My homebrew stirplate

Alright folks, I've gotten a few messages showing interest in the stirplates I was thinking of whipping up. Gimme a week or so to order some of the parts I don't have in excess and another few days build a few. I'll be in touch with those interested!

Yuri_Rage said:

Alright folks, I've gotten a few messages showing interest in the stirplates I was thinking of whipping up. Gimme a week or so to order some of the parts I don't have in excess and another few days build a few. I'll be in touch with those interested!

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got a ballpark price for them?

Just a guess...$35. I'll let you know a better estimate after I place the parts order.

Keep me posted

JJ

Try going to a computer repair shop (small private business run out of the basement type, not chain store) ask them if they have any hard drives you can strip for parts. If they give you one ask if they have any old case fans you could get too.
Worked for me. You can save a few bucks on the project. Might not get your choice on size for the fan, but you might luck out.

Ok folks, here's the breakdown:

$1.50 Perf Board
$0.23 Heat Sink Compound
$4.46 Fan
$2.19 Transformer
$2.77 Power Jack
$0.01 1K ohm Resistor
$0.12 1 microF Cap
$0.15 .1 microF Cap
$0.39 LM317
$0.35 Heat Sink
$0.91 Linear Pot
$0.73 Knob
$7.10 Enclosure
$0.86 Switch
$1.05 LED
$0.15 LED Mount
$1.00 Magnets
$1.00 Misc Hardware (nuts/bolts/glue/etc)
$1.20 Shipping (parts to me)
$5.00 My time
$8.25 Priority Shipping
$39.42 Total

I ordered everything I didn't already have from Jameco today, and it was all in stock. I'll wind up with enough supplies to make 9 stirplates, and there are already 6 people who showed interest. I'll start soldering away as soon as I have the rest of the parts!

The only magnetss I could find without busting up hard drives were way to small.

Try this eBay link. I used magnets very similar to the 1/2" disc type for sale there.

Yuri_Rage said:

I ordered everything I didn't already have from Jameco today, and it was all in stock. I'll wind up with enough supplies to make 9 stirplates, and there are already 6 people who showed interest. I'll start soldering away as soon as I have the rest of the parts!

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I would be interested in one of those when you get them assembled. Let Me Know

Yuri_Rage said:

Ok folks, here's the breakdown:


$39.42 Total

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You take paypal?

Chimone said:

You take paypal?

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Absolutely. I'll probably skip listing these on eBay and contact each of you directly.

UPS says I should have the parts tomorrow. Guess it'll be a busy weekend!

Hey Yuri, If I sent you the parts, would you mind soldering it together properly? I followed the diagram and can't get it to work for $#%^. What pisses me off more is the fact I work at HP with engineers and they can't help because they never work with through hole components and don't understand how it should be assembled. We're talking EE's here. Useless.
I have already partially assembled it in the box, just don't have something wired right. When I plug it in, the Voltage reg heats up, but the fan doesn't spin.

Jester4176 said:

We're talking EE's here. Useless.

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Screw the EEs, give it to a tech

UPDATE!

I made the first of the stirplates I've offered to put together for anyone who can scrape up about $40. I may not get to all of them this weekend, but I have a few days off next week. I'll be in touch!

Here's a couple of pics:

Yuri,

Those look great. Thanks for your time & effort on this.

Yuri,

What size stir bar do you think this could use? Would a 50mm stir bar work or should we stick with the 25mm?

edost said:

Yuri,

What size stir bar do you think this could use? Would a 50mm stir bar work or should we stick with the 25mm?

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The pictures were taken with a 2" stir bar (50mm). I successfully tested it with several sizes, ranging from 1/2" (12mm) to 2" (50mm).

Cheers!

Mine spins fine with the 2" stirbar in water however, in wort it tends to throw the 2" bar a lot. Because of this, I usually use a 1 3/8" bar. This is in a 2000 ml flask.

The last starter I made was with the 2" bar. Worked quite well. See pics in my gallery. Perhaps I used stronger magnets than MrSalty (to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for posting the detailed plans!).

For those who thought I forgot about the stirplate project...I haven't! Just got a little busy around the house. Taking some much needed vacation from work for the next couple of weeks, so I'm slowly but surely getting these things done. Here's a couple of pictures of the progress:

Good god! We've created a monster. nice work man.

That's fantastic Yuri... keep up the great work!

Ok, final update on the stirplate production project. I have 9 of these things ready to ship. Those who sent me a private message already can expect a reply concerning payment details. Anyone else interested, now's the time to send me a message!

One more thing: I can't include a stir bar with the stir plates - you'll be on your own for those. Sorry about that!!! Here are some links where you can find them online:

morebeer.com
eBay (search magnetic stir bar)
Lab Scientific - check out the prices of their stir plates - $165 to $1125!!!


Here's a pic of the finished product:

Sweet! Great work! You have a cottage industry going here Yuri. Money's on the way.

Gadgets, gadgets, I love gadgets!

EdWort said:

Gadgets, gadgets, I love gadgets!

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Next on the list of gadgets is a homemade grain mill. Thinking of a single roller design (1" steel round bar stock - knurled and maybe powder coated) with an adjustable crush plate. I doubt I'll make more than one complete mill, but, depending on the results, I might be able to make a few extra rollers.

