekend. Everyone bring a straw!


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## PolishWineP (Apr 14, 2007)

So, HOW'S IT GOING? I'm waiting for pictures and the next part of the story! I'd say I'm waiting with baited breath, but that's just coffee.


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## rshosted (Apr 22, 2007)

Ok, first of all, I have to address this to George... You
had better start stocking these, or else someone else is going to make a lot of
money!<!--[if gte vml 1]>














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Now on to my review. I started Saturday night... by going to a friends birthday
party and enjoying a little too much crown and coke. I only mention this in order
to illustrate something later on. 



So I started by using the Enolmatic to rack a beer that I had done. I didn't
buy the racking kit, instead mocked up a couple of tubes and one of those
orange caps that I bought and wondered why (now I know). 



It worked well for racking. I didn't turn it up to full power since I was
trying to not remove any carbonation from my beer. Then the first bottling was
done on my beer. I bottled 24 large beer bottles in an amazing amount of time. 



The machine was quick and easy. And even easier to clean.(just put the carboy
tube into cleanser and let it run)



Then I got all my beer bottled, and even with a little bit of extra
'tired-ness' I got it put away then realized I still had plenty of time left.
So I grabbed a Australian Mataro Shiraz that I started back in 02/06. 

Grabbed some bottles, hooked up my <a href="../../../ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=4795" target="_blank">double bottle
washer</a> in the sink, my bottle tree, my Vinator
and went to work. 



I was impressed with how well this machine worked. I could adjust the vacuum to
go as fast, or as slow as I wanted. I found that the wine would foam if it was
too fast, even though it is completely degassed. So I slowed it down since it
seemed to have less waist. I was able to fill all bottles of the 5 gallons in
15 minutes (approximately). Each bottle was filled evenly. I grabbed my floor corker
and finished in record time! I cleaned and it was easy as ever. 



One thing I found really nice this time was I was able to leave the carboy on
the floor and bottle at counter level. Normally, I am near the floor, hunched
over, and the wine sits on the counter. it was nice to have that changed. And
not one drop got spilled. Now I have used the Buon Vino gravity filler and only
lost a few drops... but to have no drops lost... Man it was great. 



Here is a pic of me filling a beer bottle.<br style="">
<br style="">







Another close up of the Enolmatic with filling up my beer batch (Strawberry Blonde for those enquiring minds)







And lastly I would feel remis, if I didn't include a picture of my friend who came over to help. I bribed him with a fee bottle when we were done, and a package of "peeps". (You know those gross little yellow birds!)



(I'm on the left)






All in all, when I was finished I contemplated bottling another batch. This thing can make doing multiple batches or even larger batches easier than you could imagine. I hate to upsell anything, but I have been very impressed with this item. I even took a little video of how quick it will fill a bottle on a test with water. 

I don't think I can host this movie forever, but will leave it up as long as my bandwidth allows. Sorry it's not the best movie either. I'm not nearly as talented as old Waldo and his vids'




<a href="http://www.xmission.com/%7Erue150/Ryan_Enolmatic.html" target="_blank">
Click here to download the flick</a>

Cheers!


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## Coaster (Apr 23, 2007)

Dear Santa, I am going to be a very good boy this year!


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## docbee (Apr 23, 2007)

I have been looking at this "Toy" for awile. Thanks for the review.
I would love for George to have this at the Toy Store also. I feel guilty looking at other web sites knowing I'm not going to get the quality of service anywhere else.


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## Wade E (Apr 23, 2007)

PM him and maybe we can sweet talk him into doing some special orders for these.


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## geocorn (Apr 23, 2007)

RS,


I would stock them, but I can't buy them cheap enough to compete. If I could, I definitely would! The problem is that once you get away from items in normal distribution, you have to buy a lot to make the profit work. I am a bean counter and it is all about the numbers!


As an aside, the big ticket items like that filler don't really sell that well to home wine makers. If I stocked them, I MIGHT sell 10-20 per year which is nowhere close to justifying the time or the expense to locate a source and stock. Sometimes, you just have to let sales go to focus on the big picture. This is one of those occasions and also explains why I no longer carry the crushers and de-stemmers.


To steal and modify a phrase from Star Trek, "I have been and always shall be a bean counter!"


