Go Fermentor GOfermentor Jr User manual

Professional winemaking for the serious enthusiast and microvinification researcher. Make
wine using real grapes instead of juice for award-winning results. Advanced technology
eliminates all the mess and cleaning. Completely self-contained. Does not require a press.
GOFERMENTOR JR OPERATING MANUAL

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GOfermentor is a registered trademark. US patent 9,260,682, 9,611,452, France 3013726, Australia 2014268161,
other foreign registrations pending.
Operating Manual ©2019-2020
Version 3.0 June1, 2020
www.GOfermentorJR.com

CONTENTS
WHAT IS THE GOFERMENTOR? .....................................................................................................................................4
GOFERMENTOR JR.........................................................................................................................................................4
COMPONENTS ...........................................................................................................................................................4
OPTIONAL ..................................................................................................................................................................4
DISPOSABLES .............................................................................................................................................................4
YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE.....................................................................................................................................4
INITIAL EQUIPMENT SETUP .......................................................................................................................................5
RED WINE FERMENTATION .........................................................................................................................................12
PUNCHING ...............................................................................................................................................................12
SAMPLING................................................................................................................................................................15
PRESSING out the wine............................................................................................................................................16
DEFLATION...............................................................................................................................................................20
AGING AND RACKING ..............................................................................................................................................21
WHITE WINE FERMENTATION .....................................................................................................................................22
PREPARATION..........................................................................................................................................................22
PRESSING out the juice............................................................................................................................................22
FERMENTATION.......................................................................................................................................................24
APPENDIX 1 operating the controls.............................................................................................................................25
APPENDIX 2 Controller configuration..........................................................................................................................37
APPENDIX 3 SPECIFICATIONS.......................................................................................................................................40
APPENDIX 4 SOURCES..................................................................................................................................................42
APPENDIX 5 troubleshooting and faq..........................................................................................................................44
APPENDIX 6 Warranty, support, Liability, and Returns Policy.....................................................................................49
APPENDIX 7 terms and conditions of sale ...................................................................................................................50

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WHAT IS THE GOFERMENTOR?
The GOfermentor, developed in 2014, is a revolutionary device for winemaking. Traditional winemaking
fermentors have changed little in the last 500 years - the only major change being the move from open wood vats
to temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks. The GOfermentor brings 21st century technology, developed
originally for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, to modern winemaking. This technology dramatically reduces
the capital and operating cost for a winery. No significant installation is necessary –a fermentation system can be
set up within minutes in any suitable room. No cleaning is required which dramatically reduces labor
requirements. No waste water treatment is needed as the process uses essentially no wash water. And, finally, the
GOfermentor provides better control of fermentation parameters, minimal exposure to air, automated punch and
built-in press. You can read about it on our website www.GOfermentor JR.com.
GOFERMENTOR JR
The GOfermentor JR is the home version of our revolutionary winemaking technology. The GOfermentor is used
for commercial wineries with an operating capacity of up to 1 ton grapes per batch. The GOfermentor JR uses the
same technology, but in a compact inexpensive format with a capacity up to 110lb grapes (5 to 7 gallons of wine).
COMPONENTS
The following components are included (see Appendix 2 for details):
1. Electronic controller with power cord.
2. Perforated sampling /pressing tube with pressure relief cap
3. Segmented 2inch TriClamp and gasket
4. Black reusable rubber inflatable bellows (3) with bottom plate
5. Harvest tubing with fitting
6. Inflation/deflation manifold tubing
7. 3x 3/8-inch hose crimps to connect bellows to inflation manifold
8. U-bolt clamp
9. 2-inch hose clamp to close fermentation liner
10. Plastic 30-gallon drum outer container with clear cover plate and clamp.
OPTIONAL
GOfermentor hand operated sampler
DISPOSABLES
GOliner JR single-use fermentation liners
YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE
Wine Grapes (50 to 110 lbs). Fresh or frozen.
Yeast and additives and some laboratory gear
Wine collection and aging vessels
Inexpensive wine transfer pump (essential for good press yields)
These can be obtained from various online suppliers. Some sources are provided in Appendix 4.

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PUSH
INITIAL EQUIPMENT SETUP
Scan this QR code to see the setup video
SETTING UP
1. All components are shipped packed inside the blue plastic drum. Open the lid
clamp and remove the lid. Peel the protective film off both sides so it is clear.
Remove all the components inside.
2. Power up the controller and setup the WiFi connection (Appendix 1).
3. Place the 3 black reusable rubber bellows in the drum. The bottom of each
bellow has a grommet. There is a short length of string that connects this
grommet to the circular bottom plate. Verify that each of the three bellows
is secured to the bottom plate. Place the bottom plate inside the drum. With
the bellows inside, hook the inlet tube on each bellow into the
corresponding hole in the drum. Drape the top of each bellow over the edge
of the drum. This will make it easier to fill the fermentation liner.
4. Connect the circular plastic pressurization manifold tubing on the outside of
the drum to each of the 3 bellow inlet tubes as shown. The small hose crimps are necessary to prevent
the fitting from slipping off under pressure. A pliers should be used to compress. The crimps are reusable
and can be removed by using pliers to push sideways and separate the teeth.
5. Push the open end of the perforated metal tube into the plastic pressing tube head and secure with the
supplied 4mm hex key.
6. Place a new fermentation liner inside the rubber bellows. Drape the open end of the fermentation liner
over the lip of the drum. That’s it! You are now ready to fill the fermentation liner with grapes.

