Thrifty DJ tags

[calumscott]

I've now got 5 DJs on the go and another two that will be pressed into service pretty soon.

I was wondering about identifying the contents and toyed with ideas like scrawling on the DJ with a sharpie pen, sticky labels etc but then that's a pain when you rack.

I remember when my Mum used to make wine she had these clever plastic tags that she got from boots that clipped onto the DJ handle loops.

So a pair of scissors and an empty plastic milk bottle later - Demijohn Tags!

The idea is pretty simple all you do is cut rectangles from your milk bottle, then cut holes for the DJ handle. Through the magic of ASCIIArt the cut is something like this:

+-------/---------+
|   ___/_______   |
|  /           \  |
| |             | |
|  \___________/  |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 |
+-----------------+

Just scribble on what it is with a sharpie and when you rack unclip and clip onto the new DJ. :thumb:

...and here's a photo!

 

[Stanleythecat]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

Leo

 

[alanywiseman.]

Great idea. I go with liquid chalk pens :thumb:

 

[calumscott]

Great idea. I go with liquid chalk pens :thumb:

The kind that pubs do their menus with?

 

[bobsbeer]

Great idea Callum. :thumb:

 

[alanywiseman.]

Great idea. I go with liquid chalk pens :thumb:

The kind that pubs do their menus with?

Possible :wha:

I use them to label bottles as well. They write on dry glass very easily and wipe off. Also allows you to add racking dates, SG, etc if you are lazy and don't keep your notebooks up to date :grin:

 

[stevie1556]

I like the tag idea. Personally I cut a A4 bit of paper in half and write the wine type, ingredients, dates of making/racking, sugar levels, etc, roll it up and pop that through the handle in the DJ.

 

[Zedilly]

A piece of paper and a little bit of cellotape works for me, can be used on the fv too.

 

[Moley]

I still have a few of those old Boots DJ tags, but they are a bit tatty and now I have to stick paper labels over them.

Never thought about cutting my own

Then again, I make my own tags, a bit like luggage tags, punch them with brass eyelets (because I work in the printing trade and have access to such a device) then attach them with wires or rubber bands.

 

[LeedsBrewer]

love it :thumb: better get drinking the milk.

 

[calumscott]

love it :thumb: better get drinking the milk.

Might be worth pointing out that you can also buy scrumpy in the south west in suitable plastic containers...

:lol:

 

[Moley]

Ok, with thanks to eskimobob I have uploaded my wine tags and notes to the forum as pdf files, and they are now available for members to download and print out, if anyone else wishes to use them. They are only small files, 24 and 16kb respectively.

The tags are 4-up on an A4 sheet, I cut the sheet into four, fold along the dotted lines and glue them to form a double-sided tag, punching a hole in one end for a string or wire.

My notes sheets are 2-up on an A4 sheet, which I then cut in half and punch for an A5 ring binder.

TG is my expected or Target Gravity and PA stands for Potential Alcohol.
“Additions” on the front of the tags is used when I add stabiliser, finings, fruit cordials etc. or top up with other finished wines.
“Additions” on the back of the tag might be used when I back-sweeten prior to bottling.

You are welcome to suggest improvements.

Wine Tags

Notes sheet

 

[GeorgeSalt]

I use luggage labels, the card type with the reinforced hole and a bit of string looped through. Ebay or Amazon.

Add label, add notes.. left-over-right-then-under.. loop over neck of the dj. Once I've bottled the label is looped over the neck of one of the batches until I'm ready for labelling. All notes are on the label and the label can be filed, or copied.

Coloured dot stickers on the swing-top are also handy for identifying between batches at a glance in a mixed crate or end-on in the fridge rack - a "red top" being a bottle carbonated cider, whilst an unspotted bottle being home-pressed apple juice (and the better choice for breakfast).

 

[Crastney]

I use a large piece of paper, write notes on it, then cut an oval out of the centre, it fits over the top of the handles of the DJ, and then I turn it 90 Degrees, it won't come off.

 

[bobsbeer]

Your labels look good Moley. :thumb:

 

[beermaker]

I use dry wipe pens for whiteboards as i'm a teacher so usually have one in my pocket! My dad used to be a glazier and always used chinagraph pencils on his demijohns - guessing its horses for courses! Like the plastic tags though, going to raid the recycling!

 

[Gayle]

I delve into the kid's craft box for label making supplies, cutting one out of coloured (sometimes sparkly) card, punching a hole with some sort of scrapbooking punch (star or heart shaped hole), and grab an elastic band from DH's overflowing postie work trousers to attach it with. I love the milk bottle idea, but I'd want to cut the corners neatly, that plastic can be sharp!

 

[31bb3]

i use a strip of sellotape then write on that works good on cornies aswell

 

[oldbloke]

I cut a piece of A4 into 12 (long side/3, short side/4)
Fold over a corner, cut at 90 degrees to about 7mm from the edge
Fold along the cut, make 3 cuts: 90degrees to the fold, up, and down
This gives a collar that'll go over the top of a fermentation lock or a bottle neck
You can do the cuts on 3 at a time
Quick, simple

 

[awl23]

A bit of masking tape works wonders for me. Easy to peel off and stick to another DJ when needed