Does anyone use a basic fish pump for aeration, and how well does it work?
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Sorry, I have been shaking my carboys (rolling them back and forth on a soft surface) forever... works like a charm! The pumps work, just get an inline filter to keep out any nasties.
I did for about 4 batches. One got infected, the others worked well. The total set up cost was maybe ten bucks.
But for a $12 steel aeration stone, a $6 mini O2 bottle, and a $20 regulator, you can be blowing pure O2. Just food for thought...
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I bought the aerator kit from austinhomebrew last year. It came with a pump, hoses, HEPA filter and stainless aeration stone for 31USD. I've had fantastic luck with it. Now that I have the aeration stone I've been considering getting an oxygen regulator just to save some time but the pump works great too.
Edit: As was mentioned if you use the pump, a filter is KEY.
Works great, and it only takes about 90 seconds for the wort to essentially become satuated with O2. Pretty sure it takes more like a half-hour with an aquarium pump setup. By the time you buy a SS stone (you need to have one with small holes), the filter, and the pump, you're almost at the same cost as this setup.
...Pretty sure it takes more like a half-hour with an aquarium pump setup. By the time you buy a SS stone (you need to have one with small holes), the filter, and the pump, you're almost at the same cost as this setup.
I run mine for an hour before I pitch. Not sure if you need to run that long but I figured more time couldn't hurt. You're right about the cost, it was even worse for me because I had UPS show up at my door with another bill for 23CDN in BS brokerage fees (on top of the shipping I already paid). Had I realized that at the time I would have gotten the O2 kit for sure.
That's not a racking cane, it's a stainless steel rod that the stone is directly connected to. The rod then connects to the regulator with a length of hose.
The O2 bottles are around $7 - $8, IIRC, at the Depot. They're supposed to last for upwards of 15-20 batches, although I think there was a problem with my reg (I ended up buying a replacement regulator), as the bottle emptied out a lot quicker than that (the part of the reg that attaches to the hose wasn't connected well and fell off, I think it was leaking as well).
With that caveat, it's a great system. You don't have to worry about the stone floating. It's all SS. Even if I were using an aquarium pump, I would probably buy the stone/rod piece (you can buy it separately from Williams).
Im seriously starting to look into some sort of aeration system. I looked at the aquarium pumps, but theres no way Im going to want to wait another 30 minutes after I just finished brewing. 90 seconds is more up my alley.
That's how I felt. I finish the boil, chill the wort in 10-15 minutes, aerate for ~ two minutes, pitch the yeast, and I've got everything sealed up tightly in ~20 minutes from the end of the boil.
Aeration
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