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My DIY Double Stir Plate
I didn't mean for you not to do it. I was just wondering why you wanted to. I'd suggest a 6.5 gallon stir plate. then you can use a carboy on it.
Carboys are out, they have that convex bottom, nope, it's going to have to be plastic, and good thing to, because that's what I have.
I have thought about doing this too, but isn't the purpose of a stir plate to force feed the yeast oxygen so they will reproduce as much as possible? If you do this in a fermenter, once the yeast finish phase one and begin to create alcohol wont it introduce oxygen and oxidize the beer?
It doesn't matter in a starter because you aren't drinking the beer.
the yeast and wort will already be full of oxygen, and the fermenter will have the lid on, and sealed, so no oxygen will be introduced into the wort. The purpose of this expirement will to just keep the yeast in contact with the wort, and keep yeast from falling out of suspension to soon. We have all had problems with our favorite yeast falling out to soon.
As you can tell the microbiologists in here have yet to chime in because they really don't know what to make of this yet. 1. They are curious? 2. They already know what will happen, and like watching me waste my time? 3. They really don't care because anything regular people do (people without 100k worth of education) really doesn't matter. Ha ha.
That's ok, i'll be doing this sometime in January, so we will see then.
bruguru wrote:
As you can tell the microbiologists in here have yet to chime in because they really don't know what to make of this yet. 1. They are curious? 2. They already know what will happen, and like watching me waste my time? 3. They really don't care because anything regular people do (people without 100k worth of education) really doesn't matter. Ha ha.
Funny.
There is nothing wrong with being "regular people".
I found a use for a double stir plate. My next beer is going to be an enhanced double decocted Munich Dunkel or Oktoberfest, I haven't decided. At 1.046 Mr Malty said I need a 4 liter starter. I haven't done a Lager in quite a while. Man they need a lot of yeast!
You are correct, there is nothing wrong with being regular people. That is what is known as the backhanded compliment. As you can see I am complimenting them them on their education, but at the same time also implying that they are out of touch with reality. Consequently if your education is in the 100k range then I am also speaking about you. Ha ha.
C'mon people, don't make me explain all my Jokes or digs, i'm from the East Coast baby. That's how we ROLL.
(and all you West Coasters, or Main landers don't take these threads personally everything is meant to be a joke unless otherwise stated.)
bruguru wrote:
You are correct, there is nothing wrong with being regular people. C'mon people, don't make me explain all my Jokes or digs, i'm from the East Coast baby. That's how we ROLL.
(and all you West Coasters, or Main landers don't take these threads personally everything is meant to be a joke unless otherwise stated.)
I was including myself in the "regular people" category. No 100k education here.
I am waiting for my starter must to cool down to pitching temperature so I thought I would do a little (or not so little) experiment.
The question was, can it do a 5 gallon starter? Answer, Not really very well.
I filled a brew bucket with 5 gallons of water and set it on the plate. The box supports a full pail with no problem at all and the fan spacing is such that I could center the pail and run two stir bars. My fans spin in opposite directions and that helped create a cohesive flow through the center. At 5 gallons though, there just wasn't enough movement with 1 inch stir bars - I could see dead zones that weren't moving at all and there was no vortex.
I lowered the level to 2 gallons and tried again. This time there were no visible dead zones in the water and there were small eddies moving around the surface.
To make this work, you will need a larger stir bar and probably a higher power fan. You will also want stronger magnets than usual as the lip on the bottom of the bucket increases the gap between magnet and stir bar. The bucket will probably have to be run off center to keep the stir bar in a flat part of the bottom, all of my buckets have dimples at the center.
One final note, the bucket makes a lot more noise than my glass flasks.
Time to go check my must...
bruguru wrote:
As you can tell the microbiologists in here have yet to chime in because they really don't know what to make of this yet. 1. They are curious? 2. They already know what will happen, and like watching me waste my time? 3. They really don't care because anything regular people do (people without 100k worth of education) really doesn't matter. Ha ha.
And all this coming from a man with a woman's name! hehe 
j/k guru, you know I love you...
Your idea of a continuously stirred fermentation is an interesting one. As long as the stirring isn't too fast, then there really won't be any crazy gas exchange like you see in a 2L flask. If pitched at the proper rate, the yeast will use up all the dissolved oxygen quickly and begin fermentation. Now, if you see your airlock going in reverse when you expect fermentation to be in full swing (~12-24 hrs after pitching), then you would have a problem.
Stirring during fermentation is actually a common technique vintner's use to rouse the yeast half way through a wine fermentation. They do it to make sure that the yeast reach proper attenuation in such a high alcohol environment.
