Separating skins for transfer?

[Ajmassa]

I just had a heck of time going from primary to press to glass. Smaller batches are not of concern I suppose, but getting the skins to the press and separated from the wine was daunting.
Is it better to just dump it all at once into the press, or to strain out scooping the skins first?
I ended up doing both and killed myself. Scooping out the skins on the surface then into the press. Then Maneuvering my racking cane inside a strainer on the surface of the wine using the AIO with one hand, the other on the vacuum release. Strainer would get clogged easily and had to stop and start many times. Got about half transferred via AIO and Finally just dumped the rest into the press.
Seemed to me like the best way would be to dump the whole batch through the press, but I don't know. Searching online just raised more questions because everyone seems to do it differently.

 

[CryptoStorm]

What did you start with?

Are you talking about pressing it right after crushing?

Has it been fermenting with the skins?

 

[Ajmassa]

No, pressing after AF. Skins in the fermenter. I'm just talking about the proper way to go from brute to press, and then press to glass.

Are you just putting everything through the press, letting as much wine freely run through before actually pressing?
OR
Are you siphoning with a strainer type system leaving behind all the skins at bottom of vessel to then dump into press ??

 

[CryptoStorm]

I stop punching the skins down so that they all float to the top and slide the siphon down the edge to suck the juice off the bottom.

If you need to you could slide panty hose over your siphon cane to keep it from plugging..

I've never really had an issue though..

 

[Boatboy24]

I ferment in 20gal Brutes. My 'press' is really two phases, sometimes happening simultaneously. I have a section of PVC with a cap on one end. In that PVC, I drilled a 'gajillion' holes. I don't punch down the cap prior to pressing. Rather, I insert my PVC 'strainer' through the cap and all the way into the brute, capped end down. The open end sticks up above the must. Into that, I insert a racking cane with my AI1 attached. Then I rack out the 'free run' juice and when that's done, I transfer the remaining skins and juice into the press using a strainer. The pressed juice is drained into a bucket below through a fine mesh strainer to catch any seeds or other small particles that might find their way through the press. Once all that is done (or sometimes while it's going on), I rack from bucket to carboy using the AI1.

 

[Ajmassa]

That's a great idea about leaving the cap floating. Though I also had a significant amount of seeds and sludge on the bottom too. And I also usually use a muslin bag around the racking cane. But this time it wasn't allowing enough of vacuum for the AIO (1st time attempting the AIO with skins). In hindsight I may have been better off just using an auto siphon for this stage.
So do you not recommend dumping the whole shabang into the press at all?

YES Boatboy, I now remember seeing the thread where you and a couple others were trading similar techniques. I will definitely go back and check that out again. That's basically exactly what I needed yesterday.
This was my plan with this batch anyway. A test run with grapes to figure what works, what didn't work, and what I'll need to make my wine in the fall go as smooth as possible.

 

[CryptoStorm]

I've seen several big bulky strainer type devices.. I've just never had an issue with letting the cap float at the end..

You could run it all through the press I guess.. It just seems like an easy way to make a big mess to me..

 

[Johnd]

What @boatboy24 said, don't punch down, and rack through some sort of strainer, I also use the "gajillion" hole pipe. Dump the skins in the press after that, press away!

 

[mainshipfred]

Brother, I finally did something right. I made this to hold oak chips and found it works perfectly for racking with skins

 

[jburtner]

Brother, I finally did something right. I made this to hold oak chips and found it works perfectly for racking with skins

You need a couple more holes for a "gajillion"

Cheers!
-johann

 

[dcbrown73]

I haven't tired this, but I suppose you could also skim the cap off with a strainer prior to starting the pump. That way even less trouble once the volume reaches the point that the cap is at the bottom of the brute.

 

[mainshipfred]

Brother, I finally did something right. I made this to hold oak chips and found it works perfectly for racking with skins

Bubble buster!

 

[Kraffty]

Here I thought I was the only one using the Gazillion Hole Pipe method. I do however wrap the pipe in a couple of layers made up of strainer bags and can syphon the 33 gal brute down to about 18" of skins and seeds before pressing. This year I bought a pump but plan to still use the Pipe and strainers.
Mike

 

[Ajmassa]

Well I'm sold. And another item on my summer to-do list preparing for fall. I think I already have everything so this one should only cost some time.
Maybe I'll jazz it up with a 1x6 with a hole across the rim and a clamp to make it hands free.
Does a nice thick cap hold it upright in place?

 

[ceeaton]

Brother, I finally did something right. I made this to hold oak chips and found it works perfectly for racking with skins

When you do an all skins batch, you may find that a 4 or 6 inch diameter pipe with holes works better. You'd be amazed how clogged up it gets and you'll have to repeatedly start and stop your vacuum pump. Here's an image of one that @jgmann67 created for me, it's made from 4" diameter sewer pipe, not pre-used.

I put a brewers bag around the outside to keep the skins from going through the holes.

 

[Boatboy24]

I should have added that I use a paint strainer bag on the outside of my pipe. It is 4" PVC.

 

[CryptoStorm]

I'm going to Wack the bees nest and say that PVC technically isn't food grade.. technically not even good for drinking water..

 

[Johnd]

Here's my gajillion hole racker:

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I posted this back in 2013 on my facebook page -
Here is a nice setup that can be used to make your first run easier.
It uses a plastic pipe with holes in it and a filter bag around it - drop it in your primary and let your Allinone pull from the middle of the tube. That way it is removing alot of your 1st run without having to lift and make a mess of things.
next I will post how to press using the same tube and filter bag with the Allinone....

 

[richmke]

I'm going to Wack the bees nest and say that PVC technically isn't food grade.. technically not even good for drinking water..

You could make it out of a fermentation pail.