Oxygen Setup

I am trying to put together and oxygenation system and am having some problems. I would like to avoid the disposable oxygen tanks and get a larger one from the local welding supply shop. I am also trying to be able to accurate measure the amount of O2 going into the wort for repeatability purposes. Can anyone point out which regulator would be appropriate to buy that would show Liters per minute flow rate but still work with an oxygen bottle from a welding shop? Any recommendations for the rest of the setup would be appreciated as well, thanks for the help!

I have a setup like this...

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shop/what-s-new/airhog-2000

They also sell the flow controller separately. I usually set my flow at .25L/min and run for 4 mins on a typical 5.5 gallon batch. You could set it at a higher rate for a shorter time, but you'll get a huge amount of bubbles at the surface. I still get noticeable bubbles (prob 1/4-1/2 inch) but nothing like the inch or two at the higher rate.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BLQKI86/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462079537&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=hcs5408m

talk about overthinking the process? I never worry about getting oxygen into my wort. But I pour my wort through a strainer into my plastic pail fermenter(does the oxygenation real well). Pitch dry yeast(no rehydration), and guess what I made some real good beer at a cut rate price.

dmashl said:

talk about overthinking the process? I never worry about getting oxygen into my wort. But I pour my wort through a strainer into my plastic pail fermenter(does the oxygenation real well). Pitch dry yeast(no rehydration), and guess what I made some real good beer at a cut rate price.

Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with op's request. Oxygen is very important for the fermentation process. If you want to repeat results time and time again, you're going to need something more controllable than pouring your worth through a strainer.

5 gallons of an 1.050 ale and a pack of dry yeast at optimal temps will ferment some real good beer without o2 provided every other part of your process is sound (most likely isn't for many)

Unfortunately the fantastic Doppelbock that I make will not have it so easy. Most likely my 1.110 Barleywine with Wyeast 1968 might come up a little short also.

Those beers are hard enough with o2.

It gets mentioned by many that of all the books out there on yeast and fermentation that it's funny how sometimes you just throw yeast in without a thought and make good beer. There's something to be said about simplicity for sure but if this were always the case we wouldn't be here now would we?

Price the disposable oxygen cylinders and check how many batches you can make with one of those. Price a refillable one from the welding shop and see how many batches you can make with that. Decide how many batches you will make in a year and how many of those need pure oxygen as opposed to the lower OG ones that will be fine without. Now do the math, how much will it cost per year with the disposable cylinder and how many years of using those will it take to make the welding shop cylinder pay off. Look up something called "future value of money" and use that to help decide.

I did that calculation and ended up going with the cheapy 10$ cylinders. I weigh them before and after use for repeatability, once you've used the regulator a couple of times it's pretty easy to just crack it open to the right point then do your addition by time.

That being said I brew mostly lower gravity stuff, so my beers get a 30 second shot of O2 typically. If you brew a lot of high gravity stuff the calculus is probably different for you

dmashl said:

talk about overthinking the process? I never worry about getting oxygen into my wort. But I pour my wort through a strainer into my plastic pail fermenter(does the oxygenation real well). Pitch dry yeast(no rehydration), and guess what I made some real good beer at a cut rate price.

Click to expand...

This is really terrible advice. All of it.

JonM said:

This is really terrible advice. All of it.

Click to expand...

Actually it's not that crazy of a statement. Oxygen is important for primary fermentation, but it is probably one of the most overrated homebrew practices- most people jump to it just because others say it's important but don't actually objectively test to see if it makes a difference. It's not needed at all for dry yeast (per manufacturers) and probably not that important with liquid yeast if you are building appropriately sized & aerated yeast starters with a stir plate (vitality starter).

http://brulosophy.com/2015/10/19/wort-aeration-pt-3-nothing-vs-pure-oxygen-exbeeriment-results/

http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/29/ye...e-cell-count-vs-vitality-exbeeriment-results/

"Coors England developed an amazing method that is perfect for homebrewers to steal. Take a stir plate and make a starter. Add yeast and 10˚P [1.040 SG]. Aerate for 4 hours. At the end of 4 hours pitch into the wort. Do not aerate the batch. This maximizes “vitality.” Vitality is the most difficult to measure and important parameter in yeast. A standard starter is fermented out and then re-pitched. This [a vitality starter] uses continuous air and only allows the starter to spin for 4 hours. No alcohol is produced. The yeast respires but does not enter fermentation until after it’s pitched into the wort."

dmashl said:

talk about overthinking the process? I never worry about getting oxygen into my wort. But I pour my wort through a strainer into my plastic pail fermenter(does the oxygenation real well). Pitch dry yeast(no rehydration), and guess what I made some real good beer at a cut rate price.

Click to expand...

JonM said:

This is really terrible advice. All of it.

Click to expand...

I would have to agree with JonM's comment.

While we all started down this route. Its fine for extract and lower gravity beers, if you are doing full boils, larger OG's and not watching your cell count, or NOT making starters, i think you'll have occasional problems. Namely beers having lower than expected attenuation, and strange esters, worse case slow or stuck ferments and possibly other microbes in your beer adding off flavors.

I think doing full boils warrants really good aeration. Oxygen being the easiest method.

BTW - Not re-hydrating yeast is kind of lazy. Its so easy to do and maximizes your cell count.

Yeast Pitching Calculator - by Jamil Zainasheff - Mr. Malty

I realize I can make good beer without O2 or having O2 and not knowing how much is going in....I'm already doing that. I have gotten more into making "the perfect" version of whatever beer I'm making instead of just different ones each time. To do this you need to control and repeat all aspects just changing one variable at a time. I have control of all other variables except for the amount of oxygen added to the wort, hence the question.

I went with the Rebel system because it was exactly what I was looking for at a reasonable price, thanks JMark for the link.

Also, you are crazy if you don't think oxygen is important in some form or another for yeast health. There is a reason virtually all commercial Brewers use it.

I have rehydrated yeast in the past and found it makes for a more stressful brew day. Plus I see no difference in the quality of my beers. Aeration, I have tried to aerate my wort also, again with no difference in quality. the yeast may ferment quicker with aeration, but doesn't produce a better beer in my opinion.