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## kathy (Apr 24, 2007)

When I first ask the question of this filler a month or so ago I had mentioned the air in the bottles, and someone assumed it had not been degassed properly, and maybe so. But I had the same filling problem, foam that I assumed was air being incorporated into the wine from the filler. The true test will be when you taste the wine that you just bottled. How long will you wait? I waited 30 days. It was evident that there was air in the wine from the taste and it bubbled a little on opening. We are bottling again to see if this is our problem or the filler. So until rshosted has tasted his wine to see if there is air in it I would wait on purchasing this item. It is so much fun to use.  But the place that we bought it from has been no help with my problem. We purchased it last November. I want it to work well because it is so great to use! thank you kathy


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## rshosted (Apr 24, 2007)

And I have no problem with that. I know that many of us feel bad having to go elsewhere, but if you don't carry it, I'm sure you could care less and would expect us to. But if there is something that we plan to buy often, and we have a choice, I'm sure we would all rather buy it from you. 

I didn't mean any disrespect to suggest you should carry it. Just want you to get our money, rather than anyone else.


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## geocorn (Apr 24, 2007)

RS


No problem at all and no apology required. My customers and forum members are my most valuable asset. As such, I feel I need to explain why I do things, not just a yes or no answer. With good information, we can all make better decisions. I just greatly appreciate your concern for my business. This is just one of those time where it does not make financial sense at this moment. That may change and I am sure it will. "The only thing constant in this world is change."


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## PeterZ (Apr 24, 2007)

geocorn said:


> To steal and modify a phrase from Star Trek, "I have been and always shall be a bean counter!"



George,

I don't recognize that quote. Perhaps a better one would have been, "Dammit, Jim, I'm a bean counter, not a doctor!"















Whoda thunk that PeterZ would be a Trekkie?


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## geocorn (Apr 24, 2007)

In Star Trek II, "The Wrath of Kahn", Spock says to Kirk as he is dying from radiation poisioning, "I have been and always will be, your friend!" They bring the quote back up in III, "The Search for Spock", when they are trying help Spock remember his human side.


Yes, I am very much a "Trekkie". Even though the show was very corney at times, it was way ahead of its time. Roddenberry was a genius.


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## PeterZ (Apr 25, 2007)

George, you're talking the movies. I was glued to the TV set for that show every week in the mid-sixty's. My parents were kind enough to let me watch on the only TV in the house.

In 1969 I don't think I slept for the days that CBS had Walter Cronkite and Aurthur C. Clarke doing the reporting of the first moon landing. It was the summer between my Sophmore and Junior years of HS.


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## JWMINNESOTA (Apr 25, 2007)

"And that's the way it is"


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## kathy (Jun 6, 2007)

How is your wine doing that you bottled with the Enomatic? Have you tasted it? Do you detect anything different with this form of bottling? I am getting ready to bottle again with this machine. My first bottling of 15 gallons did not turn out so good. To much air was in the wine as it was bottled. That is why I am wanting to get your results. Thank you kathy.


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## kathy (Aug 2, 2007)

have you tasted your wine after bottling it? noticed anything different with this method of bottling? Did it incorporate more air in the wine? Need to know. Please kathy


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## rshosted (Aug 2, 2007)

Kathy. Funny you ask. I was just checking my email and noticed this old topic that I started. The funny thing is, that I'm actually sipping a WE Shiraz (monturo (SP?) ) That got to ride in the barrel for about 4 weeks. 

Well, long story short, the wine IS the best wine I've ever done without a grape pack. It is actually arguably better than those with at such a short time too. Though it is so good that I don't think I'll find out if it can compare in a side to side taste test, as it will be gone.

As for the enolmatic... I am kicking myself that I did not buy it years ago. It works flawlessly, and pulls the wine in to the bottle faster than I can bottle it. 

The premise of the enolmatic is that it uses vacuum to pull air out of the bottle, thus creating a negative pressure in the bottle that pulls wine into the empty bottle. So in essence there is less air in the bottle than any other conventional filling method (excluding of course gas systems that are even more costly). 

I did a lot of research when thinking about the ENO. But eventually read posts such as the one I'm writing right now. I have gone through three previous filling systems.

One the basic system a tube that has a weighted end in it that when you lift it stops filling. Worked for a long time and I will always keep it in case of an emergency. It is cheap and effective to get wine into the bottom of the bottle. 

