O2 regulator - how to use it

I bought all the necessary shyt to oxygenate my wort. My question is how "open" do I leave the regulator to oxygenate? Wide open? Quarter turn? I don't want to over or under oxygenate. Thanks in advance!

Here it is for reference: http://www.homebrewing.org/Oxynator-oxygen-regulator-and-diffusion-kit_p_1057.html


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I have the williams brewing wand with the stone attached, I open it until I start seeing bubbles coming to the top, this is far from wide open. I let it run for one minute

It doesn't take much to get these wide open. I always open mine up all the way and run it for about a minute.

Right on. There are suggestions (on par with what you said) on the website but figured I'd ask those that actually use it. Thanks homie.


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yup.. and from my understanding (not to cause debate), you can't over oxygenate wort. You'll just waste the oxygen is all. Anything that isn't used by yeast gets forced out by Co2.

I used to use a stone in the fermenter for about a minute or two kinda swirling it around. Now I have an inline oxygenation system that is connected to the wort out of my plate chiller. I turn it on for half the batch then turn it off. It works amazingly well. It's crazy too when the wort runs with oxygen it turns almost white in the tube.

Oh man. That must be cool to see.


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jbsg02 said:

I have the williams brewing wand with the stone attached, I open it until I start seeing bubbles coming to the top, this is far from wide open. I let it run for one minute

Click to expand...

Same here - Same wand, same opening, and same time

Kind of wish I went with that one, like the idea if the SS wand. I gotta figure out how to weigh down the tubing I'm gonna use.


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get a SS racking cane. Connect the stone to the SS wand with a small bit of tube and some hose clamps.

insanim8er said:

yup.. and from my understanding (not to cause debate), you can't over oxygenate wort. You'll just waste the oxygen is all. Anything that isn't used by yeast gets forced out by Co2.

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I was just reading a study done regarding oxygenation of wort so this thread caught my eye. According to the guy who wrote this piece you can, in fact, get o2 levels to the point it becomes toxic to the yeast. Here's a link to that study:

http://www.brewangels.com/Beerformation/AerationMethods.pdf

I don't have any personal knowledge of the guy(s) who did this study. But it seemed pretty credible to me. You can read it and judge for yourself what you think.

Puddlethumper said:

I was just reading a study done regarding oxygenation of wort so this thread caught my eye. According to the guy who wrote this piece you can, in fact, get o2 levels to the point it becomes toxic to the yeast. Here's a link to that study:

http://www.brewangels.com/Beerformation/AerationMethods.pdf

I don't have any personal knowledge of the guy(s) who did this study. But it seemed pretty credible to me. You can read it and judge for yourself what you think.

Click to expand...

I'll read it. I don't know enough about organic chemistry. But I'm wondering if as a home brewer it's possible to get to these toxic levels. Like if I run my oxygen full blast while I transfer 100% of my wort, will it actually reach those levels. You know what I mean?

insanim8er said:

I'll read it. I don't know enough about organic chemistry. But I'm wondering if as a home brewer it's possible to get to these toxic levels. Like if I run my oxygen full blast while I transfer 100% of my wort, will it actually reach those levels. You know what I mean?

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Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I was considering buying an airstone and hose since I already have an ample supply of bottled o2 in my shop. But after reading this I decided against it and have chosen to stick with my tried-and-true sloshing method. I'll remain open to other opinions on this (which is why I decided to subscribe to this thread).

There are o2 regulators out that measure output (ex liters per minute). I know there are ways of approximating oxygen saturation based in output and yadda yadda. I don't care if this thread goes away from the original post but my motivation for posting is because I have no idea the output with this particular regulator.


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Puddlethumper said:

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I was considering buying an airstone and hose since I already have an ample supply of bottled o2 in my shop. But after reading this I decided against it and have chosen to stick with my tried-and-true sloshing method. I'll remain open to other opinions on this (which is why I decided to subscribe to this thread).

Click to expand...

Eh, I haven't read any forums where a brewer talked about problems they've had due to over oxygenating their wort. I've only had great success with pure 02.

But Check this thread out

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=15595.0

He did a test got 20ppm let the solution sit... he tested again and the oxygen left the solution in 1 hour it was down to 5ppm. Meaning it went down to the saturation level in an hours time. So that would mean it would be impossible to get to a toxic level.

But it also means pure 02 could be a waste.

edit - but then I'm reading yeast consume the oxygen in a short period of time, so if the solution was high and they consumed it within that 1hr time frame.. maybe it is possible.

My head hurt.

