DIY 110v Stirplate Update

This is the latest version of the 110v AC muffin fan stir plate w/flywheel:

Do you just have a plug wired into the dimmer switch and fan?

Where do you source the 110v fan from?

I have a 12v stirplate that I had made according to Anthony's cheap easy stirplate thread. Works really well, but I think I'd like a little more power to create a larger vortex.

Will your setup pull the vortex all the way to the bottom if you wanted it to?

Looks good.

You can get 120v fans at Radio Shack.

You don't want the vortex to go all the way to the bottom. Too much gurgling.

Yes, a a standard wall plug and a couple of feet of lamp cord wired through the light dimmer switch. Yes, it will pull a votex to the bottom, but that is not at all necessary. The gas exchange occurs primarily at the surface of the liquid. I like to run it considerably slower than the pictures show. The objective is to keep the wort moving which will "turn over" the surface rapidly exposing fresh wort to the air above. A strong vortex will draw air down into the wort, but that would only be a clear advantage if the slower stirring wasn't enough to facilitate a good gas exchange which I don't think is the case. It would take some lab testing to varify that one way or the other, but I'm in the vortex not needed group. My ale starters at room temperature typically finish out in 24-48 hours and usually its more toward the 24 end. I usually allow more time for lager yeast.

will it do a 3L flask without throwing the bar?

Radio Shack 110v muffin fans are way too pricey. You can get them at sound shops and really cheap online. I wouldn't pay more than about $5 or $6 bucks for one. These are often used too cool cabinets containing amplifiers or other warm running electronic equipment. I use only the finest authentic cheap Chinese muffin fans and the cheapest rotary light dimmer switch I can find.

I just ordered some cross shaped stir bars. I'm curious to see how they perform vs the regular straight bars. I'll report back with the results.

These are easy to build, but extreme care must be taken to center the magnet holder to a tight tolerance and also to dill the holes to mount the magnets very precisely. This is for balance. Imbalance of the hub and misaligned magnets are certain to cause problems. The stir bar will rattle and sometimes get thrown when the balance is off even what appears to be only a tiny bit.

EdWort said:

will it do a 3L flask without throwing the bar?

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Yes...if it's built right. I want to get a 5 liter flask to try with it. Worst case I would have to get a larger stir bar and reposition the magnets. I'm leaning toward just using two separate stir plates with two 2 liter flasks in lieu of the 5 liter one. The big flasks do look cool though.

I need to build another plate simply due to the fact that I like to brew two different 5 gallon batches on brew day. My 12v stirplate can take a vortex to about 1/2 way down my 1/2 gal growler with 1 liter in it, so I suppose that is good enough. I used it for the first time about 3 weeks ago.

Schnitzengiggle said:

I need to build another plate simply due to the fact that I like to brew two different 5 gallon batches on brew day. My 12v stirplate can take a vortex to about 1/2 way down my 1/2 gal growler with 1 liter in it, so I suppose that is good enough. I used it for the first time about 3 weeks ago.

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That's more than good enough! IMO, it doesn't get any better than that.

Are the fans actually called muffin fans? Any links for cheap chinese version would be appreciated.

Brew-ta-sauraus said:

Are the fans actually called muffin fans? Any links for cheap chinese version would be appreciated.

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Yes...among others. I just did a quick search on Ebay and found a few:

* 2 items found for 110v AC Fan
* 2 items found for AC Muffin Fan
* 23 items found for Muffin Fan
* 9 items found for 110v Fan

Muffin Fan, great deals on Computers Networking, Business Industrial on eBay!


Here's a really cheap source: 5-212 Mixed MUFFIN Fans-USED 115VAC Muffin Fans metal 4.7" SQ x 1.5" -Electronic Surplus Inc.Offering obsolete IC's, discretes, motors, relays, switches, pots, and much, much more! Always looking for your excess inventory.

Use the googles and it's easy to find them. The prices vary considerably as you will soon find out. The fans I use are 4-3/4" x 4-3/4" Square. Check with your local computer repair guy and see if he may have some laying around. As a last resort, Radio Shack sells them, but they are pricey at around $24 or so.