The Oxynater

I used the oxynater for the first time today. I hooked it up to a small disposable oxygen tank. The instructions say, boil stone for 20 min before & after using, place in wort for 15 seconds then let the foam settle and repeat. Well aside from oxygen coming out of the stone there was no foaming at all on top of the wort. I was expecting a volcano like reaction in the carboy. Does the beer style or the small disposable tank have something to do with this?

I boil my stone for about 5 min before and after use. It's been through about 50 batches and still works great.

My process is to put it in the carboy for 1 min. Then just pitch your yeast and be done. Sometimes you see a little bubbles, sometimes its the volcano effect. I think the difference is the amount of starsan bubbles sitting on top of the wort.

If you are getting no bubbles, then you could be out of gas, have a clogged stone, or beer has caused you to go blind.

I've never boiled mine in 15 batches. I just let it sit in sanitizer for 10 minutes before using.
As long as you see bubbles coming out of the stone itself, you're doing it right. You don't want a bunch of oxygen foam on the surface because it's already wasted by then. It's a huge mistake when brewers assume a big foamy head on the wort is a sign of well-oxygenated wort. Not so.

Same here, 10 batches and I only soak mine in starsan for 5 mins before and 5 after then I take it out turn it on for a sec and then store it.

boiling your stone is a better way to go because it dislodges particles from the surface. You will get better use of your stone if you do this. 20m is not necessary in my experience, more like 5 m.

I also keep my grubby hands off mine because you can plug up the tiny pores with oil from your skin. I always mean to boil mine to freshen it up but brew day comes along and I find that I've wasted all my spare time posting here.

I'm thinkin about getting one of these, did you guys notice any significant improvements in you beer after switching to pure oxygen?

Bobby_M said:

I've never boiled mine in 15 batches. I just let it sit in sanitizer for 10 minutes before using.
As long as you see bubbles coming out of the stone itself, you're doing it right. You don't want a bunch of oxygen foam on the surface because it's already wasted by then. It's a huge mistake when brewers assume a big foamy head on the wort is a sign of well-oxygenated wort. Not so.

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That's what I do too! I mounted it on a wand so it's difficult to remove it so I just sit it in starsan for the last few minutes of my boil and through my chilling cycle, so it sits in santizer for about 30 minutes or so.

Tonedef131 said:

I'm thinkin about getting one of these, did you guys notice any significant improvements in you beer after switching to pure oxygen?

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For bigger beers the results are A-freaking-mazing. If you brew a lot of stuff over 1.060 I say get one. On smaller beers it is a little better than just shaking, and it can't hurt, for $40 I say get one.

+1 for not boiling every time - I did the first time out of the package and now I just soak it in starsan, and give a quick shot of o2 when I'm done to blow out the wort.

Question for the group: I notice when I turn the regulator dial of the Oxynator, nothing comes out until it is nearly full-open, and then it blasts out and causes foam-overs after about 15 seconds. Does anyone else notice this?

I never have any issues with foam overs, but I do have to open the valve almost all the way before it starts putting out oxygen.

I have a cleaned and sanitized empty tube of yeast that I fill with vodka and let the stone sit in it until im ready to use it. Works like a charm.

If it ever appears to be bubbling incorrectly i suppose i will give it the boil bath.

I actually have boiled mine in a measuring up in the microwave. Since the metal is contained in a liquid you don't get any sparking etc. I don't recommend anyone else do this because I don't want to be responsible for your house catching on fire or something. But it has worked for me and I will continue to do it most likely, it's quick and easy to do at the end of a brew-day. On my lower gravity ales I've gone back to shaking for simplicity's sake...

A bit of a reference.
Steel for packaging - aerosol can - Microwaveable - Food, Beverage, Aerosol, Paint, and Speciality cans

Yea, I Oxygenate the big stuff & just shake the small stuff. As for the O2 flow control, it's either all or nothing.