Also I know o2 was cover by brew strong at some point and it is fairly difficult to over oxygenate, but under oxygenating is more possible. If that makes any sense. (Work cancelled tomorrow due to snow in VA has resulted in tasting notes on my homebrew)


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Puddlethumper said:

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I was considering buying an airstone and hose since I already have an ample supply of bottled o2 in my shop. But after reading this I decided against it and have chosen to stick with my tried-and-true sloshing method. I'll remain open to other opinions on this (which is why I decided to subscribe to this thread).

Click to expand...

Cheap and effective O2 setup (DIY):
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-effective-oxygenation-wand-456899/

Going with some of the parts described in this thread you could effectively guild an O2 wand with tubing for about $12 (0.5micron stone ~$5.50 on amazon, riser tube is ~$4.00, 3-4 ft of tubing is ~$2.00).

I decided to built two using some stainless tubing and soldering the pieces together. It was a ***** getting them soldered correctly but in the end they cost me about $15 a piece. I already have a O2 with regulator, and the other setup is for my buddy.

Food for thought.

The study I mentioned used water instead of wort, so please take that into consideration as it may have had some impact on the absorption of o2. However, since all tests were done with the same medium it would seem logical to expect reasonably parallel results.

Following is a quote from that study:

"The most rapid method of oxygenating the water
was achieved by the rocking/shaking method, in
which over 90% saturation was achieved in less
than 5 minutes of aeration."

As a follow-up to this thread, after doing some more reading I have decided to try direct o2 injection with a 2 micron airstone. Figured for a $15 investment it would be worth trying. Most sources are saying between 60-90 seconds is all it takes. (Hope I don't screw up a batch of beer.) It'll be a week or two before I brew my next batch but will continue to monitor this thread and let you guys know how it turned out.

Puddlethumper said:

The study I mentioned used water instead of wort, so please take that into consideration as it may have had some impact on the absorption of o2. However, since all tests were done with the same medium it would seem logical to expect reasonably parallel results.



Following is a quote from that study:



"The most rapid method of oxygenating the water

was achieved by the rocking/shaking method, in

which over 90% saturation was achieved in less

than 5 minutes of aeration."

Click to expand...

Using water in the study instead of wort would DEFINITELY have an impact on the results of the study for the following reason:

Oxygen solubility decreases as wort gravity increases.

Considering that higher gravity beers require even more oxygen than lower gravity brews, this makes getting the right amount of oxygen into the cooled wort even more important, so an O2 source is the best method.

Also, the "saturation point" of sloshing after 5 minutes may have been reached, but that's using air, not oxygen.

I would not worry one bit about over oxygenating your worts. Unless you do it for like 3+ minutes ( which would mean wort is bubbling over onto the floor), you'll be fine and probably have improved results.

Cheers!


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stpug said:

Cheap and effective O2 setup (DIY):
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-effective-oxygenation-wand-456899/

Food for thought.

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that link. Any special reason you decided to change from a 2 micron to a 5 micron stone?

Puddlethumper said:

Thanks for posting that link. Any special reason you decided to change from a 2 micron to a 5 micron stone?

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The one and only reason is because I already have a 2 micron stone that I use on all my batches

Is there a noticeable difference in performance? If you had only one which would you choose?

Puddlethumper said:

Is there a noticeable difference in performance? If you had only one which would you choose?

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Unfortunately I haven't brewed since I made the 0.5 micron wand. I can say that I've been very happy with the 2 micron stone over the last 20 batches since I bought it. I only made the other because it was relatively inexpensive and I wanted to try out a 0.5. It takes more pressure to push air through 0.5 than it does 2. Also, if I understand correctly, 0.5 stones are more prone to imperfections and breakage than are the 2 micron stones but I don't have any direct experience with this.

stpug said:

Unfortunately I haven't brewed since I made the 0.5 micron wand. I can say that I've been very happy with the 2 micron stone over the last 20 batches since I bought it. I only made the other because it was relatively inexpensive and I wanted to try out a 0.5. It takes more pressure to push air through 0.5 than it does 2. Also, if I understand correctly, 0.5 stones are more prone to imperfections and breakage than are the 2 micron stones but I don't have any direct experience with this.

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Thanks. I appreciate your feedback. I bought a 2 micron and plan to build that wand so will be using it from the outset.

Cheers!

Im looking into getting one when my income tax check arrives. Seems like the consensus that I've read, open it for a minute and then stop. Can't say from experience but videos ive watched and things ive read online, that's the method people use and they have reported making some GREAT beers. That seems to really have helped people with their lagers as well so that's what im gonna start doing.

I use a 2 micron stone, and have had good results. I think the .5 micron stone has the potential for more efficient O2 absorption as, given the same volume of O2 being passed, the .5 stone would produce smaller bubbles, and more of them. Greater surface area in the O2 to liquid interface.

But I have avoided the .5 stones, due to many users stating that they clog easily.