Degassing questions and instruments to measure CO2

[BernardSmith]

Discussions about why it takes so long and how much effort it takes to degas wine always makes me wonder if there is no simple means to measure either by formula or through some test how much CO2 is in any carboy of wine and how much CO2 has been removed by degassing or through natural dissipation over time. The CO2 meters I see being sold are not designed for amateur wine makers although there are one or two instruments like the carbondoseur, which costs around $250 or the Vietshoechheim CO2 cylinder which costs about $100 which purportedly can provide a reliable and accurate measure of dissolved CO2 but these seem to require a fairly lengthy set up procedure. Has anyone in this forum rigged up some simple and effective method to measure or even monitor CO2 dissipation or is this always done by taste (not enough to detect on the tongue) and guesstimation or is the working assumption that if one waits long enough all the CO2 will dissipate on its own accord

 

[TonyP]

Bernard, yours is either the third or fourth posting on degassing in perhaps 24 hours. (Maybe it's something in the air?) You may want to have a look at the others.

On the question of a CO2 meter, I don't use one and would consider it quite a luxury - after several others nice to haves I'm hoping for. Checking for CO2 is fairly simple with a vial and some shaking and after a few tastes you should be able to tell by taste.

And yes, if you're willing to be patient, wine will degas by itself. It's also easy to remove with a drill particularly if stored for a several days at 72F.

 

[ibglowin]

Your were born with the best CO2 tester in the world......

Your tongue!

 

[BernardSmith]

Thanks for these responses. I guess my question is less about how do you know when all the CO2 has dissipated and more about having a handle on the amount of CO2 in each carboy at any moment and the rate at which it is dissipating...just for knowledge sake.