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FILLING THE FERMENTOR LINER
Fill the fermentation liner with grapes. You can use crushed grapes, or whole destemmed grapes. Do not use
whole clusters. For white wines you can use juice. We do not recommend the use of grape concentrate for red
wine–after all –the purpose of the GOfermentor is to make real wine from real grapes, not bogus concentrates.
You can put in 50 to 110 lbs of grapes. You can crush the grapes in the liner by pounding them with a suitable tool
such as a 2x4. Or you can go use the punch mechanism as described later.
Now take a sample and measure pH etc. Make any nutrient additions or pH adjustments. You can mix these into
the must using a stirring paddle. If you are new to winemaking read some of the books in Appendix 3.
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CLOSING THE LINER
Once the grapes and additions are in, twist the open end of the liner to seal it off. Use duct tape to hold it closed
and to protect the liner from accidental puncture from the hose clamp. Then, slip on the supplied hose clamp and
tighten securely. Put some duct tape over the hose clamp so it cannot puncture the liner.
IMPORTANT Use a ratcheting wrench or nut-
driver to securely tighten the hose, otherwise
you may have leakage.
IMPORTANT Put some duct type tape on top
of the hose clamp to make sure it does not
chafe and puncture the liner or bellows.
From now on all operations will be done
through the 2-inch TriClamp port on the liner.

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CLOSE THE LID
1. Push the top edges of the rubber bellows towards the interior of the drum.
2. Place the clear lid on the drum. Make sure that the 2 inch top port protrudes through the central hole in
the lid:
3. Pull the liner port so that the liner port is flush with the lid, and secure using the U-bolt clamp so that it is
held up.
During fermentation, and especially during pressing, the system can
build up to 1 psig pressure. IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE LID IS FASTENED
SECURELY WITH THE DRUM CLAMP AS SHOWN:
Port on liner should
protrude through hole in lid
Pull port up and secure with
supplied U-clamp. This
prevents the liner from
falling down into the pail.

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MAKE SURE THE CLAMP IS PLACED IN THE CORRECT ORIENTATION AND
THE LOCKING TAB MUST LOCK DOWNWARDS (OTHERWISE LID CLAMP
IS PLACED UPSIDE DOWN AND WILL NOT LOCK CORRECTLY). MAKE
SURE THE LOCKING TAB IS FULLY ENGAGED.
FAILURE TO SECURE THE CLAMP CORRECTLY
MAY CAUSE DAMAGE OR INJURY. WE ARE NOT
LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR PERSONAL
INJURY CAUSED BY THE FAILURE TO SECURE
THE LID CORRECTLY PER THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
If you have any questions about how to secure
the lid please contact us for assistance.
Clamp should be flush all around the drum edge
Handle should fold
against the drum edge
Locking tab rotates
downwards and locks

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ATTACH THE SAMPLING/PRESSING TUBE
1. Put the rubber TriClamp gasket on the 2 inch port.
2. Insert the stainless-steel sampling/pressing tube though the port into the must.
3. Use the supplied stainless-steel TriClamp to secure the tube to the liner port.
4. Verify that the pressure relief valve is firmly screwed in to the side port of the sampling/pressing tube.
CONNECT THE CONTROL UNIT
1. Place the CONTROLLER on top of the drum lid.
2. Plug the end of the pressurization manifold tubing into the connector on the front panel of the controller.
You can release this plug later by pushing on the grey release button.
3. Plug the CONTROLLER in to any convenient 110 AC outlet. Press the on/off switch on the front panel to
turn it on. The screen should light up and go through an initialization sequence.
4. Read the CONTROLLER OPERATION section for details on how to set up and operate the CONTROLLER.
.
Push-in connector for
inflation manifold. Press
grey button to release
Power switch
Control screen with
3 push buttons
Rubber gasket
Pressure relief
port

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GOFERMENTOR JR+
The GOfermentor JR+ is an advanced unit with the capability for temperature monitoring and control. The
press/sample tube has a temperature probe and coolant circulation coil. It can be used to control fermentation
temperature.
Plug the temperature probe cable on the press/sampling tube into the jack located on the front panel of the
GOfermentorJR+. Connect coolant lines to the control and pipe as shown in the diagram below. Plug the control
valve into the jack located on the back panel.
Set up the controller for temperature control. The control valve will open and close automatically to introduce
coolant into the cooling coil and maintain the desired temperature.
Temperature probe
jack
Control valve jack