Equipment question - table?

KD - I don't recall ever seeing / hearing about a specially-constructed table for stuff like this. I think just about any kind of table or workbench with a work surface from 30" to 36" off the floor should be fine, provided it's strong enough to support full pails / carboys, and wouldn't be damaged by the occasional drip or spill.

I don't think you'd want a higher shelf for siphoning - it would be harder to lift full containers onto, and the top of said containers would be inconveniently far off the ground, I think, considering that you'd need to insert the siphoning wand into the top of the carboy. You could put the siphoning tubing in first, but then it's a little more clumsy, hoisting the full carboy up if it has tubing dangling down from it. And if you are trying to be careful and not disturb the sediment on the bottom of the carboy, you don't want the siphoning wand flopping around inside the carboy as you are lifiting it up . . .

Floor corkers do a pretty good job holding the bottles still during corking - you may not have one now, but you'll probably want one pretty soon, if you get hooked.

As for storing all of the required stuff in a standard closet -- I guess I don't know what a standard closet is, but I know my winemaking stuff would never fit into any closet in any house I've ever lived in. Winemaking really should be done in a space like a basement or utility room - some place with non-carpeted floor, where the odd spill won't do any permanent damage before you can mop it up.

Personally, I'd recommend you take another look at the basement. Unless the inside temp is significantly below freezing in the winter (which is unusual for basements) you should be able to find a workable approach. Winemaking supply outlets will be glad to sell you electric heating belts for keeping the "must" warm enough for the yeast to function properly. Cold really isn't a problem for aging, once the active fermentation phase is complete, so long as the wine doesn't freeze solid (not good for the carboy!). There's bound to be a way to combine some insulation and maybe a space heater or two to create a suitable environment.

I guess that's why there isn't a big demand for such a table at the moment. But if it makes sense to you, go for it. Sounds like a good husband project.

Happy fermenting -- Doug

Might want to see if you can hunt one of these down

A photo of a lift I managed to pick up for $150, my son's father in law had it laying around and wasn't using it any more. This one is rated at 500 lbs and has a hydraulic ram you pump up to lift the full carboy to about 4.5 ft. My back gave out a few years ago and I mainly use it to lift the carboys to table height where I slide them off onto the table. Store it the laundry room out of the way when not in use.

As far as the cold basement I built a box out of plywood a few years ago slightly larger than a 5 gallon carboy. I placed a 100 watt light powered through a thermostat. Worked like a charm the bulb gave off enough heat to keep the inside of the box at whatever temp. I set the thermostat for.

After knocking over a couple bottles during filling I hunted around and found the plastic milk carton seen sitting on the lift platform it holds 16 bottles and no fear of knocking them over any more. I got a couple and they hold more than enough bottles to do a 5 gal. batch of wine.

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses.

Doug, I'm thinking you may have a point in moving my operation into the basement. It doesn't go below freezing down there, but when I started the wine back in May it was still fairly chilly here in Atlantic Canada. I usually have my main floor no warmer than about 60-65 F in winter, so the basement was probably ten degrees lower, a bit chilly to start the fermentation process. May be that the answer would be to invest in a heating belt for that portion. I had considered the furnace room, but while that's warmer, it could provide some unwanted flavours. Nothing like that fuel oil note to round out a good white wine. :)

The light bulb idea is also worth trying out. Someone else once told me to just get a lamp with a 100 watt bulb in it and have it aimed in the general direction of your primary, that warms it sufficiently for your yeast to catch.

Looks like I have some experimentation to do! So far my winemaking equipment is mostly just the basics, but eventually I may overtake a whole room instead of a closet! There are so many little doodads that I'd like to have...

Thanks,

KD

Rick - Does the lift have a name on it? Thanks. Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

KD the odd heating pad lying around the house and a few old bath towels work fine too. 55 F is not too cold for fermenting whites; if you want to retains some of the fresh fruity flavors that is recommended. Sauv Blanc can go either way on that. The fermentation actually provides a little heat once it gets going too. The furnace room is a bad idea as you already know, the fumes and the temperature variations would be a bad situation.

I'm on the east coast too and my basement is similar to yours, I do everything down there. If you work with fresh juice or grapes next year the fermentation will be done long before it gets cold, those teperatures will help you clear and stabilize your wine. Regards, Joe

Wesco Manufacturing Lansdale PA Model number etc is to obscured to read any more. It's old but works and sure saves my back.

Rick

Hey, You're right, you probably will take over the basement. That's what I've done. I store my wine bottles (empty and full) down there, most of my equipment, and bulk age my carboys down there. Since I only do 1 gallon carboys, I still do most of the primary ferments in my kitchen. Darlene

A heating pad, what a great idea! A hot water bottle might do it too, just to get it going. How long would you leave the heating pad on? I'd be a bit wary of leaving it on for hours at a time when I'm not around to make sure it's all right.

Since this was my first batch, I was a bit reluctant to leave it to start in a cool place, afraid it wouldn't work at all and I would ruin it. I may be willing to try that next time though, even without the heating pad. If I were to leave it to do its own thing in the basement with no added heat, and after a few days it did nothing, would I still be able to save it by warming it?

KD

BTW, I use an electric blanket wrapped around my carboys. A thermometer is placed between the blanked and glass. Regulates at a nice 70 degrees F.

KB