Paypal sent!

chillHayze said:

Paypal sent!

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!!!mí también!!!!

Thanks Yuri

Here's a list of part numbers and prices from www.jameco.com. You can probably find a cheaper/smaller perf board (circuit board) than the $14.95 version I ordered. Everything but the magnets and a few machine screws is included in the list below. The magnets you can get from an old hard drive, eBay, or a lab/scientific supply store.

ITEM......DESCRIPTION.....................PRICE
163619....FAN,12VDC,90CFM,4.68"sqX1"......$4.46
211051CM..TRANS,WALL 12VDC/800MA..........$2.19
297553....CONNECTOR,POWER,PC712A..........$2.77
23579.....IC,LM317T VOLTAGE REGULATOR.....$0.39
615312....HEAT SINK,SILICONE,6.5,GRM......$2.29
158051CM..HEAT SINK,.750"X.520"X.375".....$0.35
105161CM..PROTOTYPE BUILDER,3.6"x7".......$14.95
265076CM..KNOB,1/4" SHAFT,14.6MM,JK-905C..$0.73
18868CM...CASE,INSTRUMENT,7.9"x6.3x2.5....$7.10
316013CM..SWITCH,ROCKER,R13-66A-B-02......$0.86
637183CM..LED,PANEL MOUNT,GREEN...........$1.05
94160.....CAP,RADIAL,MINI,5MM,1uF,50V.....$0.12
15270.....CAP,CERM,DISC,.1uF,50V,20%......$0.15
29663.....RESISTOR,1/4W 5%,1.0K OHM,......$0.99
255521....POT,10K,RV24A-10-15R1-B10K......$1.19

glad I found this. I just finished my fermenting chamber and am gonna make some cider but I could only get a 50ml smack pack so I'm going to need to make a starter and have been thinking of making a stirplate . . .

We need a new forum for projects:rockin:

Pumbaa said:

We need a new forum for projects:rockin:

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Or at least a sticky thread with link to "How to Build/Modify your own _____".

where _____ is stir plate, chiller, kegerator, etc.

I finally got my stirbar for Yuri's awesome stirplate. Works like a charm. The only issue is that it is hard to center my 2L Erly, but perhaps that is not critical? I cannot get the vortex like in the pictures, but it does create enough movement where I get lots of aeration and stirring...yeast never settles completely and I get lots of bubbles.

Awesome job Yuri!

BrewStef

I just finished my stir-plate beta. Total cost: $6.50. I had a computer fan laying around as well as an old 12v cell phone charger. (My gf works in a lab & got me a 2" stir-bar for free) Parts I bought: rare-earth magnets ($3.50 at ACE - called super magnets & overpriced) & a 500ohm pot ($3 at Radioshack and way overpriced). Right now I have the flask sitting on two books but the sucker is plugging away. A project box made at TAP plastics shouldn't cost more than $5. Has no power button - just plug in & turn pot. (It'll never be plugged in when not going anyway, so why bother.) As far as the LM317 - I didn't use one - I figure if I need to replace the $5 fan every year due to the extra wear I'll still live. (I probably used $.05 of solder as well.) Total cost can't possibly be over $15.

Freaking sweet. Super starters... here I come. Tomorrow I finish it & make a starter...

Sorry to interrupt, but this may be helpful.

variable speed Case Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835220013

looks like 90% of the work is done already

$17

The work is sorta done for us (don't forget to add the $5 for shipping = $22). You still need to get from the molex computer power supply connection to a 12v dc power supply. Still need to have an adapter for that, still need to solder it up, still need to find a box to put it in... etc. And since you gotta do that anyway, you can just buy a fan ($5) and a pot ($3) without any shipping and spend 10 minutes hooking them together and you're in the same place as you are with that fan.

btw: I set my "beta" up this morning - went to work, came back 10 hours later & it was still purring. The first starter is in there as we speak for a Sunday brew...

I haven't checked mine out to be sure but it would seem to me that 800 rpm is a bit high. Any input here??
I could be full of beans too !!

snaproll said:

I haven't checked mine out to be sure but it would seem to me that 800 rpm is a bit high. Any input here??
I could be full of beans too !!

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Yeah, that was my only thought. I'm not really sure at what speed the stirplates spin.

anyway, just a thought.

I'm not sure how fast either - but pretty slow.

Mine is going right now - if the stirbar spins off and it's not working the fan revs up to very high RPM - but when the resistance is there to spin the brar through the water/starter, the thing probably only spins a couple hundred rpm at most. (pretty hard to tell though by just looking at it.)

So the 800 RPM variable fan should be fine - because it'll just spin slower with the resistance. - but for the price and the work that remains to be done still... not worth it.

Stir plate gurus....

I bought the guts of a stir plate from someone on anothe rboard before you guys did this. I still haven't put it together.

I recieved 2 potentiometers with the kit, along with a fan, magnets, and a power supply.

Supposedly I'm supposed to use both of the potentiometers. Any reason why, you think? Should I just copy your design instead? I figure I'd only need to buy a few dollars worth of extras.....

I have everything ready to go, including the project box, but I'm not sure why I got two potentiometers. Any input?

Some stirplates are heated, might that be the reason for the other?