FAQ

The Barrel Monkey can cut  the time it takes to top a cellar by at least half. This is accomplished in a few different ways. First, the Barrel Monkey is able to flow wine more quickly than a conventional nozzle because a computer is handling the shutoff.

Additionally, precision topping greatly reduces time cleaning wine barrel overflows and floor spillage, moving up and down ladders, and adjusting topping heights. Secondly, the operator can remove the bung on the next barrel for topping while the nozzle is filling the last one; this probably makes the greatest contribution to our system’s speed because you can essentially top as fast as you remove and replace bungs. Thirdly, the Barrel Monkey is generally much less cumbersome to use and this contributes to the operator's ability to move freely around the cellar. This claim has been tested and verified in real world cellars. If you take into account barrel unstacking or spill cleanup, the time savings will be even greater.

Topping is arguably the most labor intensive task in a cellar. This is especially the case for wineries that conduct frequent top offs. By decreasing this labor burden by half, wineries will very quickly recoup their purchasing cost or realize savings in excess of the monthly lease cost. We’ve calculated the break even point to be 120 barrels topped once every four weeks.

The Barrel Monkey can be cleaned by running hot water, chemicals, or ozone through the system.

Yes, the fill height is set by loosening one screw and sliding the Depth Stop up and down. The fill height can be lowered to allow for secondary fermentations.

The battery is designed to last at least a full topping day. Up to 22 hours of run time is possible on a single charge.

The Barrel Monkey comes standard with a 1.5 inch tri clover fitting. This can be connected to a pressurized keg, pump, or gravity fed from a tank.

Yes, the Barrel Monkey is designed for full submersion in water and most common cleaning solutions found in wineries. The Barrel Monkey should not be exposed to boiling water or hot steam.

We’ve designed the Barrel Monkey to be a seamless replacement for your current topping system so you can learn to use it in about a minute. Full proficiency (a good rhythm for transitioning between barrels) takes about 10 minutes.

1. For leased Barrel Monkeys we cover all parts, labor, and damage for the duration of your lease. 

2. Purchased Barrel Monkeys come with a two year warranty on parts and labor.