The second was a brass 'wand' that worked on the same principle as the above mentioned tube, except it had a ball bearing inside and a spring to ensure the wine flow would cut off when lifting the 'tube' out of the bottle. (something I had a problem with as my first tube got older). 

The third was the gravity filler by ( I forgot the name). For the cost this was a great set up. it saved me a lot of spilled wine compared to the first two options I tried. I would suggest it anyday for anyone on a budget. It will work well. 

The last is the ENO. It fills as fast as you want. The vacuum actually helps to degas the wine as it is pulled into the bottle and theoretically removes air. I only say theoretically because technically it does remove 'air' from the bottle but really in such a small amount it really doesn't make that big of a difference (IMHO). 

Ok. Back to my experience. The first time I used it I got a 5 gallon batch done so fast I bottled another batch. Now days, I don't even consider bottling until I have 3-4 batches to do. It takes about the same time as the other fillers and is just as easy. (including the floor corker of course).

So to answer your question, Yes absolutely the ENO is a great machine and well built. Cheap?... no. But I am not into this hobby to save money. I am into this hobby to enjoy the fruits of my minimal labors





Sorry it took me so long to ask. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

Until then, Cheers!


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## kathy (Aug 3, 2007)

I started the first post on the enolmatic when I received it almost a year ago. Remember You responded and then made a new file. I had given it such a favorable posted that it created a lot of chatter. 
The second time we bottled we had a lot of bubbles in the wine after it was filled, thought that we had assembled it wrong. But I am sure that I had not degassed it enough prior to bottling. Ruined 2 batches that way. have bottled 5 batches since and done it the old fashioned way. That is why I was so interested in your wine after you had bottled. So now I have the confidence to try it again. thank you for your information.


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## Dean (Dec 25, 2007)

I finally got mine for Christmas from my sweetheart! I'm stuck in Edmonton, Alberta with family out in the cold frozen prairies, but cannot wait to get home to try this puppy out! I'm so excited!!!!!


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## Wade E (Dec 25, 2007)

Now thats a nice present!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RS, do you still love yours and have you had any problems with it? Have you sterile filtered with it as of yet?

*Edited by: wade *


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## kathy (Jan 10, 2008)

I just ruined 2 5 gallon batches of wine, would you please call me at 1-800-495-3264, our company phone, do not want to cost you anything, I need help with either my filter or wine makeing procedure. thank you kathy


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## smurfe (Jan 11, 2008)

kathy said:


> I just ruined 2 5 gallon batches of wine, would you please call me at 1-800-495-3264, our company phone, do not want to cost you anything, I need help with either my filter or wine makeing procedure. thank you kathy




Can you describe what is wrong with the wine? Maybe someone can give you some insight. Are you still having problems with your filler/filter? Does the company have any tech support contacts you can talk to to inquire if maybe you have a faulty product?


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## Coaster (Jan 11, 2008)

I got one of these and a 1 micron filter (and housing) for Christmas too. I have 59 gals that I am going to filter/bottle in March. I am going to use both my Fill Jet and this at the same time.


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## rshosted (Feb 16, 2008)

Just a note to people who decide to buy one. You should NOT use StarSan. It creates the bottle filler to stick. It's not a huge issue, but they cost 45 buck to replace. I would use idophor or a metabisulphite solution now.

other than that, it is a great unit.


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## zonta223 (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi everyone.


Just been cranking my old Enolmatic bottling plant up again as vintage is upon us once more.
It is a great little plant did 1500 bottles of shiraz with it yesterday and it performed flawlessly. Only got another 6000 bottles to go.
The 200 bottles a hour maximum in the sales blerb is pure fiction of course. If any body can tell me how to get anywhere near this figure please pass along your secret
If you are doing a lot of bottling I would recommend one modification to the basic plant. If you fit a 5 litre glass bottle/demijohn in the vacuum line between the filler head and the original vacuum receiver.This allows you to run for longer times between stops to "get rid" of the overflow that goes down the vacuum line and also makes the job of cleaning up afterwards a lot quicker.
Be carefull of the joins in the solid tubing end of the suction wand. Leaks are common here which induces air into the wine. I have ditched mine and now use a flexible tubing with a small strainer on the end.
One thing do not expact any after sales service from the manufacturer. They never answer emails.


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