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Question forTom S (washing machine centrifuge)

I used the spin cycle on the family maytag to centriguge 12 bottles of gunk left after settling chardonnay. I ran it 2 cycles, and it sorta worked, got about half the gunk I think. I quit because It seemed like there were currents inside the bottles which prevented it from fully depositing on the side of the bottles, however I am wondering if I just quit too soon. My question: Is the success a function of time? Would 4 cycles have worked better than 2? Are bottle sizes an issue? Thanks in advance for your help! (My dad is 80, loves the all the red wine I give him, and its good because I have pretty much followed the techniques you teach on here . .stuff like garbage bag with water covers, etc. So an old guy in Idaho is happier because you have been generous in sharing what you have learned! Thanks!)

Reply to
Darwin Vander Stelt
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Longer spin time is better, but I found that the fast stopping when the brakes come on tends to remix the gunk back into the juice/wine. That's why I had an old machine modified to (1) disable the timer so that I could set it to spin as long as I wanted, and (2) disable the brakes and interlock so the tub spins down slowly. The Maytag man also put a different pulley on the motor so that it spins a bit faster.

I use 2 liter bottles, which are as big as I can get in there. BTW, wine lees separate better than juice lees. They're more cohesive - probably because of the bentonite in them.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

That makes sense. When I stopped the spin, I could see the liquid moving, picking up sediment from the bottle wall, a result of the fast stopping. Thanks!

Reply to
Darwin Vander Stelt

What a great idea Tom! Whould this work with the gross lees or a red grape? I paid a dear price of $52.00 per 32# case for Washington State Merlot grapes from Yakima Valley this year. Would love to get every last drop........Zinman

Reply to
zinman

I used Tom S' idea but in my home-use machine. After nearly six spin cycles, I got a nice demarcation between wine and lees. I used small Rubbermaid condiment containers as these were the dregs of one gallon bathes. I will consider doing the same method in my 15 gallon batches this year. I just hope the corner laundromat has no issue with it...

Reply to
Patrick McDonald

I usually recover at least 50% from the lees that won't settle any further by normal gravity. It works well on juice lees from the press (white wine), but even better on wine lees (post fermentation, red or white).

The stuff that remains is about theconsistency of baby sh-- but it smells a lot better. :^D

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

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