Erlenmeyer? No.

Gixxer said:

I need to get some o rings. I have one of the stir bars with the donut in the middle to promote spinning, but it makes an awful racket when it spins! I think that might help my prob. Oh btw I use a plastic beer pitcher for my starter vessel with sanitized foil for a cover. The bottom is perfectly flat.

Click to expand...

I tried this using the small McMaster o-rings from the keg o-ring SKU thread. I have the full set, including both silicone and buna-n for the posts. I believe I used the diptube o-ring.

Didn't work on my gallon jugs. Made it worse because then the magnet had a much harder time dragging it up the concave surface, so it wouldn't even hold the bar without tossing it. YMMV. I think my jugs have larger concave surfaces than most.

They do sell barbel-shaped stir bars for this though.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007PJN4IE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 <--- That's a big 2" long one.

Both my smooth and octagonal bars make noise, from my 3/4" up to my 2". Center ring or smooth seems to make no difference. And they make the noise in all of my vessels I've tried, including the cider jugs.

The opening on a 5L flask is 2.25" across, compared to 1.125" on a 1-gallon cider jug. That makes the opening 4 times as large. Just ordered a 1.5" cross-shaped stir bar that should fit. They're supposed to be quieter.

Edit: Realized that I never tried the o-rings on the flask. Oh well.

I had seen the barbell stir bars before, but I bet the o rings would make that stir bar practically silent. The tick tack drives the wife nuts!!! Sooner or later I am gonna have to upgrade my starter vessel... I am limited to 1.5L... I might just get a 3000ml beaker. I dont mind using sanitized foil.

Gixxer said:

I had seen the barbell stir bars before, but I bet the o rings would make that stir bar practically silent. The tick tack drives the wife nuts!!! Sooner or later I am gonna have to upgrade my starter vessel... I am limited to 1.5L... I might just get a 3000ml beaker. I dont mind using sanitized foil.

Click to expand...

You could just get a 3000ml Erlenmeyer. Decent price on one here at Amazon.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yooper
No, the advantage of an Erlenmeyer is that you can boil the starter right on the stove, chill it down right in the flask, and add the yeast.

The next advantage is you get a nice vortex and don't throw the stirbar.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by Alien
Why not a flat bottomed pyrex jug or beaker then.

Click to expand...

No reason, as has been mentioned many times by many people, you can use nearly any container.

But that doesn't negate the fact that your OP was incorrect - your reason (sanitation) is not why people use flasks.

...

JehovahsWitnessProtection said:

You could just get a 3000ml Erlenmeyer. Decent price on one here at Amazon.

Click to expand...

I guess they are about the same price huh...

Check Houston Scientific Supply on Amazon, good prices on heavy Pyrex flasks and stir bars with free shipping.

I also boil in a saucepan and pour into my flask.

I haven't read all of the above posts, but here is why you should go with buying and Erlenmeyer:

1. You only need one container. Add the water, then the DME. The only things you'll need to sanitize is the tinfoil, and maybe the neck of the flask when you add the yeast. Simple as pie and reduces chance of infection.

2. Large surface area on the bottom reduce heat up times

3. Narrow neck reduces boil=-off to the point where you almost suffer no change in volume (I find about 50mL in a 1L starter is boiled off, which basically compensates for the DME you add)

4. Stir bars spin easily on the flat bottoms

5. easily accept stopper. My 2L flask accepts no. 10 stopper. I use a solid one for shaking, and a single hole one for my airlock.

6. Borosilicate Erlenmeyer flasks do not break when relatively large changes in temperature occur (in the range we are dealing with). I go straight from my stovetop, where the glass is well in excess of 100 Celcius, to 10 Celsius water. Never had a problem and I've never been worries

7. Bought mine for $20 at my Univeristiy's Chemical supply store.

8. Looks badass

You should seriously look into buying one. We are always looking for ways to simplify our lives as brewers, and this is one which makes starters a breeze.

Just don't show your mother, she'll think it's a bong.

Of course, there's absolutely no way you could adapt one for that purpose.

Well, I am wavering slightly after I saw a 2L Erlenmeyer on Amazon for $13.

http://amzn.to/19wmRah

Caved and bought the 2L. My wife forgot to cancel a free trial of Amazon prime so I thought I might as well get something out of it. That's my excuse anyway.

Link http://amzn.to/19wmRah

It arrived just now inside a box, that was packed in a box, inside a third box. Like Russian dolls.

Funny. Just read this thread and then looked in at homebrew Finds...

2 liter borosilicate flask for $13 + shipping...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ASIN=B006UKI8XK&linkCode=as2&tag=hombrefin-20

I stopped using Erlenmeyer flasks and went to pyrex graduated beakers.

All the advantages of a Erlenmeyer flask, essentially a large pyrex pot.

I boil my wort in the beaker, throw in the stir bar to sanitize it, place aluminum foil over the top, everything is heat sanitized.

My stir plate is in my fermentation chamber. Place the beaker with the hot wort on the plate, turn it on, a few hours later pitch the yeast.

Advantages:
Dont have to sanitize the beaker.
Dont have to chill the wort with an ice bath.
Dont have to clean the pot I boiled the wort in.
Perfect sanitation.
Easier to clean a beaker than a flask.

The 2L Erlenmeyers are back on homebrew finds, $15.

2L Erlenmeyers now on Amazon for $14.25.

2L Erlenmeyer $14.25 deal is back.