Cheap and easy aeration gadget

I'm not sure I follow you here. You don't want the holes covered. My plan (which I still haven't done) was to cut the hose in the middle, and then insert the racking cane between the cut ends.

Honestly, this little gizmo has been working well enough that I haven't bothered. Case in point: I brewed 11 gal. of 1.072 IPA this last weekend. The batch was split into two 5-1/2 gallon batches, with no additional aeration other than the gizmo.

One fermenter was pitched with S-05, and the other was pitched with a 2l stirplated starter of WLP862, which has been reported to be a slow starter. Both beers were krausening and churning away the next morning, less than 12 hours later. For me, that's good enough. I don't seem to have a problem with off-flavors or esters.

Granted, that probably has a lot to do with proper fermentation temps and good yeast management practice, but my process, as a whole, seems to be just fine with the gizmo on the end of the hose.

I have used this on our last 3 brews and it has been awesome!

I took a video of mine in action (quality not the greatest). The sound you hear is the air being sucked in through the hole. You can also see the air in the tube. I connected about 2 feet of tubing beyond the device which is supposed to help with aeration.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqYYbP6Wqfg&feature=channel_page]YouTube - Aeration device for homebrewing[/ame]

Wow - great idea. I'm going to try it on my next brew as well. Any risk of contamination? After watching TH's video, one idea I had was inserting the tube w/ the hole into one of those foam stoppers used for yeast culturing (link) - pretty simple air filter. But it doesn't sound like anyone has had any contamination issues so keeping it simple/stupid may be the way to go.

SO what would be ideal for hole size to scale this up to a 1/2" ID silicone tubing coming out of my 1/2 ball valve using a 1/2" OD tube sectioned in 2' before the end?

I'm going to use a piece of 1/2" outer diameter copper tube, that way the inside is less than the rest of the system. I'm planning on this being on the end of the tubing and actually recirculating through the whole system (CFC etc) back into the brewpot, I'll just stick the whole end of the tube into the wort to heat sanitize the whole thing. Then I can stop the pump and clip the tube to the carboy and start the transfer.

bdavanza said:

SO what would be ideal for hole size to scale this up to a 1/2" ID silicone tubing coming out of my 1/2 ball valve using a 1/2" OD tube sectioned in 2' before the end?

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I would guess that you would not change the hole size but add more holes.

Forgive me if this was covered as I did not read all of some of the post but I did read Most of all of them .

When I transfer my wort to my carboy I always have my BK covered with a lid to keep unwanted wild yeast/bacteria out and I also keep a piece of alum foil over my carboy for the same reason. It seems to me that if I have a tube with hole in it OUTSIDE of my carboy it would draw in what I am trying to keep out?

I'm generally seeing fermentation activity from this this method and dry yeast within a few hours of pitching. I normally hydrate the yeast before pitching. I guess it's multiplying for a few hours before I pitch so it's ready you go to work as soon as it hits the aerated wort.

Yambor44 said:

Forgive me if this was covered as I did not read all of some of the post but I did read Most of all of them .

When I transfer my wort to my carboy I always have my BK covered with a lid to keep unwanted wild yeast/bacteria out and I also keep a piece of alum foil over my carboy for the same reason. It seems to me that if I have a tube with hole in it OUTSIDE of my carboy it would draw in what I am trying to keep out?

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Yes but it needs to get air from somewhere (or you need to flush your fermenter with Co2 from a tank, use an oxygen tank...) So really if you shake... there's already air in that carboy, if you whisk... same thing.

If you are really worried you could get one of those hepa filters and make a way for it to pull air through that filter before it gets to the wand with a hole.

Yambor44 said:

Forgive me if this was covered as I did not read all of some of the post but I did read Most of all of them .

When I transfer my wort to my carboy I always have my BK covered with a lid to keep unwanted wild yeast/bacteria out and I also keep a piece of alum foil over my carboy for the same reason. It seems to me that if I have a tube with hole in it OUTSIDE of my carboy it would draw in what I am trying to keep out?

Click to expand...

As conpewter said, you have a few options, but i would like to add a few things.

Keeping unwanted bacteria and yeast out of your BK is fine, but it's almost impossible to do. The stuff is in the air. Generally, you really need to worry about the stuff that your wort comes into contact with on a surface.

Now, if you are brewing in a room full of mold, then yes, the air will be an issue, but general cleanliness will cut down your chances of infection greatly. You are really just trying to keep the amount of wild yeast to a small enough amount that your concentrated amount of brewers yeast will be able to 'win' any contest between the wild yeast and the brewers yeast.

Just thought I would show my take on the aeration gadget;



I like having a shutoff clamp at the top of the picture to maintain siphon and switch out carboys. The hose clamp secures the 3/8" inside diameter hose to 3/8" outside diameter venturi tube which connects to standard 1/2 racking cane.

Cheers
BeerCanuck

Cool thread. I am just getting into home brewing and I remembered seeing one of these venturi devices at a wine tasting place once.

If anyone doubts the efficacy of this, try it with wine (especially, organic or "young" wine). The difference in taste before and after is quite impressive.

