# Degassing Tool Options / Questions



## Chopper (Mar 1, 2009)

I've been looking at degassing tools on the internet today. I was wondering if I could solicit some advice from this group.

"The Whip" drill attachment for $9.95 looked OK. It's all plastic, and really fits the budget. Though I've read it can be a little difficult to handle.

Then there's a similar product that has a stainless steel shaft, and plastic paddles. I believe it's called the "Fizz-X". Of course, it's a little more expensive than "The Whip".

And for all I know, there may be an even better device out there. I saw some machines that use vacuum pressure to extract gas from wine. But I imagine these are expensive.

Any advice would be appreciated.


----------



## vcasey (Mar 1, 2009)

I've used both and that stainless steel shaft is worth the extra money. I have also used the similar to the fizz-x, its shaft was plastic, don't waste your money on that either. You'll be happier and save money but just buying the one with a stainless steel shaft.
VPC


----------



## Wade E (Mar 1, 2009)

IMO the Fizz-X is a better tool unless you want to sacrifice a rubber od silicone bung as the Mix stir looks a little better but does not have the stopper at the top to help keep the tool centered in the carboy. I also must add that you really do want this tool in your arsenal for mixing up bentonite and other things among helping degassing, Even with the electric degassing pump I have, I wouldnt do without it. The Mity Vac hand brake brake is a great tool also but now that I have this electric vacuum pump I would never go back to that and gave mine to a friend. Now for the best tool there is, the electric vacuum pump, this item is not really that expensive especially if you watch ebay and get a good deal on it as mine was $115 but my other friend bought a good one for $65. You can rack up hill with these, you can degass in no time and with a Buon Vino Automatic Auto Bottle Gravity Filler you can bottle with it and then if thats not enough for you, you can et a whole house filter at Walmart or a home improvement store for about $27 and youll be able to filter with it also.


----------



## ASAI (Mar 1, 2009)

I bought the plasticshaft version of the fizz-xafter seeing it being used on George's Videos, before my first degassing. I have been happy with it for the 2 or 3 times I used it. I do recognize the advice of go for the SS model, from the folks that use it more than once a month. ALSO, highly reccomend getting a Brake Bleeder for follow up to the stir method. I did based on posting here. After research, the plastic Mity-Vac was on sale at Harbor Freight for $36.95. When I went to purchase, the loaded with Chineese Lead high end Brass model was on clearance for $19.99. It looks just like the one the other store sells for $64.99 on line. I have been well please with this purchase also. 
So, now I have the toys; I need to learn how to DE-GAS. Think I understand from postings; no matter the experience level, it just depends on the batch of wine to what happens next.


----------



## ASAI (Mar 1, 2009)

Wade, could you please start a thread with more info and directions on the Wal Mart whole house filter option. I may need to start filtering before bottling in the future. Unless, I can get my using the auto-siphon as a racking tube not for a lees stirrer skills improved. For now, I am getting real good with pouring wine from a bottle and leaving the sediment behind.


----------



## Tom (Mar 1, 2009)

The "whip" creates to much air in my opinion.

I did have the plastic degasser one and the shaft broke. Since then I got the metal shaft one. Works great and can replace the "wings" should they break.


----------



## ASAI (Mar 1, 2009)

tepe said:


> The "whip" creates to much air in my opinion.
> 
> I did have the plastic degasser one and the shaft broke. Since then I got the metal shaft one. Works great and can replace the "wings" should they break.






So, Exactly what kind of wine were you making, that had such strong gas that would break such a well built intrument?


----------



## Wade E (Mar 1, 2009)

I had the plastic one for 2 years and had no problems at all and I made a lot of wine during those 2 years. Asai, the water filter set up will only work with an electric vacuum pump like a few of us have. Here is a picture of the set up and just imagine a filter set up right in between the 2 carboys.


----------



## Tom (Mar 1, 2009)

So, Exactly what kind of wine were you making, that had such strong gas that would break such a well built intrument?



[/QUOTE] 


Called being Stupid or lazy. I left the drill on with it still in the carboy and &amp;^*% it broke where the metal shaft stopped in the plastic stem.




