# 20-25L Carboys???



## mdtrey12 (Aug 18, 2012)

Hello,

I am in the military and stationed in Germany. I have 6Gal and 5Gal carboys for wine kits that I use, but the because metric system here in Germany everything is in liters. I found a factory near my house that sells these incredible and beautiful carboys but they are in liters..10, 15, 20, 25L's. I really want to buy a few of these because they are so cheap! 

I wanted to ask how I could make this happen?

6 gal kits make 22.7 liters
5 gal kits make 18.9 liters

Should I or can I get a 20 L carboy and use 5 Gal kits and add a little wine/water during secondary ferm?

Or use 6 gal kits and the 20L carboy and be short 2.7 liters, or 25L carboy and add 2.3 liters of water/wine?

Need help, what can I do? Any suggestions?

Trey


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## ICELIA (Aug 18, 2012)

Generally a Carboy is a little over its rated capacity I think they are measured to the top of the shoulder. So I would expect the 25l Carboy is going to have enough space for a standard 6 gallon kit.


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## loumik (Aug 18, 2012)

mdtrey12 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am in the military and stationed in Germany. I have 6Gal and 5Gal carboys for wine kits that I use, but the because metric system here in Germany everything is in liters. I found a factory near my house that sells these incredible and beautiful carboys but they are in liters..10, 15, 20, 25L's. I really want to buy a few of these because they are so cheap!
> 
> ...


 
Most wine kits are 6 gal. (23L). Go with the 25L carboys. There is no need to add water or a like wine to the secondary. When you rack from your primary to secondary add a bung and airlock and let your wine finish fermenting. After fermentation is finished rack to a clean sanitized carboy, stabilize, degass, add fining agent. Now you want to top up with a like wine or some people add sanitized glass marbles to the carboy to raise the level of the wine rather than adding 2L of wine. Sounds like you have a good deal there so stock up on carboys and good luck.
LOUMIK


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## loumik (Aug 18, 2012)

ICELIA said:


> Generally a Carboy is a little over its rated capacity I think they are measured to the top of the shoulder. So I would expect the 25l Carboy is going to have enough space for a standard 6 gallon kit.


 
ICELIA,

A 6 gal kit is only 23 liters. It will most definitly fit into a 25L carboy.
LOUMIK


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## Dugger (Aug 18, 2012)

I would do it differently if you are using kits to make your wine. I would go with the 20 liter carboys and get some 3 liter wine jugs ( buy some wine in this size, drink the wine and use the empty; non screw type is best). 25 liter carboys are just too big for kits, although one would be handy for instances where you may have excessive foaming (like vacuum degassing). I wouldn't add more water above the 23 liters.
If you are using grapes or fruit, you can pick the size you like and adjust your recipe accordingly.
Being German made, I would expect these carboys to be quite accurate.


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 19, 2012)

I was thinking along similar lines as Dugger, but using 1.5 liter bottles. Its more stoppers and airlocks, but if the deal is good enough, it'll be worth it. Most of my kits start as 6 gallons, but end up closer to 5.5 anyway, with an 18 liter Carboy and a bottle or two. So a 25 liter Carboy for secondary, then a 20 liter for clearing/long term aging might be perfect - no topping up.


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## ICELIA (Aug 19, 2012)

loumik said:


> ICELIA,
> 
> A 6 gal kit is only 23 liters. It will most definitly fit into a 25L carboy.
> LOUMIK



 thanks!


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