Reusing a Box Wine Bladder

April 26, 2022April 14, 2022 — Eclectic — 3 min read

Boxed wine or Bag in a Box (BiB) wine bladders are something we reuse. In our case it is to refill them with our homemade wine, but we see online that people use them for other liquids also. Most of our boxes come from friends and neighbors who have enjoyed consuming the contents. The bladder is easily removed through hole where the valve protrudes.

There are only two parts, the plastic bag or bladder and the valve. There are several types of valves but they are all a compression fit into base in our experience. I’ve used a twist valve style for this post but the push valve style can be removed the same way.

The tools I use to remove the valve. You have to be very careful because they are sharp and can cut you if they slip. Wearing gloves while learning the technique is strongly advised.

I begin by using a putty knife, inserting it between the valve and the base, then using a twisting motion the to open a small gap between the valve and base, then moving around the base . It takes very little effort to insert the blade. I grip the blade very close to valve and apply the twisting motion. I ruined a few bladders and valves when I was first learning that it is moving a round the base and repeating the twisting motion that opens the gap, not exerting a great deal of force in any on spot. Think, insert, twist, move a little further around the base, twist again.

Once a small gap is opened around the base and valve, I take a large bladed screwdriver and with a gentle twist open a larger gap that pops the valve out to the first rib. Usually I have to work my way around the base just as with the putty knife. Don’t try to “pop” it all at once, just work around the base and it will slowly start to separate.

Once it is popped out to the first rib I use a rocking motion with my hands to work the valve the rest of the way out of the base. Then it time to clean the bladder to prepare it for reuse. I use a special cleaner that is sold for cleaning wine making equipment which seems to do a very good job. I’ve been able to reuse bladders two or three times so far. Maybe some day I will post about my winemaking, but don’t hold your breath as we should begin traveling once again in the next two or three weeks.

Now That Needs Cleaning

April 25, 2022April 11, 2022 — Eclectic — 1 min read

The air conditioner/heat pump in our coach house is a Mitsubishi Mr. Slim split unit. We have always cleaned the filters but recently we learned there are other parts that also need cleaning.

Thanks to YouTube we learned how to open the louvers so we could clean the blower,

What it looked like in there after not having never been cleaned in the eight years since it was installed.

It was going to take more than just bushing the dirt from the blower to remove the buildup. But that is a story for another day.

Another Breakfast Burrito Photo

April 24, 2022April 10, 2022 — Food — 1 min read

The fresh jalapenos make a big difference, both in the taste and also in how it looks. It is almost a shame to add the Mexican sour cream, chili sauce and Oaxaca cheese then roll it up.

It Came Back

April 23, 2022April 10, 2022 — Other — 1 min read

That unknown weed from some weeks ago was sprouting once again. Hopefully we dug enough of it out this time that its life cycle has ended.

Help Rob! There’s a Snake in There!

April 22, 2022April 10, 2022 — Other — 1 min read

She doesn’t like snakes, or better put, she’s very, very scared of snakes. That’s due to the walk-in basement in the house she lived in growing up. It had very low ceiling beams with the water pipes attached to them. Their home canned goods were kept down there and it was her job to get them for her mother. Snakes would lay on the water pipes for some reason, thus her deeply imprinted fear of snakes.

The “she” featured above is my wife. Then it was my job to clean out the shelf and discover it was just the shed skin of a snake, or actually two snake skins since there were two tail pieces, There was also evidence a mouse or rat had started to build a nest . I tell her snakes other than rattlers are okay as they eat those rodents. She says no snake is a good snake, end of discussion.