Re: Adding too much water???

Hi Dave,

Topping with water makes for thin, dilluted wine. Once you obtain a visible sediment, rack from your large carboy into smaller ones so you always have full containers.

CHEERS!

Aaron

Tom... and everyone,

Thanks for the good advice. I have a 5 gallon carboy which I just racked my

Thanks again,

Dave

I've never done a Brew King, but did a Vintner's Reserve. Figure there can't be that big of a difference. My question is why was there so much of a space in that first carboy. My first racking of the vintners brought it to within about 4 inches of the neck. This was also a 23 litre kit.

Greg

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Dave,

Something is definitely out of whack here!

When you say "what I KNOW to be 23 litres", how do you know it's 23? It really sounds to me like you're starting with a lot less than you think you are -- either that, or you're leaving an awful lot behind in the racking process. A 23l carboy should give you 30.67 bottles, which is what you're getting (within 1/2l margin of error).

I've done lots of BK kits. For the first couple when I followed their directions exactly, I had to add no more than 2 litres of water total during the racking(s). For later ones where I let them bulk age and clarify instead of using the chitosan, I had to add even less (total) even though I racked more times. Especially if you're doing the initial racking when they tell you to (around SG of 1.010), you shouldn't really lose any volume at that point. Most of the volume loss should be at the next racking, and in my experience should be no more than approximately one litre.

I'm guessing that you're starting with a lower initial volume than you think you are. In fact, it sounds exactly as though you're starting with 5 US gallons (19 l) instead of 5 imperial gallons which equals 6 US gallons or 23l. What kind of SG did your must have after adding the original water and before fermentation begins?

Richard

I've noticed differences between similarly marked carboys as well. I have Italian made 23l carboys that hold considerably more than the 23l Mexican made ones! They *look* to be the same size but I'd rack from one to the other and notice a huge difference in volume and have to rerack it into whichever was more appropriate. At first I thought perhaps I'd gotten a little mixed up with the whole US/Imp gallon measurements but that wasn't the case. Topping up the Italians would require diluting with quite a bit of water for some batches so I use those mainly for the fruit wine kits now. I've since stocked up on various sized carboys and jugs so I can avoid topping up with water.

My Italian "23 litre" hold just over 24.5 liters and another different type clearly marked "23 Litre" holds just over 25 litres. this is up to the neck of the carboy. I usually try and add a 1 gallon to my "23 liter Kit" which gives meover and above , the extra leftover I keep for subsequent rackings. If I make a 23 liter kit as per instuctions, I usually have to top up with

regards,

strawberry)

I should have said that the extra gallon that I add to the the 23 litre kit in the primary fermenter is a similar "1 gallon kit" in style to the 23 litre kit!!!

regards,

There are several common sizes of larger carboys. 5 gal, 6 gal and 6-1/2 gal. Sometimes you buy a 6 gal and get a 6-1/2 gal. To make things even more complicated, most 5 gal carboys will hold 5-1/2 gal. A 6 gal will hold

Have fun figuring all that out! ;o)

Ray