YES even the "experienced" have #^%$


----------



## coriasco (Mar 8, 2009)

I purchased last year a unit called GAS GETTER model # 807 (website to purchase is winegasgetter.com). The unit works unbelieveable. I was skeptical at first but when the unit arrived the quality of it was way beyond my expectations. The gentleman who owns the company is Rhone Lahr. I was his very first customer and there is going to be an article in the April May 2009edition of WINEMAKER magazine.
After degassing my wine with this unit it tasted spectactular, I received so many compliments on my wine. I will never bottle wine prior to degassing it with the gasgetter.


----------



## coriasco (Mar 8, 2009)

Also I forgot to mention that I can degass four 5 gal carboys at once and he has units that will degass I think up to 8 or ten at a time. Check out the website I think you will be interested in this product.


----------



## uavwmn (Mar 18, 2009)

Coriasco, I saw the demo on the lines and tubing. Does he sell the degasser pump also?


----------



## Waldo (Mar 18, 2009)

There is an article in this months WineMaker magazine abouit it too.


----------



## Wade E (Mar 18, 2009)

It isnt a pump I believe, Im pretty sure you just use an air compressor like you can buy at Home Depot or the like!


----------



## coriasco (Mar 19, 2009)

You need a compressor for the unit to work. Call Rhone up and he will tell you what size compressor you will need for the unit that you are interested in. Mention my name if you call John L Coriasco


----------



## smokegrub (Mar 19, 2009)

What is the price of this setup?


----------



## coriasco (Mar 19, 2009)

I think I paid $85.00 for my gasgetter (it can degass four 5 gal carboys at once). I do not know how much I paid for my compressor I purchased it about 4 years ago. I do some carpentry work on the side and I had a compressor. You can purchase a compressor at Lowes or Home Depot for under $200.00 (just get compressor you do not have to purchase the nail gun). Sometimes they sell a compressor nail gun combo you only need the compressor. Like I said earlier this made a huge difference in the quality of my wine.


----------



## smokegrub (Mar 20, 2009)

Like you, I have a compressor so I would be looking at approximately $85. Not bad. Since I make my wines in the laundry room, I would have to set my compressor up in the garage and run a hose into thee laundry room which is not going to be popular. But, since this method works so quickly, it might not be too much of a problem.

One last question, how do you control the pressure on this device--the regulator on the compressor?


----------



## mjdtexan (Mar 20, 2009)

wade said:


> I had the plastic one for 2 years and had no problems at all and I made a lot of wine during those 2 years. Asai, the water filter set up will only work with an electric vacuum pump like a few of us have. Here is a picture of the set up and just imagine a filter set up right in between the 2 carboys.




I will be glad when I get to where Wade is. I just have the cheap ole "whip" and its working ok for now. I am gonna get the Wade setup soon.


----------



## grapeman (Mar 20, 2009)

Yeah Wade is a neat freak, which is great. His has a very slick setup. I'm more of a just get it done guy as in these pictures from last fall. 








Here are some pictures from racking with my little aspirator vacumn pump. Don't worry, it was new and not used for it's intended purposes.





Here is the pump- excuse the crude bench- it is in place for holding all the carboys I need to fill(or at least some). 





It takes about 8 inches for it to work best and moves about a gallon a minute with the 3/8" hose. 
Stick the racking cane in the source- this one is NY76.0844.24 
and it moves it through the tube to the waiting carboy 
























And onto the LaCrosse brute container. 





Getting done with them 




Did a Frontenac Gris and Vignoles 






And now "The Whole Shebang" 






Hope you enjoyed the tour. 

Edit: 
I know someone is going to ask - maybe you Wade? so I will give the answer first. The blue painters tape is to make sure the bungs stay put. My local wine shop only carries #7 bungs and when they are new they tend to pop out. I tape them in for a while to make sure they don't pop out. I have had it happen before to me. Like a dummy I forgot to order more multi-fit bungs and airlocks from George before I needed them.


----------



## mjdtexan (Mar 20, 2009)

That my friend is a lot of wine. I wouldnt worry about the bench to much. It does the job. Could you imagine all of the tax that you would have had to pay ifin you paid for that wine at the store?


----------



## grapeman (Mar 20, 2009)

In case you miss it in my post uner home vineyards, here is a picture of some of the whites in the picture on the last page after they have cleared.


----------



## mjdtexan (Mar 20, 2009)

Show off!!!



I would too though. I have been proud of the seven gallons I got going here.


----------



## Tom (Mar 20, 2009)

Appleman,

Nice pix. what do you have inside? When you gonna bottle?





