Beginner Equipment Kit or No Kit

[djewell87]

Hi,
I am completely new to wine making and am looking at several different kits. I will be making mostly fruit wine but may try a kit or two. I've been researching for a while and was wondering if I should buy a kit for all my equipment or if I would be better off piecing it all together to end up with I higher quality setup. If I should buy a kit what are some suggestions. If not what are some products you would buy? I guess I'm trying to see if anyone could go back and have started with some different equipment than they did what would you have gotten? I'm looking to spend under $300 at first.
Thanks

 

[roger80465]

For me, buying the kit made sense and has proven to be a good plan. I was so new, I didn't really know what I needed and what was just an 'upsell'. I felt this would give me a good kick start and I am happy I did it this way.

An equipment kit will usually provide a good basic set of tools and chemicals. Some of the tools you will upgrade and some not. Better to get experience with the tools so you can have a better idea about what YOU want, rather than what someone else likes. Bottom line, I say go for the kit.

 

[novalou]

Hi,
I am completely new to wine making and am looking at several different kits. I will be making mostly fruit wine but may try a kit or two. I've been researching for a while and was wondering if I should buy a kit for all my equipment or if I would be better off piecing it all together to end up with I higher quality setup. If I should buy a kit what are some suggestions. If not what are some products you would buy? I guess I'm trying to see if anyone could go back and have started with some different equipment than they did what would you have gotten? I'm looking to spend under $300 at first.
Thanks

Most home brew stores sell some sort of wine making kit geared for fermenting kit wines.

Here is what came with mine for ~$100.
6.5 gal fermenting bucket
6 gal glass carboy
racking cane
Racking hose
Bottling wand
Carboy and wine bottle brushes
Rubber bung and air lock
Hand corker
Wine making book
Hand corker
Bag of cleaning powder (could have been star San)
Long plastic spoon
Hydrometer

This will get you started.

 

[TonyP]

For the most part an equipment kit makes sense for someone starting out. You'll find that some people want to spend more on one item versus another. Beyond that, however, eventually you may want to have a duplicate of virtually everything, so the items in the kit can at least be back-ups.

In terms of the items, let us know the point in which you'll be starting - fresh fruit versus concentrate, for example - and you'll get information on what's needed.

 

[moesagoodboy]

I'm new to wine making also and went with the kit which I don't regret. My suggestion would be to get a floor corker immediately, either a Portuguese or Italian style. Both of these make placing the cork in the bottle effortless. The Italian style has a brass chuck , the Portuguese at about half the price has a plastic chuck. In my case I just asked the local store to make the substitution from what was in the kit.

 

[loumik]

Hi,
I am completely new to wine making and am looking at several different kits. I will be making mostly fruit wine but may try a kit or two. I've been researching for a while and was wondering if I should buy a kit for all my equipment or if I would be better off piecing it all together to end up with I higher quality setup. If I should buy a kit what are some suggestions. If not what are some products you would buy? I guess I'm trying to see if anyone could go back and have started with some different equipment than they did what would you have gotten? I'm looking to spend under $300 at first.
Thanks

Go with a good equipment kit. But just as important as getting the right equipment is learning about wine making. I read this forum almost everyday and I'm amazed at the number of people who toss juice into a bucket and wonder why things aren't bubbling or fizzing or what ever they think should be happening.
Read all the tutorials and various threads on this forum and any others you come across and start asking questions now. You'll feel alot more comfortable with your efforts if you have a realistic idea of what your doing.

 

[djewell87]

Thanks, I am going to use a concentrate for my first batch. I am going to buy a kit I found some with floor corkers, they also have an option for a better bottle with a racking kit. I was told to use glass. Would the better bottle be ok?

 

[TonyP]

The BetterBottle carboy is fine. Clearly there are advantages to glass but it is somewhat more expensive and a lot heavier. As I said before, over time you'll have several duplicates - particularly carboys - and you can decide for yourself what you prefer.

There's two small items I'd suggest you consider. One is in the hoses and racking equipment. They come in diameters and I'd suggest you get one of the larger sizes. You'll be doing a lot of transferring (racking) over time and larger diameters save a lot of time. Also, it's annoying after you have everything to upgrade to a larger size. The second item I'd suggest is a 3-piece airlock. I find it easier to use and keep clean.

Speaking of clean, get a few spray bottles. They come in handy for cleaning and sanitizing.