I think stirring during a beer fermentation would only help things if the yeast were under pitched from the beginning. Things are stirring pretty madly as it is if the yeast are healthy and in the right numbers. Ever looked at a glass carboy at peak fermentation? One thing that might concern me about stirring would be potential for sub-par flocculation. If you break up those large clumps too much, then the yeast might have a harder time falling to the bottom once the fermentation is done.
I think some one or more should try this experiment and report back with pictures or notes of the results. Gotta love forward progress! Cheers!
I dig what your laying down man, and everything you said is correct. (except that women's name thing. Ha ha). All i'm looking for is about 1 or 2 days with a yeast that gives me some problems, like the Wlp400, or the Wlp005. Some of those belgians just stall out, and you have to dump 2lbs of sugar to get them going, or you have to wait 24 days for them to ferment.
All i'm trying to get as you know, is continual movement so the yeast doesn't fall out to soon, I know there is alot of movement of the yeast during fermentation, but some yeasts work much better the second time around, the Wlp005 for example, is much better the second time.
I also did an experiment with my bucket and stir plate last night while bottling a batch, and it worked great. You would not need a vortex, just the steady movement will eventually get the whole batch moving, and that's what i'm looking for.
Finally 1n1m3g thank you for following the rules, and being supportive of this experiment, I noticed the other lab coat is missing from this discussion, probably because he doesn't believe this will work and is trying to be nice.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cylindrical-Teflon- … 3362e4d975
Just found this 5 inch stir bar pretty damn cool
bruguru wrote:
... I noticed the other lab coat is missing from this discussion, probably because he doesn't believe this will work and is trying to be nice.
We ought to find that guy and kick his ass.
I ignored this thread because I am working on a triple stir plate. 
Oh and the beauty of my educational tab (and I suspect that of 1n1m3gs) is that it was paid for by the university. Its the dirty little secret of most science grad programs, there basically free.
wow, way to buck the system man. I think you did tell me that once, but even though it was basically free, i'm sure it took alot of time. ALOT OF TIME, i'm talking way more looking through a microscope than anyone should be expected to do.
I don't know what a triple stirplate is (Thirsty would call it a tertiary stirplate, Ha.), but i'm sure it's full of do dads, knobs, and all kinds of scientific stuff. I have no Idea why your making it, you can probably take one from the lab, and no one would know for like 2 years. I did notice that you did follow the rules of answering my reply to this Hijacked thread (sorry reynolds), so that means that you do not think this will help fermentation at all.
We all know that 1n1m3g is the smarter of the 2 of you. I guess you could say your the robin to his Batman, and he seems to think this might prove worthwhile. I'm brewing the Saison next month, so we will see if this works, and I dont' have to wait the usualy 24 days for it to ferment out. To be fair, you do have the better personality of the 2, but as i'm sure you know both of your personalities kinda suck. Thank god your smart. Ha ha. (Kidding, as i'm sure you guys know) brewchez, if you had supported me you woulud have been Batman,
bruguru wrote:
Just found this 5 inch stir bar pretty damn cool
That ought to get a five gallon pail moving!
A triple, Brechez? Don't forget to post the pics for us all to drool over.
Something new to report on the speed control kits that I used, those blue led's are really BRIGHT. I have my double stir plate on a kitchen counter that is opposite a window. I noticed the other night that I can see the blue from 1/2 mile down the road. I could probably see it farther but there is a tree lined bend in the road past there.
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Reading this and being new to brewing I have one question. Why couldn't you do the stir for a 5 gallon starter from the top? You could, maybe, easily make a shaft, preferably stainless steel and some paddles, maybe also stainless, that would swing out the faster they spin. Depending on the power of the motor you could make blades any length you want. You could pull a vortex on any size starter you choose. If you wanted to use it in on the conical the only requirement would be some access from the top and a motor that was capable of moving the wort, old fan, washing machine, etc. You could even gang more than one computer fan motor for greater power if you wanted. This could be scaled to produce cavitation on a 55 gallon drum if you wanted, may not be the desired effect for a primary or secondary.
For an idea of what I am talking about see the following links:
http://gpescientific.co.uk/view-minor-c … tercatID=2
http://www.amarequip.com/Magnetically-C … tirrer.asp
I have been thinking of something like this to stir the wort while using an immersion chiller after the boil, cheaper then a $150 pump to circulate the wort and create a whirlpool. What do you think? Could be made to fit a bung in a 6.5 gallon carboy, a 2 liter flask, a 20 gallon conical, or a 60 liter brew pot. All the same concept just different mounting required.
(I was in the military so my total education may have cost more the 100K (more then likely did) , does that make me regular people or not?)
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