Oxygen aeration with tank

Need advice on pressure setting and SS aeration stone size. Have the oxygen tank and regulator from my gas welding set up. What pressure setting do most of you use with an adjustable regulator. Think increasing the pressure until I see bubbles and backing off a bit will work. A ballpark initial starting pressure setting will help.

Air stone size. Commonly see .5 and 2 micron SS aeration stones. Thinking the .5 would be best as the smaller bubbles should get absorbed quicker.

Is the Williams air wand worth it? Thinking the stone at the end of vinyl tubing may float when oxygen is introduced. The Williams wand gets good reviews, just wondering if the stone and tubing works as well?

Just discovered Morebeer also carries a wand, $29.50 with free shipping. http://morebeer.com/view_product/18255//Diffusion_Stone_-_5_Micron_26"_long
Beats the William's one for $34.90 plus $7.50 shipping if it is as good. Any thoughts?

I just start and back off pressure to get manageable bubbles. I have and really like the Williams wand.

I have the williams kit and i drop the wand in and slowly turn the regulator until i get mild bubbling then stir it around for 25 seconds.

The william's regulator has no pressure gauge, it is just an on/off. so you turn it one way for more flow and the other for less.

So did you guys notice any difference in fermentation after you began using oxygen and the wand?

Doed said:

So did you guys notice any difference in fermentation after you began using oxygen and the wand?

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Big time. Consistently breaking the 1.020 barrier since using oxygenation.

Doed said:

So did you guys notice any difference in fermentation after you began using oxygen and the wand?

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I too fixed my stuck fermentation issue with moving to a pure o2 aeration system. Shaking the hell out of it just didn't cut it.

Also just a PSA... Shaking, dumping, obsessively mixing, whipping, playing the beegees and dancing the hell out of your wort... all can only result in a maximum dissolved oxygen content of 8ppm, since that is the atmospheric concentration. Ideal levels for fermentation are between 12-15ppm of dissolved oxygen. The only way to hit these levels is with a pure o2 system.

That being said everyone has their own method. Do what works for you. If you shake your wort lovingly to get that o2 in there and it works for you, shake your wort. I was seeing stuck fermentations hanging around 1.020 so i got a William's o2 kit and have never had that problem again.

That's what I was wondering. My fermentations usually stall out around 1.020. I am currently using a wine degasser to whip my wort for a few moments before pitching the yeast. I was thinking that this is probably my next homebrew gadget to purchase.

Are these the oxygen tanks you are using?

is there food grade oxygen we should be getting?

Doed said:

Are these the oxygen tanks you are using?

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Those are the ones... like $10 or something at HD or Lowes

hexXedBrewing said:

is there food grade oxygen we should be getting?

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No need just go to Lowes. Pure O2 is unfriendly to things like bacteria.

It seems like there's a longer lag before visible signs of fermentation i.e. bubbling airlock now that I use oxygen, but the fermentation finishes sooner. I've wondered if the oxygen lets the yeast multiply longer before they get down to the job.

So the William's site says you can aerate 20 - 30 batches, for 50 seconds each, on one of the tanks I posted above, this true? What has your experience been?

One other thing, is the stone attached directly to the wand or is there a short piece of hose between the stone and the wand?

The wand is connected directly to the stone.

The time depends on your flow. Some people say they do it for a couple minutes, I do it for 25 seconds and have seen the benefit. I crank it open until bubbles are pretty vigorous and stir it around for 25 seconds. Seems to do the trick for me. I could probably do it longer, but I won't since I don't seem to need to.

With the exception of a few batches, I have been getting stuck at the 18-20 mark. Last night's brew i spent a few extra minutes with the paint stirrer, huge starter (4L) and low mash temps so we'll see if I can break through. If not, this will be my next purchase.

Doed said:

So the William's site says you can aerate 20 - 30 batches, for 50 seconds each, on one of the tanks I posted above, this true? What has your experience been?

One other thing, is the stone attached directly to the wand or is there a short piece of hose between the stone and the wand?

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I haven't gotten nearly that much...maybe I'm doing it wrong though. Got maybe 5.

I really need to get a wand. Right now I use an aquarium stone with my o2 setup. I have no idea what my flow rate is, but I turn the reg up till I can just start to see bubbles. Then I start from the outside and do spirals working my way in to the center, maybe 1min give or take.

I purchased one of the williams aeration kits as well and have been very pleased with it. My fermentations have been finishing where they should and the lag time has been less. This is in conjunction with making starters. I didn't get nearly that many batches on my tank. I got maybe 10, but I think I might have left the regulator open at one point so I think I might be able to get 15 out of this tank. All in all I think it is a worthwhile investment. I start by running the O2 in the wort for about a minute to a minute and a half then then fill the headspace of the fermentor for ~30 seconds.

jmf143 said:

It seems like there's a longer lag before visible signs of fermentation i.e. bubbling airlock now that I use oxygen, but the fermentation finishes sooner. I've wondered if the oxygen lets the yeast multiply longer before they get down to the job.

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That's exactly what's going on. They multiply with O2, then ferment when it's used up.

The big box store cannisters work well. I think an oxygen stone / oxygenation system is the best brewing buy I have made. Stir plate close 2nd. Big starter, lots of o2, temp control = great fermentations ever since.

I just use the stone on the end of silicone tubing. I use a 'D' size medical oxygen bottle which has lasted about a year and is still at 500psi. The nice thing is, it uses a flow control so I can adjust the liter-per-minute flow. You can get them reasonably priced on eBay.

helibrewer said:

I just use the stone on the end of silicone tubing.

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How do you keep the stone from floating when you "give it the gas"?