 

[djewell87]

This is the kit i'm looking at, the one that has the better bottle with racking assembly (a valve on the bottle to carboy to drain it) and the floor corker
http://www.homebrewit.com/wine-equipment-kits.php
I also am looking at the three prong degaser.
How does that sound?

 

[Rocky]

I have not seen a kit wherein going to a Better Bottle was an upgrade. It is normally the other way around where the upgrade is to the glass carboy. Overall, it seems a complete kit (I would also buy a thermometer if you do not have one) at a decent price.

"(a valve on the bottle to carboy to stain it)" I am not clear on what you meant to say here. Can you please explain? Not sure what they mean by "plastic shut off valve" unless they are talking about a pinch cock for the tubing.

 

[djewell87]

There is a small spigot a few inches off the bottom of the carboy. I'm new to this and am just going by what I read on their site. That's actually the only reason I'm looking at the better bottle. It seems like it could be convenient.

 

[Rocky]

Okay, now I got it. A spigot on the Better Bottle. That would be a personal preference item. You are also getting a racking tube with the kit and that is how most of us rack from carboy to carboy if we do not have a pump. I don't see a downside to the spigot on the BB. It could come in handy. My only concern would be that it could be a harbor for "bugs" that could spoil your wine. I have spigots on all of my fermenters and that is how I remove wine from them. I remove, dismantle and clean the spigots after each fermentation and do not store them on the fermenter between fermentations. As my Grandfather used to say, "'atsa uppa you."

 

[djewell87]

What about this kit?
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_34_81&products_id=13094

 

[seth8530]

I honestly prefer better bottles over the traditoinal glass carboy. One of them is much less prone to shattering. Guess which one lol.

 

[TonyP]

There is a small spigot a few inches off the bottom of the carboy. I'm new to this and am just going by what I read on their site. That's actually the only reason I'm looking at the better bottle. It seems like it could be convenient.

A spigot on your primary is one thing, on a carboy it's something else. It may be easy, assuming you can attach a siphon hose to it, but don't think about running from the spigot directly into anything. You'll be adding a lot of air which could be disastrous.

For me, racking was fairly easy once I did it the first time.

 

[botigol]

I vote yes on getting an equipment kit and no on the spigot. I am sure that the spigot could be useful to someone, but it seems to me like it is a good spot for contamination and possible leaks. That option also seemed pretty expensive to me when I looked into it, like an extra $35. I only have Better Bottles and they have served me well; I only wish that I could vaccuum degas in them. Depending on your timeline, you may want to check Groupon, LivingSocial and other sites like them to look for deals. I have seen Midwest Supplies on them several times in the past several months offering a basic setup with a wine kit for $79 + $12 shipping. I also second adding a floor corker.

 

[djewell87]

Well I just ordered the kit i mentioned from Austin and some other stuff. I think it's a good start for now.

Products
1 x Lalvin EC-1118 Wine Yeast $0.99
1 x Potassium Sorbate
- Amount: 4 oz $4.69
1 x Potassium Metabisulphite
- Amount: 1 lb $4.99
1 x Pectic Enzyme
- Amount: 4 oz $4.99
1 x Yeast Energizer
- Amount: 4 oz $5.99
1 x Clean Bottle Express Wine DeGasser $14.99
1 x One Step Sanitizer
- Amount: 3 lb $15.49
1 x Diammonium Phosphate (Yeast Nutrient)
- Amount: 8 oz $2.99
1 x Deluxe Wine Making Equipment Kit (Glass Secondary)
- 750 ml Wine Bottles (Case 2): No
- Wine Bottle Corks: No
- 750 ml Wine Bottles (Case 1): No $222.49
1 x Large Nylon Bag (Elastic Top) $2.99
1 x Sparkolloid Hot Mix (2 oz) $2.99
1 x Wine Tannin
- Amount: 1 oz $1.69
1 x Campden Tablets
- Amount: 2 oz $2.99
1 x Plastic Fermenter (7.9 Gallon)
- Airlock: 3 Piece Airlock $24.78
1 x 6 Gallon Glass Carboy
- Flask Marker: No
- Carboy Dryer: No
- Carboy Handle: No
- Carboy Thermometer: No
- Carboy Volume Level Stickers: No
- Airlock & Universal Drilled Stop: Yes $42.27