Pimp My Stir Plate

Ok, so I just finished my first stir plate build. I loosely followed the Anthony_Lopez "Cheap and Easy" version. It turned out pretty cool. I swapped out the project box for a cigar box ($2 at the local cigar shop) and nylon bolts/nuts for the regular metal ones. Also, since I didn't have a hard drive laying around, I swapped the HD magnet for 4, 1/2" 10 rated magnets from Hobby Lobby set up ++-- on the washer glued to the fan.

Originally, I thought the nylon nuts/bolts would be best, since it wouldn't interfere with the magnets on the fan or the stir stick, but I was surprised when I got it all hooked up! The clear computer fan I bought from Fry's ($3.90) lit up and glowed through the bolts. Pretty cool...

Anyway, check out pics and let me know what you think.

http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Niederhofer/Stir Plate/

Also, for my first starter, I mixed 3/4 cup of XL DME and 3 cups of hot water, stired until dissolved on plate, then boiled for 15 mins. Topped with sanitized foil, chilled in ice bath, pitched yeast and returned to stir plate. Any thoughts on procedure? Thoughts are always appreciated!

That must be a pretty stout plate if you can mix DME and water in it! What size stir bar are you using?

1" bar. No problem mixing hot water and DME. I was a little shocked too, but I figured I'd try it since I had never seen anyone mention it. I think it's because the top of the cigar box is very thin and I mounted the fan super close to the top. I used one nylon washer on each bolt as a spacer from the top.

When you get time I would like to see a picture of the magnet arrangement on the fan hub.

SWMBO's out of town, look for it in a couple of mins. Just me and the brew here...

OK, it should be up now. I put a pic of the magnet set up and the top without the fan mounted. On the magnets, I secured the outer ones with Gorilla Glue, the middle ones keep each other in place so I didn't mess with glueing them down.

Don't you sell these? I might ask for some royalties! Anyway, thanks for the interest! Any other questions, let me know.

http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Niederhofer/Stir Plate/

By the way, I don't think I mentioned the mounting earlier. The holes in the fan didn't fit the bolts so I had to drill them out to 1/4". Still plenty of plastic around the holes, so I'm not worried about it holding up.