In article , Charlie wrote:

On Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:06:57 -0700, Billy
wrote:

Transferring with a syphon is like a graduate degree in hydraulics.

Amen. Whooda thunk it, until ya tries it! (Shoulda remembered those
mouthsful of petrol, eh Rob? ;-P )

Too much SO2 will give you a nasty headache too.

Is SO2 production dependant upon the strain of yeast, to significant
degrees?
Three sulfur compounds are associated with wine making. Hydrogen SULFIDE
and diethyl SULFIDE "MAY" be produced during fermentation. The former
smells like rotten eggs and the latter, like skunks. Montrachet yeast is
known for its' tendency to produce sulfides. Sulfides can be removed
throgh a process call "blue fining" with copper sulate.

The third compound is SULFITES (SO2) which are added as a preservative
and to deactivate enzymes that can discolor wine. SO2 is not
bactericidal but rather bacteria-static. They jam-up bacteria and yeast
as long as it is present. Wines are typically bottled with 30 - 40
parts per million (ppm) free (unbound) SO2. The free SO2 will be
eventually bound by components of the wine, but after 18 months there
are no more viable micro-organisms left in the wine. SO2 these days is
usually added as disolving metabisulfite (K+ or Na+) in water before
adding it to the wine. In olden days, it was made by burning sulfur. SO2
is heavier than air and rests on the bottom of a barrel and the burning
removes oxygen from the barrel. I once made a Riesling (the third wine I
ever made) with 100 ppm FSO2. It gave a blinding headache for the first
year.
My pastuer champagne cider had no sulfurous odor, and a
slower rate of fermentation, but the batch fermented with Montrachet
smelled like rhino farts. After a week of really heavy fermentation
(my airlock was farting once/sec) I gave the carboy a good shaking to
incorporate some 02 (seemed like a good idea) and it began to settle
down and smell a bit more pleasant and appley.


I presume that you are using a clear polyethylene hose so that you can
see where the fluid is. Prime from the top of the carboy/demi-jon and
once you have a syphon, place suction end near the bottom of container.
You may want to make a racking wand from pvc, that is closed at the
bottom but has intake on the side, so that intake is lateral and not
sucking up the lees.

Hopefully you can purge receptacles with CO2, or better yet argon, or at
least nitrogen before filling. Only use CO2 when receptacles will be
full or nearly full. CO2 dissolves into aqueous solutions and will draw
a vacuum. I've had sealed 5 gal. (19 L) bottles implode on me while
making wine.

Thanks for this advice.

To keep this on a garden note, wonder what turnip wine tastes like?
Nooooooooooooo. There is a place in hell for people who ask questions
like that.

Charlie
Today's phrase
ALOHA OY:
Love; greetirgs; farewell; from such a pain you should never know
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html