Cellar Craft Stirring oak cubes & AIO Pump

[Broge5]

I actually have two questions I'd like to ask for some feedback on.

1. I have a CC red mountain cab in the clearing stage. This is the point where it said to add the oak cubes. All the oak cubes are bunched up in the very top neck of the carboy. Should I stir this at all? Also instructions say to leave for 20 days. Would a little longer be good for the Oak?

2. Next, I was wondering about the all-in-one pump. Is it recommended to use this for every racking including from primary to secondary? Or should I just use it for every racking after that? I'm thinking maybe I don't want to degas before secondary fermentation. Or does it really matter?

I'm really enjoying this new hobby and the help from this forum is tremendous.

 

[SouthernChemist]

1. No need to stir the oak cubes. They will be slowly extracted and eventually sink to the bottom of the carboy. Oak cubes typically take several weeks to be extracted. The 20 days in the instructions probably has more to do with keeping to a 6-8 week bottling schedule (as advertised) than anything else. Going longer than that shouldn't hurt anything. Good choice on the Red Mountain Cab, btw!

2. You can use the pump whenever you like. You can't truly degas the wine while fermentation is ongoing - the yeast will simply replace any CO2 you remove.

 

[derunner]

Typically I splash rack with AIO to remove co2 when fermentation is done. As said if fermentation is active it will re-saturate the wine with co2. But if you don't want much to leave have the tube going into carboy deliver the wine to the bottom of the carboy. This way not as much co2 will be force out of the wine.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Typically I splash rack with AIO to remove co2 when fermentation is done. As said if fermentation is active it will re-saturate the wine with co2. But if you don't want much to leave have the tube going into carboy deliver the wine to the bottom of the carboy. This way not as much co2 will be force out of the wine.

Wow - I could not of said it any better ^^^

As far as the oak - It is personal taste judgement

Thanks

 

[Boatboy24]

I think most of your questions have been answered. Regarding the oak cubes, they can take 6 weeks or longer to fully extract. So extending the recommended time won't hurt anything IMHO. But taste after a few weeks to see if it is where you like. Just keep in mind that the oak flavor will fall back over time.

 

[Broge5]

Thanks everybody for the input. I really appreciate it.

 

[Broge5]

I have decided I want to leave cubes in a little bit longer than the 20 days that the instructions say. However I do want to rack off the sediment that has collected on the bottom after clearing. Can I rinse the oak cubes and put them back in for another few weeks, and then rack again. I'm down to have at least a little more dusting on the bottom by that time anyway.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Yes I have reused the cubes before - they just wont be as powerful as new.

 

[Broge5]

That sounds fine. I don't really need them to be as powerful, I'm just trying to get the rest out of them. Thanks for the reply Vacuumpumpman.

BTW - looking forward to using my AIO again.