You trying to catch up to me? Just bottled 5 cases last nite. Down to only 21 carboys aging.

Thank god the chilean juice is coming in soon.


----------



## grapeman (Mar 20, 2009)

Tepe, these are afraction of my currently bulking wines. They are all hybrid grapes I grow here myself. If you check out the Post -Champlain Valley vineyard under Home Vineyards, go to the last page and you will see more. If you want to look through about 90 pages of posts, you can track the vines from planting to now as wine.


----------



## scotty (Mar 22, 2009)

Mine is still a pile of parts in the back room. This photo will help me get my rear in gear Wade







wade said:


> I had the plastic one for 2 years and had no problems at all and I made a lot of wine during those 2 years. Asai, the water filter set up will only work with an electric vacuum pump like a few of us have. Here is a picture of the set up and just imagine a filter set up right in between the 2 carboys.


----------



## Tom (Mar 22, 2009)

appleman said:


> Tepe, these are afraction of my currently bulking wines. They are all hybrid grapes I grow here myself. If you check out the Post -Champlain Valley vineyard under Home Vineyards, go to the last page and you will see more. If you want to look through about 90 pages of posts, you can track the vines from planting to now as wine.




Appleman,
Yes you have a nice vineyard. I however don't recognize some of the varieties you grow. Looks like I need to do more reading on other grapes.
When you destem and press how much do you make at a time. I guess you have some large SS fermentators.


----------



## grapeman (Mar 22, 2009)

Tepe you don't recognize many of the varieties because they are just about all French American hybrids, not vinifera. I need cold hardy varieties up here because of the severe weather. I am still an amateur, so still do things small scale. The largest fermenters I use are 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brutes. You can do 3-4 carboys worth of wine in them at a time. They work well, are food-safe and clean up great. They also stack when not in use.


----------



## RickC (Jul 21, 2009)

Can the GasGetter provide enough vacuum to transfer at a reasonable rate or is it primarily only for degassing?


----------



## ibglowin (Sep 23, 2009)

Question for you guys that have used a vacuum pump to rack.

Is there any hazard or safety concerns due to implosion?

Your pulling a vacuum on an empty carboy until you get enough to pull the wine over and start filling the receiving carboy?

Am I missing something here?


----------



## gaudet (Sep 23, 2009)

ibglowin said:


> Question for you guys that have used a vacuum pump to rack.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I would say there is always a slight risk when applying vacuum to glass. But I think its minimal. When racking you use -10 to -12 of suction and thats shut off immediately when you finish racking.

As a precaution I always put my carboy in either the sink or the bath tub or a container to degas just in case of implosion. Everything should implode and move inward (ie the glass shouldn't violently fly across the room towards your jugulars), so make an effort to contain the mess just in case you do break the glass. 

Never leave it unattended while vacuum is applied.


----------



## grapeman (Sep 23, 2009)

Try a Better Bottle if you want to see a carboy implode- they get sucked right in so can't be used to rack with a vacumn.


Really though, if the carboy isn't cracked it shouldn't be a problem. It has to do with the cylindrical shape- like trying to break an egg from the ends.


----------



## Brewgrrrl (Sep 23, 2009)

LOL Appleman!

Hey, for an inexpensive way to degas small batches, I think that Waldo posted something about those little vacuum pumps that they use with food bags...? I think it was Waldo. I remember there was a video link, because after I saw it I went and bought a Reynolds "Handi-Vac" for about $9. It fits right over the hole in a 7 1/2 bung and I've degassed six batches with it so far (original batteries). Very easy to use and inexpensive (thanks, Waldo - you are the McGuyver of wine-making).


----------



## ibglowin (Sep 23, 2009)

What the well dressed vacuum degaser should be wearing!


----------



## Wade E (Sep 23, 2009)

Id say racking the wine has almost no chance of a problem as you dont really need much vacuum to do this. I can transfer pretty easy at around 8" of vacuum. As for degassing that a little different but I dont go above 22" and cant as thats where mine maxes out but have been doing this for some time between the electric and the handheld Mity Vac with no problems. Theres nothing better then racking from the floor up to my carboy on the counter without lifting that thing and hurting my back like the past a few times.


----------



## uavwmn (Sep 24, 2009)

Chopper, I have been using my plastic whip drill attachmentfor over two yrs and it has not broken or fallen apart.


