# E-Z powdered K meta to Campden conversion?



## jswordy (Feb 8, 2012)

OK, if I want to wean myself off tablets entirely and go to potassium metabisulfite powder, is there an easy answer to this:

1 Campden tablet = ____ tsp. K meta powder

I've read that:

5 Campden tablets = 1/4 tsp. K meta powder

So does that mean:

1 Campden tablet = 1/20 tsp. K meta powder?


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## robie (Feb 8, 2012)

jswordy said:


> OK, if I want to wean myself off tablets entirely and go to potassium metabisulfite powder, is there an easy answer to this:
> 
> 1 Campden tablet = ____ tsp. K meta powder
> 
> ...



One standard campden tablet is .44 grams of potassium metabisulfite (Kmeta). (They do come in other sizes, so check yours closely.)

1 teaspoon of Kmeta is about 5 grams.

So, 5 / .44 = 11.363636....... campden tablets per teaspoon. 
BUT! measuring has some error involved, so go by the standard answer of 10 campden tablets equals 1 teaspoon of Kmeta.


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## Runningwolf (Feb 8, 2012)

Holy Smokes you're good Robie. Jswordy, I would seriously just put the campdon tablets away and start using just the powder. The tablets also contain some fillers that sometimes reappear in peoples wines. Dissolve your powder in a small amount of warm water first before adding it to your wine.


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## jswordy (Feb 9, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> Holy Smokes you're good Robie. Jswordy, I would seriously just put the campdon tablets away and start using just the powder. The tablets also contain some fillers that sometimes reappear in peoples wines. Dissolve your powder in a small amount of warm water first before adding it to your wine.



Campden is very convenient, but they do sometimes leave a sediment from the binders in them and they are more expensive than bulk K meta when judged by amount of active ingredient. Also, Campden comes as either sodium or potassium, and I would like to eliminate the sodium. I'd like to use my remaining supply as sanitizer and convert all the way over to my bagged K meta in the winemaking process.

If I get Robie correctly: 1 Campden tablet = 1/10 tsp K meta. In that case, I should be able to use a not-quite-leveled 1/8 tsp spoon in place of one Campden tablet, correct?

Somehow that doesn't seem correct, since 1/4 tsp of K meta does the work of 5 or 6 Campden tablets in killing wild yeast. So please let me know if my calculations are right.

I want to be accurate because the single batch of failed wine I have experienced was the result of too much sulfite. I misread the recipe. So for several reasons, I'd rather err on the shortage side. Thanks!


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## Brew and Wine Supply (Feb 9, 2012)

Instructions from my K-meta supplier: 
1/4 tsp per 6 gallons must to kill wild yeast


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## jswordy (Feb 9, 2012)

Brew and Wine Supply said:


> Instructions from my K-meta supplier:
> 1/4 tsp per 6 gallons must to kill wild yeast



Uh, yeah. That's not what I am asking, though. 

Let me ask this another way: Many winemakers use 1 Campden tablet every other racking. So if you use powder, when you rack and you want to add K meta to a 5- or 6-gallon batch, how much do you put in the carboy?


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## grapeman (Feb 9, 2012)

The commonly used amount is 1/4 tsp per carboy (5-6 gallon). While 1 campden is recommended, it often leads to excessive sulfite levels if you add a number of times. This really is not difficult, just add 1/4 tsp of k-meta every 3-4 months when you rack.


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## jswordy (Feb 10, 2012)

grapeman said:


> The commonly used amount is 1/4 tsp per carboy (5-6 gallon). While 1 campden is recommended, it often leads to excessive sulfite levels if you add a number of times. This really is not difficult, just add 1/4 tsp of k-meta every 3-4 months when you rack.



Thanks everyone. That is way more sulfite than I have been using. Appreciate your replies!


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## GEM (Feb 11, 2012)

It is my understanding that if you are bulk aging in a carboy you use 1/4 tsp at the time you rack for bulk aging and don't touch it again until you go to bottle. Then you can add an additional 1/8 to 1/4 tsp at bottling. Gary


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## joea132 (Feb 11, 2012)

I strongly suggest if you want to work with powder that you invest in a gram scale. I bought mine for about $35. I use a shot glass as my container and start it up with the shot glass on it so it's zeroed. You have to make sure that the scale you get can handle the weight of a shot glass though.


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## JordanPond (Feb 11, 2012)

You can pick up an inexpensive gram scale on amazon for about $12 - $15.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Signature-AWS-100-Digital/dp/B0012LOQUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328994053&sr=8-1


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