Score! Vinmetrica SC-300 (advice needed)

[Vinoors]

So the Mrs. has been paying attention to all the wine talk recently because I was fortunate enough to have wound up with the SC-300 as a birthday gift! However, it's still in the box, because I am a bit intimidated. I've got a few questions....

1) any general tips/advice I should be aware of?
2) i thought I saw something in the manual that says "DO NOT SANITIZE WITH SULFITE". If this is the case- then how do you pull your wine sample?
3) with 3 demijohns, 1 carboy, and three 1 gallons fermenting about 2 weeks after pressing- what's my next move? Skipped MLF because of a 3.85ph, measured with a low cost ph pen at the time. Still getting some small bubbling in the airlock (which I need to change because there are several dead fruit flies in there). Racked off gross lees within 36 hours. When should I test for Free SO2 and sulfite?

 

[Johnd]

So the Mrs. has been paying attention to all the wine talk recently because I was fortunate enough to have wound up with the SC-300 as a birthday gift! However, it's still in the box, because I am a bit intimidated. I've got a few questions....

1) any general tips/advice I should be aware of?
2) i thought I saw something in the manual that says "DO NOT SANITIZE WITH SULFITE". If this is the case- then how do you pull your wine sample?
3) with 3 demijohns, 1 carboy, and three 1 gallons fermenting about 2 weeks after pressing- what's my next move? Skipped MLF because of a 3.85ph, measured with a low cost ph pen at the time. Still getting some small bubbling in the airlock (which I need to change because there are several dead fruit flies in there). Racked off gross lees within 36 hours. When should I test for Free SO2 and sulfite?

1. Enjoy your toy, and don’t be intimidated. Watch the instructional videos, you’ll pick it up quick.

2. I don’t recall seeing the note about sulfite. I spritz mine with sulfite, rinse with DI water, and dunk it into my wine for pH readings. The other functions, SO2 and TA, you’ll pull samples that don’t get returned.

3. If you want to practice testing pH, TA, and SO2, pull a small sample, warm it a bit and shake it up to release the CO2 and test away. You won’t need to sulfite until fermentation is 100% complete, good time to practice. Once it’s time, be confident that you’ll get accurate readings to adjust pH / TA, and add SO2 according to your pH.

Congrats!!!

 

[NorCal]

I have one. Great tool and found a number of small wineries use the same tool.

 

[NCWC]

I have one and use it all the time
Put the date on the reagents so you know how old they have a shelf life
Calibrate every couple months

 

[Vinoors]

Is it worth investing in some lab equipment? Seems like I could put together some stuff on Amazon for less than the amount needed for the equipment included in the pro kit.

 

[mainshipfred]

Great present, great wife, congrats and Happy Birthday. Dito on everything John said, especially warming and shaking the samples for the Ph and TA. The other thing I would recommend is purchasing the Pro Kit. The magnetic stirrer is a wonderful tool and the burette ( I got the 10 ml) makes for very accurate titrant measurements, plus it looks really cool. Don't know if it's necessary but I calibrate my Ph electrode at least everytime I use it and sometimes, depending on how many samples I test, again the same day. Have fun!

 

[Boatboy24]

The items that come in the pro kit are great, but can be purchased elsewhere. Don't know if you'd save $$ or not. As Fred said, the stirrer is a great little tool. If you're so inclined, there are a lot of videos on the web that will show you how to make your own.

I don't use sulfite on mine (I have the SC-100), but pull samples and don't replace them.

 

[Vinoors]

Hi All- its been about 2 weeks since racking off of the gross lees (not doing a MLF) and fermentation activity is slowing. No bubbling airlocks, but some small bubbles working up along the glass demi/carboys. What do you recommend as the next course of action? Do I bother testing for Free SO2 this early on? Would you even expect the wine to have any Free SO2 when you take your 1st measurement? I added 50ppm at crush and my understanding is that by now its expected that all SO2 is likely bound.

 

[mainshipfred]

The SO2 test uses very little titrant compared to the TA so I would say go for it. I just finished fermenting 3 batches and came up with 18, 19 and 21 ppm but did not add anything to start. I have to get below 10ppm to start my MLF so I will not add anything sulfites

 

[Vinoors]

Thanks- is it common to reuse all the pipettes in the vinmetrica kit? I was planning to rinse everything with distilled water and reuse including the tiniest pipettes and syringe.. I only ask because they come in packaging that says disposable but I figured they source some of this stuff from medical/lab suppliers.

 

[mainshipfred]

I wasn't careful enough and used transfer pipette from the SO2 Acid Solution in the So2 Reactant Solution. The Reactant Solution turned a yellow brown color. I sent an email to Vinmetrica about this this morning. Does anyone know if the solution is ruined? I already ordered another set of the solutions.

 

[BigH]

Starsan is my sanitizer of choice. It is a non rinse sanitizer, and is not sulfite based. I mix it with de-ionized water instead of tap water.

I am still a noob wine maker, but here is how I do it

1. Rack off the gross lees, or MLF lees if I did a malolactic fermentation
2. Immediately add 15 ppm SO2
3. Let sit for a day or two
4. Measure SO2 and pH to calculate how much SO2 I need to add to bring it up to the correct levels
5. Add that amount of SO2. Measure again at next racking or in a few weeks

Some people might recommend another test a day after the second addition to verify you reached your target. I don't bother. I calculate my addition to take me to the top end of the recommended range based on pH (see the graph here https://www.accuvin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/How-SO2-and-pH-are-Linked.pdf). I figure if I come up a tad short, I should still be safe.

Recommendations for the test kit

• Add the titrant slowly, but don't dilly dally either. Add a few drops, stir, watch the meter, repeat. It is really easy to shoot past the correct stopping point.
• Mark one pipette for the red solution and one for the yellow, don't mix the two during testing
• Rinse everything off with de-ionized water when done. Clean pipettes thoroughly.

H

 

[BigH]

I wasn't careful enough and used transfer pipette from the SO2 Acid Solution in the So2 Reactant Solution. The Reactant Solution turned a yellow brown color. I sent an email to Vinmetrica about this this morning. Does anyone know if the solution is ruined?

Not worth the risk IMO. Your wine is far more valuable than the pretty colored reactant. I would toss it if I were in your shoes.

H

 

[BigH]

Thanks- is it common to reuse all the pipettes in the vinmetrica kit? I was planning to rinse everything with distilled water

I rinse and reuse just like you mentioned. Might be wise to mark pipettes so one is always used for the red bottle and the other is always used for yellow.

H