Anyway, a couple of theoretical questions:
- The length of the restricting tube should not matter to the strength of this effect, right?
- Has anyone tried to insert something into the tube after the venturi to break up the flow of wort? From the video above, it looks like you are getting a nice straight line of bubbles. Some turbulent flow might help "mix" them a little better, no?

Thanks!
-D

This is a great idea - I'm definitely going to use this on my next batch. One question - is it better to have the end of the hose at the top of the carboy to maximize the distance the wort falls through, so it hits with a nice splash, or to have the end of the hose at the bottom to allow the entrained air bubbles to rise up through the wort?

It's best to have the tube at the bottom of the carboy, gravity will keep accelerating the wort down the tube until it leaves the mouth, at that point it's not pulling the wort behind it anymore. The faster the wort is moving, the more air it will pull in through the venturi.

Hope this helps,

Joe

Just tried this method on my last brew. Worked awesome!

Joe Camel said:

It's best to have the tube at the bottom of the carboy, gravity will keep accelerating the wort down the tube until it leaves the mouth, at that point it's not pulling the wort behind it anymore. The faster the wort is moving, the more air it will pull in through the venturi.

Hope this helps,

Joe

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When the wort in the tube gets to the level of wort in the carboy, acceleration will stop. That's because the pressure from the wort inside the carboy pushing up into the tube will equal the force gravity is exerting on the wort inside the tube at and below the level of the wort outside the tube.

This like a poor man's inline aeration stone. The pros use an oxygen tank to insert oxygen via an air stone into the wort stream while they transfer. This removes the contamination risk.

If you currently shake, stir, or use an aquarium pump, the method in this thread is no more dangerous for infection. I think I might give this a try as well since I currently shake for aeration and I'm a wimp.

Linc

One quick question. I usually do the bucket back and forth and then use a funnel with a screen. Do you get a lot of trub into the fermenter using this technique or does the autosiphon restrict that?

I suppose I could always try the whirlpool method.

KingBrianI said:

When the wort in the tube gets to the level of wort in the carboy, acceleration will stop. That's because the pressure from the wort inside the carboy pushing up into the tube will equal the force gravity is exerting on the wort inside the tube at and below the level of the wort outside the tube.

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I stand corrected, but you will still get better results and a higher flow rate by having the tube at the bottom of the carboy than at the mouth

Cheers

I have experimented with this today, using water. I stuck a short (1 and 1/2 inch) piece of 5/16 I.D. tubing into the 3/8 I.D. tubing from my auto-siphon and attached another piece of 3/8 tubing about 2 and 1/2 feet long to the end of the 5/16 tube. I shoved each end of the 5/16 tubing about 3/8 inch up into the 3/8 tubing to leave about 3/4 inch of the 5/16 tubing exposed. It fits tightly enough that I didn't even need to use any hose clamps. I then drilled a single hole in the 5/16 I.D. tubing using a 3/32 inch drill bit (the actual hole diameter came out about 1/16 inch after the vinyl closed back up a little around the hole. This seems to work pretty well. With the exit from the tubing at the bottom of the carboy, the top surface of the water was bubbling - this seems like it would be better than just letting the stream fall down into the carboy from the top, though it might not really make much difference. I couldn't detect any significant difference in the amount of air being pulled into the tubing with the exit at the top or under water at the bottom of the carboy.

njnear76 said:

One quick question. I usually do the bucket back and forth and then use a funnel with a screen. Do you get a lot of trub into the fermenter using this technique or does the autosiphon restrict that?

I suppose I could always try the whirlpool method.

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The autosiphon won't restrict much except what's on the very bottom. Prior to using this device I used a paint strainer bag. Now I whirlpool before siphoning. It works pretty good. Frankly, I'm less and less worried about trub in the primary because it all settles out quite well anyway.

Forget my question. Figured it out.

Extra points to the first person that uses a small engine carburetor to aerate there wort. The venturi is all ready built-in...

bnscherm said:

Extra points to the first person that uses a small engine carburetor to aerate there wort. The venturi is all ready built-in...

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How about a fuel rail and injectors? You want oxygenation? Try atomization! :fro:

bnscherm said:

Extra points to the first person that uses a small engine carburetor to aerate there wort. The venturi is all ready built-in...

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Yes but a carb relies on the air pumping action of an engine to pull the air through the venturi, and you'd have atomized beer.
My first attempt at this was to take my 1/2" ID hose coming off the ball valve on my kettle, and pushed (under heat) a 5/16" ID thick wall tube in, and I had a shut off clip inline to adjust venturi. I ended up with so much foam volcano that I lost a bit of wort. Next time I'll omit the clip and try that.

Hey all I'm having issues with mine.

I have 1/2" ID hoses on my pump, going into a 1/4" ID CFC (3/8" copper refrigeration tubing) then into 3/8" ID silicone tubing and then through a copper 1/4" ID tube with a 1/16" venturi hole in it.

I get water coming out the little hole as well as the end of the tube. I've also tried this with more 3/8" ID tubing on the other end of the copper piece.

Is it a problem with the copper tubing?

conpewter
I had problems like that at first. Part of it was the orientation of the line, where the hole was drilled, and how much free fall the line had after the hole. You may have to try some different scenarios.
-Ben

conpewter said:

Hey all I'm having issues with mine.

