Instructions for making your own water seal for wine at home
When making homemade wine, a water trap is used to remove carbon dioxide. All experienced winemakers and even beginners know about it. For these purposes, they take a device from a store or make it at home, and often use a thing intended for other purposes. Most often, a rubber medical glove is used. It can also be a cotton swab, syringe, dropper.
What is a wine odor trap
A wine odor trap is a device that is put on a container with wort to remove carbon dioxide from it, and as an obstacle to oxygen entering the container. If this is not done, the wine will turn into vinegar and the product will be irrevocably spoiled. In rare cases, the bottle may rupture from excess accumulated gas.
The quality of the wine will not be affected by the device used, the main thing is that it is properly made and applied. Along with self-made water seals, factory ones are used, which can be bought in a store. There is no difference, but you have to make a choice - to spend time or money.
Areas of use
The odor trap is used in the manufacture of grape or fruit and berry wines. Regardless of what kind of wine you end up with: dry, semi-dry, dessert or fortified, a water seal is a must. It ensures a constant release of carbon dioxide from fermentation and prevents oxygen from contacting the wort. Without its use, a good wine will never work.
How to do it yourself
Making a water seal at home will not be difficult. You need to take the necessary items, such as a nylon cap and a rubber tube, for the classic and "quiet" version. Otherwise, you will need a dropper and two syringes. The simplest is a medical rubber glove or cotton wool, from which you can create closures.
Classic version
To make a water seal, it is necessary to prepare nylon caps in the required quantity, one per bottle. The same number of rubber tubes, half-liter jars and a little plasticine. The length of the tube depends on the height of the bottle.
In the middle of the lid, a hole is made around the circumference of the tube, where it is inserted. To avoid letting air out of the container, the place where the tube enters the hole must be coated with plasticine. The cap is put on the bottle, the other end of the tube is lowered into the jar, half filled with water, which should be refilled as it evaporates.
As long as the water in the jar gurgles and bubbles, you can be sure that the fermentation process continues.
After its end, there will be no more bubbles, which means that you can continue the process of making wine.
Medical glove
When using a rubber medical glove, the cover and accessories associated with it are not needed. The glove is put on the neck of the can, fixed with insulating tape or tape. A pair of fingers or all five are pierced with a needle.
At the moment of fermentation, the glove inflates, so it will be easy to determine when the fermentation process is over. At this time, it will sag due to the lack of air in it.
Cotton plug
If it is not possible to install a water odor trap, you can use a cotton plug. For this, the neck of the bottle with raw materials is tightly plugged with cotton. During fermentation, carbon dioxide is released, but air does not enter the container. This method is not reliable, since there is a danger of air getting inside.
Silent model
To get rid of the unpleasant gurgling, you can make an inexpensive device. A hole is made in the lid, a tube is inserted into it, which must be made with a small loop and secured with a plaster. Insulate the junction of the tube base with the cover. After pouring some water into the tube, the “quiet” model is ready.
Syringe and dropper device
To make a simple structure, you will need two syringes, a dropper, and plasticine. Cut a hole in the lid from under the container where the wort will be located, which will be the same size as the diameter of the syringe. The first is inserted into the hole with the nose up, the second is attached with tape to the first, with the nose down.
The syringes are connected to each other by a dropper tube. One syringe is half filled with water, preventing air from entering the can, and the second serves to remove carbon dioxide.
Shop shutter for wine
In the store you can see several types of water seals, differing from each other in price, appearance and quality.
- The cheapest purchase will be a cover with a hole and a hose attached inside. The disadvantage of this design is a loud gurgle during fermentation and an unpleasant smell.
- Within two hundred rubles, you can buy an S-shaped water seal. The main disadvantage appears during strong fermentation, when the pressure pushes the water out.
- One of the best is considered a glass-type shutter. It is noiseless, does not let in an unpleasant smell during fermentation, and the water in it hardly evaporates. The price ranges from 200 to 600 rubles.
If you set a goal, then most of the water locks offered in the store can be made independently, while saving the family budget.
Terms of use
A self-made odor trap is practically no different from a device bought in a store. Before using it, you need to check how tightly the parts of the structure are in contact with each other. For tightness, it is better to coat the junction of the parts with glue, plasticine, wax.
- When installing a special lid on a container with wort, you need to make sure that the tube does not rest against the bottom of the can of water.
- You can use the glove on a glass container with a volume of no more than twenty liters.
- You can put a balloon on a can with a narrow neck.
For making wine, it is better to use a simple homemade water seal and not tackle the complex production of the product.
The end result is identical, and you can save money and your time.
