Best stir plate for the money?

I am interested in buying a stir plate and want to know from others who have purchased them where I can find the best possbile stir plate for the money?

Austinhomebrew.com has a $50 plate but has bad reviews about it listed directly on their site (I commend their honesty). Obviously if I'm going to spend money on one I want it to last.

Thanks!

I'm sure some one will recommend the Stirstarter.
http://www.stirstarters.com/
I have one and for $42.00 it is just OK.
It is not powerful enough I have a 3000ml Flask and it just barely keeps it moving and it throws the bar pretty easily. My LHBS has some really awesome ones for ~65 and i wish I had it instead. (This LHBS did not exist when I bough mine)
I would shop around on Amazon for a good lab grade one.

Hope that helps

PantherCity said:

I'm sure some one will recommend the Stirstarter.
http://www.stirstarters.com/
I have one and for $42.00 it is just OK.
It is not powerful enough I have a 3000ml Flask and it just barely keeps it moving and it throws the bar pretty easily. My LHBS has some really awesome ones for ~65 and i wish I had it instead. (This LHBS did not exist when I bough mine)
I would shop around on Amazon for a good lab grade one.

Hope that helps

Click to expand...

That is the one I have and for anything up to a 2000ml flask it works just fine. If you do want to do much bigger starters then you should look at something else or just get used to stepping your starters.

But I think for the money it is a good product.

If you are up task you can build one cheap.

$11 Amazon.com USB 85mm fan with speed control
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00080G0BK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

USB outlet adapter $5 or free if you have extra

Magnets from ace hardware $3.99 for a six pack , or use old hard drive magnets

Cigar box, tupaware, wooden box, etc for the enclosure.

-=Jason=-

Sent from my HTC Incredible using Home Brew Talk

I second the building of one. I saw some good ones on youtube last night as well.

I have a stir starter also, works great for me but I don't do huge(over 2L) starters either.

I got mine from stirstarters.com and it has been working very well. It's not industrial strength but it does what it's supposed to do. The owner of stir starters was very responsive and professional.

I bought my current stir plate because I needed it in a hurry and I didn't want to mess with making one. Next time I'll probably build my own.

hypergolic said:

I have a stir starter also, works great for me but I don't do huge(over 2L) starters either.

Click to expand...

Stir starters is what I have as well. Price is cheap since I am not going to mess with making one. I have had great results with this for 2L starters.

No issues at all.

Gotta say that Stir Starter is the best value for the money. I have a 5000L flask and only need to keep it at 70% for a solid vortex.

I have a stir starter as well. For the price it's awesome and I have used starters up to 1 gallon on it. Not sure why others are saying it's only good for up to 2000ml...the black plastic housing the holds the fan and magnet on the inside is a bit small, my only wish is that it was a little bit larger...however it holds a 1 gallon jug just fine. If I ever need a larger starter than 1 gallon I'll just siphon my fresh wort right onto an already established yeast cake instead of going to the trouble of making a starter that huge. I also bought a second magnet from Midwest which didn't have any hard edges, it's almost completely round and it seems to spin a little better. Tech support from the guy that makes the stir starter is also top notch.

+1 for the stirstarter. Also comes with a lifetime repair or replace warranty.

BiscayneBrewing said:

+1 for the stirstarter. Also comes with a lifetime repair or replace warranty.

Click to expand...

This. Not only am I extremely happy with my stirstarter, the lifetime repair or replace warranty makes it that much better. Not sure why others are saying it only works up to 2000mL. I can get a nice vortex up to a gallon.

I built mine, but have heard nothing but positive about stirstarter from the people I talked to at the homebrew expo they attended.

If you need a larger area to place a larger flask on, can't you make a stand with the center cut out for the stirplate, and set the height just high enough to come level with the top of the stirplate? I'm picturing a flat piece of wood with the cut out, and some T nuts and threaded rod with rubber feet. And it can be adjusted down to work with a more concave surface, or more level for a flatter surface (vessel bottom surface).

Just got my stirstarter and am very happy with the purchase. It is as nice as some of the ones we have bought for my lab at work.

Sorry to revive an old thread. Stirstarters now has a 5L stir plate. If I buy this, will I still need to do a step up with 1 vial of yeast (I'm thinking yes) and if not a step up how many vials to pitch a lager with OG 1.055?
Thank you,
Scott
Edit, with a one step starter I mean.

Would need the date from your yeast to know for sure but Yeastcalc.com says for a lager and a yeast date of may 5th (just for grins) that a 2.5ltr starter is fine.
Go there and play with the numbers.

Thanks Grem, I will do that!