----------



## greham (Oct 3, 2009)

please rate http://blogwinemaker.blogspot.com/


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

I purchased last year a unit called GAS GETTER model # 807 (website to purchase is winegasgetter.com). The unit works unbelieveable. I was skeptical at first but when the unit arrived the quality of it was way beyond my expectations. The gentleman who owns the company is Rhone Lahr. I was his very first customer and there is going to be an article in the April May 2009edition of WINEMAKER magazine. 
After degassing my wine with this unit it tasted spectactular, I received so many compliments on my wine. I will never bottle wine prior to degassing it with the gasgetter.


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

It is basically a vacuum pump in all reality I believe right?


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

Yes but it is very powerful and degasses wine to flat in about 20 - 30 minutes but the best thing about it is that you do not have to be there, just hook it up and come back in 20-30 minutes. It is well worth the money but you do need a compressor to run the system.


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

Do you monitor the vacuum via a gauge with this?


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

There is no gauge, go to the website and check it out. gasgetter.com


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

correction winegasgetter.com


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

Be very careful if you dont know how much vacuum you are pulling on a carboy as they can implode and cause serious tragedy to you and your wine. I use a vacuum pump and like the fact that I know how much vacuum Im pulling. I also rack with it and will get a filter set up soon and bottle with it also.


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

where did you get the vacuum pump?


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

Ebay. Its on the first page about 10 posts down.


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

is it the R134 or the R12 Air Operated Vacuum pump for 12.99. It says you need an air source to run this, it does not mention anything about a gauge. Is tjis the one you have?


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

No, this is a Respirator vacuum used in hospitals for respiratory assistance or in morgues to drain fluids out of bodies. There is no oil or fluids to deal with and its powered by electricity. Adjustable pressure also.


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

I cannot find it, can you give me the manufacturer and model # ?


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

Its the second one down, the #6260
http://www.contemporaryproducts.com/catalog/aspirators.html


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

I am looking under vacuum pumps and I do not see it, what should I be looking under on ebay


----------



## gaudet (Oct 3, 2009)

Vacuum pumps..................

http://health-beauty.shop.ebay.com/...catref=1&amp;_fln=1&amp;_trksid=p3286.c0.m282http://cgi.ebay.com/INVACARE-MOBILAIRE-HOME-ASPIRATOR-PUMP-VACUUM_W0QQitemZ360195194069QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item53dd4e7cd5&amp;_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

This one is a steal at the buy it now price. All you need is a canister. You can easily find one at a local Durable Medical Equipment / Supply store


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

I can't find it? How much is the unit? Are you looking on ebay right now?


----------



## Wade E (Oct 3, 2009)

They dont have the same unit I bought for sale up there right now but others work just as well I believe.


----------



## gaudet (Oct 3, 2009)

Follow my link Coriasco............. That's a great deal plus $15 shipping. He even links to a site to get the canisters


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

Thanks Wade &amp; Gaudet for the info. Gaudet I will check out your link but now I will have to bid farewell I have to get up early tomorrow morning.


----------



## gaudet (Oct 3, 2009)

It might not be there in the morning...... That's a great deal.....

But goodnight anyways............. and hope its still there tomorrow.....


----------



## coriasco (Oct 3, 2009)

I saw it , I tried to buy it now but every time I do an error message pops up on my computer. I will try again in the morning on my wife's computer. Thanks for the info and have a good evening.


----------



## gaudet (Oct 4, 2009)

Its still there. If ya hurry..................


----------



## gman1 (Oct 6, 2009)

Very much a rookie at this but having a good time--
Just to get the correct procedure in my little mind when using the brake bleeder.

First degass using a spoon or drill attachment, then attach the brake bleeder and when the gage reads and hold to 20 bars the wine should be degassed.
correct?

Thanks 

Gary


----------



## ibglowin (Oct 6, 2009)

You can't go by the gage, it just reading the amount vacuum. 

Go by the absence of any further gas bubbles coming up and off.


----------



## Wade E (Oct 6, 2009)

I use the gauge but from what Ive heard not all pumps will hold a vacuum, mine does. I dont stop until it will hold around 16". That procedure is correct.


----------



## gman1 (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks for the info
I'm sure you haven't heard the last from me!!!!

Gary


----------



## Wade E (Oct 6, 2009)

Is that a threat!


----------

