Topic: demijohns

[STEVEB]

Looking at demijohns on art of brewing site £2.49 for the pep plastic type .i thought this was a good price /lighter e.t.c.
Any one used these type before as the glass ones are getting expensive!

[Baccy Man]

I have used them & have made my own. I prefer glass as it's easier to clean, the plastic ones are easy to dent or split so don't last that long. If you need some extra demijohns on a short term basis they are fine but if you want something that will last a lifetime then go for glass.

You can buy plastic demijohns for £1.99 each here:
http://www.hamstead-brewing-centre.co.uk/itmidx46.htm

If you want to make your own then buy a 5L bottle of water from a supermarket drill a hole in the lid fit a grommet to accommodate the airlock and you have a plastic demijohn identical to the ones you can buy.

You should be able to get the grommets from most homebrew equipment suppliers I know art of brewing do them here are a couple of other sites that have pictures to show you what they look like.
http://www.homebrew4u.co.uk/homebrew-equipment/air-lock-grommet-for-fermenting-bin-lids.asp
http://shop.quaysidehomebrew.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=288&parent=43

[STEVEB]

Thanks for the info,this is all new to me so i,ll start of with plastic and keep an eye out in charity shops and boot sales for now.I,m dieing to try the turbo cider to get going and maybe the grape juice wines,start of simple and see how i get on.

[STEVEB]

Im going to start of with  a couple of demis bungs and airlocks some wine yeast and tubing for syphoning ,do i need anything else or is that all i need to get going?All answers welcome buying on line so i dont want to get hit with 2 delivery charges !!

[Baccy Man]

Steriliser, thermometer, hydrometer, hydrometer jar, depending on the type of bottles you intend to use either corks or crown caps & either a corker or capper to fit them. I find a 10 litre bucket is extremely useful for the first stage of most 1 gallon wine or cider recipes.
Look at the recipes you intend to try some common ingredients you may need & could buy at the same time are: citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, yeast nutrient, tannin, campden tablets and pectic enzyme.

It may be worth considering a starter kit as it would include most of the equipment you will need.
This one is £12.49 & includes a 1 gallon wine kit.
http://www.hamstead-brewing-centre.co.uk/itm00989.htm

[legendaryone]

Thanks for the info,this is all new to me so i,ll start of with plastic and keep an eye out in charity shops and boot sales for now.

Don't forget freecycle, i got nearly a dozen of it plus some winemaking books  :)

[dazdread]

Yep, freecycle... I have 15 demi-Johns and a big fermenting bucket form there.

Nothing else though, so like you i am looking to see what I need to buy.

[STEVEB]

probably on here some where but could a kind person send a link to freecycle

[Jeannine]

Funny I should just read this.. I got one in a charity shop today for 75p.  I made wine in the 60s but have no clue as to what to do now!!

XX Jeannine

[Baccy Man]

probably on here some where but could a kind person send a link to freecycle

http://www.freecycle.org
Make sure you sign up for a UK group not a US one.

Your nearest freecycle group would probably be the Oxford one.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OxfordFreecycle/