Racking with just 1 vessel

[Ajmassa]

Running into an issue with this. I currently now have 2 6 gallon carboys and will be starting a new 6 gal kit. 1 of these is currently full and bulk aging.
On the First kit when I needed to rack any time after primary it became a 2 step process. Attempted racking to a 5 gal and 1 gal while the 6 was cleaned before moving back into the 6. But somehow 5+1 doesn't equal 6 and I needed more space.
2nd racking I went into a 7.9 bucket before going back into the 6. Even with the lid locked this felt like too much air exposure no? I have 15 gal demis with spigots and I thought maybe into that? And then run tubing from spigot to the 6 for the transfer back over.
Aside from just buying yet another 6 gal carboy, are there any suggestions?

 

[Scooter68]

A VERY long hose?

Seriously - Maybe a 7 gallon plastic fermentation bucket and cover with plastic while you clean. Problem is still what you are concerned about - air/oxygen exposure. Short of shooting in some nitrogen gas while you rinse the carboy.

In the long run you may just have to break down and invest.


Sorry I just couldn't resist the Smart A comment.

 

[Mismost]

while not ideal, air exposure is not nearly as big a deal with wine as it is with beer....rack clean, and rack back into the clean carboy.

yes, it is more exposure to air...BUT you are also degassing some CO2 with each rack.

craigslist....find more carboys.

 

[dcbrown73]

An single extra carboy is almost required if you don't want to jump through hoops. Actually, I hate it when I only have one free one. I prefer to do everything required then wash all carboys at once at the end of the operation.

 

[Ajmassa]

So is there any real risk in using a carboy-bucket-carboy? Ideally running 2 kits requires 4 6 gal carboys. Not 2. And I will grab more at some point. Until then I'm gonna try and time my rackings together so just 1 batch gets double racked.
I just feel so bad for all those empty 5s and demis getting no love. Soon enough tho they'll get love. From across the globe

 

[sour_grapes]

Ideally running 2 kits requires 4 6 gal carboys. Not 2.

Well, really it is 3 that you need to run 2 kits. I developed a spreadsheet that helped me juggle 3 to 4 kits through 4 carboys, and always have one empty for racking into. (When I had 4 kits going, one was still in primary.)

 

[Scooter68]

Sour Grapes hits it again. One extra is all you really need - just work on timing the rackings and in reality except for racking from Initial fermentation into the Carboy for the first time, the rest of the rackings don't have to be on any hard fast schedule.

 

[NorCal]

If you look at surface area X time, the amount of exposure will be negligible, if racked into an open bucked. Heck, I splashed racked the heck out of some Zin multiple times on purpose to rid H2S and I'm drinking it right now and it's pretty darn good. It's entered in the CA State Fair, so we will see what the judges think.

 

[Arne]

Course if you buy another carboy, when you go to use it to rack into it will probably have another batch of wine in it. That is how carboys multiply. LOL, Arne.

 

[dcbrown73]

Course if you buy another carboy, when you go to use it to rack into it will probably have another batch of wine in it. That is how carboys multiply. LOL, Arne.

lol, yeah. Wine is like yeast and carboys are like sugar. If you get more sugar (carboys), your yeast (wine) is going to multiple!

 

[jburtner]

My first two carboys were male and female and I made a mistake and left them alone together in the wine cellar - unsupervised - Now i've got about ten and a couple three gallons on the way!

Cheers!
-johann

 

[Ajmassa]

Funny how that happens. I'm even sometimes buying things just because I want to keep the container if it's a size I don't have.
For instance: this nasty grossly unhealthy local drink is sold in 1/2 gallon jugs.

 

[baron4406]

Zero gravity is your friend............

 

[Arne]

Funny how that happens. I'm even sometimes buying things just because I want to keep the container if it's a size I don't have.
For instance: this nasty grossly unhealthy local drink is sold in 1/2 gallon jugs. View attachment 34588

Bad color, but if it has a good flavor you might be able to add it to some S.P. or Dragons blood. It is a way of getting rid of it anyway. Arne.

 

[Floandgary]

Damage from exposure to "air" is a relatively long term thing. Kind of like hitting the beach without some cover!! The 10-15 minutes you'll have during rack-overs won't pose any problems. But to make the overall process easier for yourself, consider some more equipment!!

 

[Ajmassa]

I think this post has inadvertently caused me to come across as cheap! Just making an attempt to not be impulsive for once. Happy wife=happy life.

 

[jgmann67]

You're fine. You'd be better off with more carboys. But, as others have said, short term exposure won't hurt your wine. This is especially true with a young wine that is still loaded with co2.

 

[Boatboy24]

Well, really it is 3 that you need to run 2 kits. I developed a spreadsheet that helped me juggle 3 to 4 kits through 4 carboys, and always have one empty for racking into. (When I had 4 kits going, one was still in primary.)

Yep, all you need is 1 empty.

 

[jmac]

Well, really it is 3 that you need to run 2 kits. I developed a spreadsheet that helped me juggle 3 to 4 kits through 4 carboys, and always have one empty for racking into. (When I had 4 kits going, one was still in primary.)

Lol sour grapes, until you get a wild hair up you and put on a 'special' mead that takes one out of commission for a year. (or 2 on my case) Every time I open a Craigslist search dialog box, "Carboy" always seems to default when I start my search even when the word doesn't start with C.

 

[Boatboy24]

Funny how that happens. I'm even sometimes buying things just because I want to keep the container if it's a size I don't have.
For instance: this nasty grossly unhealthy local drink is sold in 1/2 gallon jugs. View attachment 34588

I prefer to go to Total Wine and buy a half gallon growler. Then I can take it home and 'empty' it for future use. ::