Cork question

[Guapo]

I have been using #9 X 1.50 agglomerate corks from FVW's because they came with my wine kit (also from FVW). My problem is, man are they ever tough to get out of the bottle! Do I need a smaller diameter? Am I doing something wrong? I soak them for about ten minutes in K-meta before bottling. I understand that there is a film on the corks to aid in insertion and I do not need to soak for longer than a few minutes (as it would remove the film). I am using a "Rabbit" corkscrew that my daughter bought me as a gift. It is very adequate for un- corking.

Clark

 

[PeterZ]

The soaking is actually making the corks harder to remove, because you are soaking the coating off. What kind of corker are you using? With a floor corker there is no need to soak the corks - they can be inserted perfectly dry.

 

[Guapo]

I thought they needed to be in K-meta a few minutes to sterilize. This is welcome information Peter Z.

I am using the Handheld Portuguese Double Lever Corker :

http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=4039

 

[robie]

In his video George places his corks in a wire basket and suspends the basket at the top of a fermentor bucket. He pours the k meta over the corks and down into the bottom of the bucket. He then closes the lid for a few minutes.
It is the fumes that sanitizes the corks; they don't need submerged.

 

[ibglowin]

Corkador only, no need to soak!

Let the fumes do the work.

 

[robie]

I have my corkador, finally. Went to a grocery store that has a bakery. They get their icings and frostings in different sizes of white, plastic, medium-grade buckets. Usually if you ask, they will give you their empty buckets and the lids, otherwise they throw them away. They clean up nicely for misc. storage.

 

[ibglowin]

I bought a nice 1 gallon plastic bucket with a lid from my local hardware store. Its perfect for making a corkador when bottling or soaking filter pads, etc.

I also have several MM All Juice buckets that I have kept and reused quite often as a temporary racking primary (rack into it, clean carboy, rack back from it into carboy) They work great for that purpose!

 

[robie]

I'd like to have a few of those all-juice buckets, myself. The largest bucket I got from that store is 5 gallons, which is not large enough to rack a typical 6-gallon kit. No telling what I might "collect" over time.

 

[ibglowin]

Good excuse to order an All Juice Kit!

 

[robie]

Mike, whatever is making you glow is also making you psychic.

 

[ibglowin]

Look at the $$$ you'll be SAVING by not having to buy a 6 gallon bucket and lid!

 

[robie]

Yes!!!!!!! Here I go!