Wort Wizard aeration

I can't seem to grasp how the Wort Wizard aerates. I built my own this last week and it works great, but I read a little about it and there are holes drilled into the plastic tube that dispenses the wort into the carboy, which aerate the wort.

That's the part I don't understand. Being that you create a vacumn in the carboy which starts the transfer, how do you get that much oxygen into the wort? Is the little bit that's already in the carboy enough to do it?

I believe that it works, I'm just trying to understand.

jerly said:

I can't seem to grasp how the Wort Wizard aerates. I built my own this last week and it works great, but I read a little about it and there are holes drilled into the plastic tube that dispenses the wort into the carboy, which aerate the wort.

That's the part I don't understand. Being that you create a vacumn in the carboy which starts the transfer, how do you get that much oxygen into the wort? Is the little bit that's already in the carboy enough to do it?

I believe that it works, I'm just trying to understand.

Click to expand...

Where did you see anything about aerating via WW?

Various message boards. Denny Cohn had a review of it somewhere.

There are holes drilled into the plastic tube that dispenses the beer.

I'm using an old racking cane and carboy caps. I'm wondering if I want to drill holes in my racking cane.

Thats what the holes are for (as advertised). How well it works is debatable.

I wouldn't risk scratching up your cane, etc by drilling.

Get an O2 system or an aquarium pump with a filter.

I have an oxygen system. That's what I'll keep using.

I still don't understand the concept though.

You're not actually creating a vacuum, you're just creating negative pressure in the vessel. The 02 is still there.

I think the concept is similar to using something like this.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=7132

Siphon Sprayer: This handy device fits on the end of our standard 3/8” tubing. This device will aerate your cooled wort as you are transferring it from your brew kettle to your fermenter.

So it only uses as much oxygen that is already in the carboy before you seal it? Thats what I was thinking. Sounds like I am better off with the Oxygenator.

jerly said:

So it only uses as much oxygen that is already in the carboy before you seal it? Thats what I was thinking. Sounds like I am better off with the Oxygenator.

Click to expand...

Well, yeah, using a proper oxygenation system is going to be better in any case, I think the perforated tube is just an inexpensive way of improving aeration a bit when compared to siphoning without any splashing... but it can only be just so good without introducing a lot of air - I don't know for sure whether the amount of oxygen in your carboy is sufficient to properly oxygenate your wort (especially taking into account that even with the perforated tube, you still won't be getting ALL the O2 out of the air) but I would guess that it's probably not enough to reach an optimum level.

Just for anyone else who reads this:

A wort wizard cannot be used with a Better Bottle because a Better Bottle cannot hold up to negative pressure.

"Hey, what's that crackling noise?"

"Oh, crap! Take the carboy cap off, fast!"

"Well, I guess that won't work..."

olllllo said:

Just for anyone else who reads this:

A wort wizard cannot be used with a Better Bottle because a Better Bottle cannot hold up to negative pressure.

Click to expand...

This is 100% true, I've tested the theory.

Hey All-

I've never used a WW, but wonder how fast it moves the wort. I bet it's pretty fast if the vacuum is strong enough to crush a better bottle.....

Hawkie333 said:

Hey All-

I've never used a WW, but wonder how fast it moves the wort. I bet it's pretty fast if the vacuum is strong enough to crush a better bottle.....

Click to expand...

It isn't very fast, IMHO.

I can chill 5 gallons in just about 12 minutes using my home-made version and my shirron chiller.

What kind of puzzles me about that is the_bird said he can chill a batch with his IC and gravity feed faster than that. Makes no sense to me .

I tried using a homemade Wort Wizard with my counter flow chiller and it did work in speeding up my transfers. Went back to my immersion cooler because it was easier to set up. I too could never figure out how the Wort Wizard was suppose to aerate so I always infused O2.

This weekend I made a batch and have a Siphon Sprayer at the end of my tube when transfering to my carboy. Usually after transfer I will then aerate with O2. Unforunately I was out of O2 and didn't. I went ahead and sealed the carboy and nervously waited. The next day the wort was bubbling away.

For what its worth, the Siphon Sprayer works even without aerating with O2.
TD

Dude said:

Quote:
Originally Posted by olllllo
Just for anyone else who reads this:

A wort wizard cannot be used with a Better Bottle because a Better Bottle cannot hold up to negative pressure.


This is 100% true, I've tested the theory.

Click to expand...

Dude said:

It isn't very fast, IMHO.

I can chill 5 gallons in just about 12 minutes using my home-made version and my shirron chiller.

What kind of puzzles me about that is the_bird said he can chill a batch with his IC and gravity feed faster than that. Makes no sense to me .

Click to expand...

These two things tells me something's not right w/ your wort wizard setup. Because it will create enough vacuum to crush a BB and drain a kettle much faster than 12 mins. I usually take about 12-15 misn, but only because I'm throttling the flow. The hoses are completely flat from the vacuum. I'm going to switch to braided hoses to avoid this. In fact, I get enough negative pressure inside the carboy that it starts to suck water back from the wort wizard. I've got to pop off the carboy cap occassionally to prevent this.

To ensure a strong vacuum I use hose clamps, and I've got a little piece of plastic tubing that I use to connect one of the hoses to the large center hole in the carboy cap. A small piece of copper tubing or a broken racking cane would also work well.

Double-check your setup, I bet you're losing vacuum somewhere.

Lil' Sparky said:

In fact, I get enough negative pressure inside the carboy that it starts to suck water back from the wort wizard.

Click to expand...

If you are getting water you may have a restriction in your exhaust water.

Kink your exhaust hose and you'll see what I mean.

Nope, no restriction. The exhaust water exits directly from the wort wizard. There's no hose attached. It's just that the negative pressure inside the carboy builds up enough to start sucking from the venturi.

I use one of these. I guess the thing on the end could cause the restriction you're talking about. Maybe I'll remove it and see if that makes a difference.

Lil' Sparky said:

I use one of these. I guess the thing on the end could cause the restriction you're talking about. Maybe I'll remove it and see if that makes a difference.

Click to expand...

That's where the exhaust hose goes. If that hose is restricted you will get some backflow of water. You might try adding the hose and having it lower than the WW body to create a siphon. Perhaps the water bubbling straight up and falling back onto itself is the restriction.

The water doesn't bubble up and fall back on itself. It just blows straight out - horizontally. There's not really any need for a hose unless you want to direct the drainage somewhere. I need to take a pic of it in action so it's easier to understand.