I have 1/2" ID hoses on my pump, going into a 1/4" ID CFC (3/8" copper refrigeration tubing) then into 3/8" ID silicone tubing and then through a copper 1/4" ID tube with a 1/16" venturi hole in it.

I get water coming out the little hole as well as the end of the tube. I've also tried this with more 3/8" ID tubing on the other end of the copper piece.

Is it a problem with the copper tubing?

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Wait did you say a pump? Does anybody have this method working using a pump? I don't have a pump but I know with my autosiphon, when I pump it through manually it squirts out the venturi holes. I believe it has to do with pushing the water through instead of pulling it through. Also, you said it goes from 3/8 tubing to 1/4 tubing with a hole correct? Mine goes from 3/8 to 1/4 with a hole, and BACK TO 3/8 again. You may want to try putting another section of larger diameter tubing after your venturi.

I had a short section on after the copper tube, but that didn't seem to help. Bernoulli's Principle should work no matter if it is a siphon or pump. All the schematics I see online though have a nice sloped transition from the larger tube to the smaller one to speed up the liquid.

One thing I did notice is that I didn't have my 3/8" ID silicone tube very well attached to the copper and it would actually suck in air through that faulty connection, but it would still normally dribble water out of the 1/16" hole. I wonder if it has to do with resistance after the hole, and the inside of the hole not being smooth.

I'll be trying other configurations tonight.

I decided to hook a standard 1/2 racking cane to the aeration gadget on this weeks brew. Worked like a charm;



To avoid leaks when starting the siphon I found by covering the venturi hole until the wort clears this point is a good idea

Cheers
Steve

conpewter said:

Bernoulli's Principle should work no matter if it is a siphon or pump.

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Bernoulli's principle is essentially the creation of a low pressure zone. So yes, it works but if your pump puts the fluid under positive pressure it may overcome the low pressure created by the Bernoulli effect. Under siphon, the fluid is already under low pressure so it amplifies the Bernoulli effect.

A simple plastic T in line makes a great venturi.

PhlyanPan said:

Bernoulli's principle is essentially the creation of a low pressure zone. So yes, it works but if your pump puts the fluid under positive pressure it may overcome the low pressure created by the Bernoulli effect. Under siphon, the fluid is already under low pressure so it amplifies the Bernoulli effect.

Click to expand...

I agree, I want to make some way for this to work though. I suppose I can just go back to shaking. I can't siphon through my CFC and into a fermenter due to height differences.

I was wondering if the fact that the CFC was 1/4" ID slowed the wort down so much that I couldn't get it to flow fast enough through the tube. But seeing as I got a spray out of the "venturi" hole... I'm not sure I can make this work.

May end up doing as the big breweries do and put an in-line oxygen stone (more work...) or I'll just shake the carboy.

Edit:
I may have it working now. I used some lineman's plyers to squeeze down the tube around where the whole is, it seems to suck in air but I've been having issues priming my pump still (new brew-stand) so I can't test it fully yet.

conpewter said:

I agree, I want to make some way for this to work though. I suppose I can just go back to shaking. I can't siphon through my CFC and into a fermenter due to height differences.

I was wondering if the fact that the CFC was 1/4" ID slowed the wort down so much that I couldn't get it to flow fast enough through the tube. But seeing as I got a spray out of the "venturi" hole... I'm not sure I can make this work.

May end up doing as the big breweries do and put an in-line oxygen stone (more work...) or I'll just shake the carboy.

Edit:
I may have it working now. I used some lineman's plyers to squeeze down the tube around where the whole is, it seems to suck in air but I've been having issues priming my pump still (new brew-stand) so I can't test it fully yet.

Click to expand...

I had the same problems when I made mine. I think perhaps that your hole is too big. I'm using 5/16ID 7/16OD hose and the venturi is 1/4ID 3/8OD piece of hose. I heated up a needle and made one hole in the venturi. This is a small enough hole that wort doesn't spray out of it, yet it is big enough to insert air into the hose. I don't even have to cover it when I start the siphon.

I've only tried with water, but it appears to be OK. It was creating bubbles.

hammacks said:

A simple plastic T in line makes a great venturi.

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Now that makes good sense!

I thank you guys so much for this thread. I have a bad back and it sucks shaking a full carboy. Ill be trying this out in 3 weeks.(Gotta wait for an open carboy)

Orfy said:

I've been using this successfully for years but from copper.

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Damn, Deburr that thing would hate to see you cut your hand on it.

I finally moved my venturi from the end of the transfer hose to the front of it, about 4" from the valve on my kettle. Judging from the volume of foam produced, it works better than at the end of the line.



That's about 1/2 way through the transfer, after using defoamer during the boil. The WLP862 starter I pitched (which can be a slow starter, especially at lager temps), is starting to krausen this morning, about 10 hours after brewing.

I just gave the aeration gadget another test run
This time I reused the Nottingham yeast cake and fermenter from a previous batch of beer. I was expecting the blow off from hell but it didn't krausen over and it's already through it's primary after 2 days

Cheers
Steve