Testimonials

“We purchased the Rack-it-Teer a month ago and are really happy with the product. This is the only unit we have tried that is capable of locking firmly down to the barrel. Other systems usually wear down with time and their lock down mechanism stops functioning correctly, forcing the user to hold the racking wand in order to prevent it from unlocking itself.

The Rack-it-Teer is sturdy, well built and has creative features such as a flash light holder. I highly recommend this item and look forward to equipping my cellar with a few more.”

“Finally, a racking device that works. Thanks for making a unit with the winemaker in mind.”

“The Rack-it-Teer was born from the need to have a more sanitary and robust solution for moving our product in and out of barrels. In the Brewing Industry, sanitation is an absolute necessity. The Rack-it-Teer answers this need with its clean 316 stainless construction and ease for disassembly of all parts. These features allow for proper cleaning with industrial chemicals, including caustics and acids. Aluminum parts and soft ferrous metals simply will not do in our business. When we utilized the competition's product, we were replacing the aluminum parts biannually because they simply would not hold up to our cleaning regime. Equipment failures were costing us time and product. Clean equipment results in less microbiological contamination, which equals better overall yields and superior product overall. Since integrating the Rack-it-Teer, our microbiological quality has increased significantly and our yields have been significantly improved.

As for performance, the Rack-it-Teer is preferred by our operators for its good ergonomics and good locking mechanism. We are able to easily move from barrel to barrel, establishing a good air-tight seal every time and eliminating barrel to barrel adjustments. This facilitates better productivity and smooth cellar operations.

Tony Pratt, a Master Welder in his own right, has developed the best barrel racking device available on the market. The Rack-it-Teer is the only device used, day in and day out, in the production of our Barrel Fermented Ales at Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Tony has been entrusted with all of the technical-sanitary welding in our brewing facility and now he has created an amazing implement that has further improved our process and ultimately, the quality of our award winning ales.”

“With the absence of a pump and using just Nitrogen to push the wine, we feel we are definitely softer on the wine and can taste the difference immediately after racking - the wine keeps its integrity.

At first glance, it seems like it might take longer to use the Rack-it-Teer, however the same person who uses it can be draining lees and washing barrels at the same time.

With the locking system, the sight tube, and light it can give a finite division between the wine and lees to our exact specifications. From beginning to end, this system delivers perfectly clean wines, leaving at the end just one ounce of fine wine in the lees. Before with the pump system I had up to the equivalent of six barrels of lees where today I have just two barrels of lees for the same amount of barrels emptied. So I think that the system is really efficient because it brings quality to the wine but is also economical and makes financial sense to our small winery.”

“At Domaine Alfred, we use positive gas pressure (i.e.: a Bulldog) for all our racking applications due to its gentleness, exclusion of oxygen and for the very clean racking we can get. Until recently we used the original Bulldog Pup, but have just purchased a Rack-it-Teer.

The Rack-it-Teer basically solves all of the issues we had with the Bulldog. Primarily, due to a better bung and cam locking mechanism, the wand stays in the barrel far better. This allows us to rack more cleanly, because it is stable enough that the lees screw doesn't need to touch the bottom of the barrel. We can rack every barrel to the actual lees level, not the level we set the screw to. There is also less likelihood of the wand popping out of the barrel and stirring up the lees. The ultimate result of this is that the clarity of the racked wine is far superior, greatly reducing the need for polish filtration.

The average time it took to rack a barrel with the old Bulldog Pup was 5.5 minutes. Due to the higher pressures we can run with the Rack-it-Teer, a barrel now takes us 3 minutes. The only limit to the gas pressure we can run is the structural integrity of the barrel (we were getting a few buldging heads when we upped the pressure too much).

Small features like the angled hose connection at the top, the flashlight holder and the big valve for gas release, turn racking jobs into a much more pleasurable experience and have nearly doubled our racking productivity.

I would highly recommend the Rack-it-teer to any winery that uses positive gas pressure to rack.”

“I just wanted to write to you to express my gratitude for introducing me to the new Rack-it-Teer racking tool. It has made my cellar operations much easier when it comes time to rack our barrels into tank. This new rendition of a racking device incorporates solid stainless steel construction on a very well-balanced, vertically-oriented design. The singular foot clamp is perfectly designed to eliminate the bung-seal problems associated with the other devices on the market. The upper sight glass with mag-lite attachment is oriented vertically, as opposed to horizontally, further stabilizing the unit's overall balance. The ball valves, though not stainless, are laterally-oriented, with accomodating valve handles, making repetitive operation easier. In addition, the included lees cup gives greater versatility, and ensures a premium quality racking operation.

Overall, the quality of the winemaking operations in my facility is foremost, and I appreciate having acccess to new and improved equipment. When producing a product of the hightest quality, I expect to have equipment of such high quality as well. The Rack-it-Teer allows me to keep such a high standard.”

“We just started our racking of the 2007 PN with the Rack it Teers and they are working wonderfully. We have seen a marked reduction in our DO pickup. We are running about 200 feet of line to the tank with no pump assist. Our stainless steel assemblage tanks are shaped like a very large barrel, with a pumping height of 11 feet at maximum. When the tank is nearly full, our flow rate is 5 min, 15 sec per 228L barrel at 17 psi. When the tank is empty, the flow rate is about 4 minutes per barrel.”

“I have been using this kind of racking tool for many years; the innovations that Mr. Pratt has incorporated in his design are tremendous. The racking is clean and efficient, with great stability in the wand and a positive grip on the bung hole. This tool may even extend my cellar career! The only thing that bothers me about the Rack-it-teer is that I didn't come up with it years ago, a guy who doesn't make wine did! I HIGHLY recommend this tool to anyone serious about their wines.”