Lifting and racking a 30-bottle kit

[Wineuncorkeduk]

I used to be able to lift the filled 25-litre fermented bucket of wine from the floor onto a small table so that there was some head height to start the siphoning off and racking after an initial fermentation. But I'm not sure I'm up to the task any more. How do members deal with larger volumes of liquid and lifting? Do you use a specific pump syphon or ferment in smaller volumes from the start?

 

[aamcle]

The easy way would be to use thickets to get the weight down.

 

[Wineuncorkeduk]

Thank you for your quick reply. But could you explain a thicket. I am not familiar with this term.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I think you're very wise to be cautious: I'm reliably informed that putting your back out is no fun whatsoever.
Personally I rigged a 2:1 pulley to a beam above where I brew, and tie a barrel hitch round the bucket.
If you lift like this it is necessary to put a lid on the bucket to stop it squashing sideways at the top - or put a notched wooden 'spreader bar' across the top (which is what I do).

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

As an alternative you could perhaps also use one of these little 12v pumps to pump the finished wine up to a bucket on the table.
They are surprisingly capable - I have been using a similar one for over two years now to recirculate beer wort during the mash.
The fittings are 1/2 BSP by the way (or similar enough not to make any difference) and a lot of them come with a couple of barb converters that fit silicone hose.

12v Solar Pump for sale | eBay

 

[Cwrw666]

I just did smaller brews. Beer - I went down from 5 to 4 gallons.
With wine kits I was already making them up to 4.5 gallons instead of 5 to make them a bit tastier anyway. Just that drop of half a gallon makes it easier for me. I ferment upstairs in the airing cupboard so there's running up and down stairs too.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Ferment it at a height allowing you to use a little bottler.

 

[Wineuncorkeduk]

These are some great suggestions. Any more?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

… generally these days I shout for my teenage son to come and help lift it; which is hilarious because he insists on holding his breath all the way through because he can‘t stand the smell of beer (that’ll change…)

 

[Wineuncorkeduk]

The easy way would be to use thickets to get the weight down.

Hi, Could you explain what a thicket is as I'm not familiar with this.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I can only imagine it's a smaller kind of vessel?

 

[Wineuncorkeduk]

I can only imagine it's a smaller kind of vessel?

Thank you. I was guessing that too. Is it an Australian term? Or a beer brewing vessel? Just thinking out loud.