Degassing with vacuum pump

[JRF]

I have adapted a refrigeration/ air conditioning vacuum pump to degas wine. It works great, however, how do I know when to stop. Do I degas until I see no bubbles or stop with a few large bubbles?
Thanks

 

[crabjoe]

I have adapted a refrigeration/ air conditioning vacuum pump to degas wine. It works great, however, how do I know when to stop. Do I degas until I see no bubbles or stop with a few large bubbles?
Thanks

I don't think you'll ever see no bubbles. I usually stop when I notice the bubbles have gotten larger.

 

[FunkedOut]

Same here. Bubbles never stop.
I’m a sucker for repeatability.
Reading this forum through and through, I’ve adopted 5 min at -25mmHg as good enough.
Wine tastes fine after that, and doesn’t blow a single bubble in an airlock for the following 9 months (at least) in a carboy.

 

[sour_grapes]

Bear in mind that, when the pressure in the carboy is low, the bubbles that you see do not contain much actual gas. That is, if you are at ~ 25 mmHg, then a bubble of a given size contains only ~1/6 the amount of gas molecules than you are used to for a bubble that size.

In the past, I pumped and sloshed for ~45 minutes, and the wine tasted FLAT afterwards. I don't do more than a short degas now, as @FunkedOut states above. (I am also just plain waiting a lot longer before bottling, so I may never intentionally degas these days.)

 

[Ajmassa]

Sometimes a really hate that the kit manufacturers have done this. So many are first introduced to making wine with kits and degassing becomes ingrained into the process. It’s almost like they teach you to cheat and go against nature as the standard operating procedure.
Call me crazy but I take comfort in the co2 for the protection. (Esp. for non kit reds as they go thru mlf sans so2) When degassing you draw a hard line in the sand: Oxygen ok/oxygen not ok. But letting it happen gradually over time is less of a shock to the wine as it acclimates to its environment w/o co2.

 

[Johnd]

Sometimes a really hate that the kit manufacturers have done this. So many are first introduced to making wine with kits and degassing becomes ingrained into the process. It’s almost like they teach you to cheat and go against nature as the standard operating procedure.
Call me crazy but I take comfort in the co2 for the protection. (Esp. for non kit reds as they go thru mlf sans so2) When degassing you draw a hard line in the sand: Oxygen ok/oxygen not ok. But letting it happen gradually over time is less of a shock to the wine as it acclimates to its environment w/o co2.

Can you see the kit instructions?:

STEP 4 -
After you have stabilized your wine, top up your vessel to within 1” of the bung and install your airlock. Wait patiently for 6 - 12 months for your wine to degas, it won’t be ready to drink before then, so just f-ing wait. Buy more kits and carboys, drink a Trader Joe wine if you’re thirsty, but wait patiently for your wine to degas on it’s own.

Think I might degas more just to prove The Man wrong...

 

[cmason1957]

Sometimes a really hate that the kit manufacturers have done this. So many are first introduced to making wine with kits and degassing becomes ingrained into the process. It’s almost like they teach you to cheat and go against nature as the standard operating procedure.
Call me crazy but I take comfort in the co2 for the protection. (Esp. for non kit reds as they go thru mlf sans so2) When degassing you draw a hard line in the sand: Oxygen ok/oxygen not ok. But letting it happen gradually over time is less of a shock to the wine as it acclimates to its environment w/o co2.

I was very close to writing nearly this same thing last night. I agree kit manufacturers are to blame for the thinking that you must force degas, hopefully folks grow out of it after making some non kit wines. For those who have vacuum pump, just use them to rack the wine the normal four or five times, using that vacuum pump and no more CO2 in the wine.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I was very close to writing nearly this same thing last night. I agree kit manufacturers are to blame for the thinking that you must force degas, hopefully folks grow out of it after making some non kit wines. For those who have vacuum pump, just use them to reach the wine the normal four or five times, using that vacuum pump and no more CO2 in the wine.

I agree with Craig
I prefer to vacuum rack as it removes the CO2 out overtime and does not add any additional oxygen to the wine.

 

[jbo_c]

I vacuum transfer and use a kink in the transfer line to create an expansion valve to decarb.

Ive had multiple wines fail to decarb over time so I always use the vacuum to ensure no retained CO2. To frustrating to pop a cork on fizzy wine.

Jbo

 

[sremick]

I pull some CO2 via vacuum but learned right away that the bubbles never stop that first time. Since I also use argon now I don't worry about it.

When I pull a vacuum later there are no bubbles, so the real solution to de-gassing is "time" (as is often mentioned on this forum by the experts, which I am not one).