Aeration

Sorry, I have been shaking my carboys (rolling them back and forth on a soft surface) forever... works like a charm! The pumps work, just get an inline filter to keep out any nasties.

I did for about 4 batches. One got infected, the others worked well. The total set up cost was maybe ten bucks.

But for a $12 steel aeration stone, a $6 mini O2 bottle, and a $20 regulator, you can be blowing pure O2. Just food for thought...

I bought the aerator kit from austinhomebrew last year. It came with a pump, hoses, HEPA filter and stainless aeration stone for 31USD. I've had fantastic luck with it. Now that I have the aeration stone I've been considering getting an oxygen regulator just to save some time but the pump works great too.

Edit: As was mentioned if you use the pump, a filter is KEY.

I bought the O2 kit from Williams here:



http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_S_OXYGEN_AERATION_SYST_P699C106.cfm

Works great, and it only takes about 90 seconds for the wort to essentially become satuated with O2. Pretty sure it takes more like a half-hour with an aquarium pump setup. By the time you buy a SS stone (you need to have one with small holes), the filter, and the pump, you're almost at the same cost as this setup.

the_bird said:

...Pretty sure it takes more like a half-hour with an aquarium pump setup. By the time you buy a SS stone (you need to have one with small holes), the filter, and the pump, you're almost at the same cost as this setup.

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I run mine for an hour before I pitch. Not sure if you need to run that long but I figured more time couldn't hurt. You're right about the cost, it was even worse for me because I had UPS show up at my door with another bill for 23CDN in BS brokerage fees (on top of the shipping I already paid). Had I realized that at the time I would have gotten the O2 kit for sure.

the_bird said:

I bought the O2 kit from Williams here:

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I like that setup. DOes the SS difuser stone attach directly to the end of the racking cane or do you need a short piece of hose?


And how much do you pay for your O2 bottles?

Lookin good bird

That's not a racking cane, it's a stainless steel rod that the stone is directly connected to. The rod then connects to the regulator with a length of hose.

The O2 bottles are around $7 - $8, IIRC, at the Depot. They're supposed to last for upwards of 15-20 batches, although I think there was a problem with my reg (I ended up buying a replacement regulator), as the bottle emptied out a lot quicker than that (the part of the reg that attaches to the hose wasn't connected well and fell off, I think it was leaking as well).

With that caveat, it's a great system. You don't have to worry about the stone floating. It's all SS. Even if I were using an aquarium pump, I would probably buy the stone/rod piece (you can buy it separately from Williams).

Im seriously starting to look into some sort of aeration system. I looked at the aquarium pumps, but theres no way Im going to want to wait another 30 minutes after I just finished brewing. 90 seconds is more up my alley.

.

That's how I felt. I finish the boil, chill the wort in 10-15 minutes, aerate for ~ two minutes, pitch the yeast, and I've got everything sealed up tightly in ~20 minutes from the end of the boil.

Chimone said:

Im seriously starting to look into some sort of aeration system. I looked at the aquarium pumps, but theres no way Im going to want to wait another 30 minutes after I just finished brewing. 90 seconds is more up my alley.

.

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I thought the delay would bother me too (after I found out about the pure O2 systems). I use the 1 hour I leave it to completely finish and pack away my brew gear (apartment dweller) and have a nice cold glass in celebration of a job well done. By the time I get that all finished it's time to pitch, it's a nice end-of-brew routine for me now.

the_bird said:

Even if I were using an aquarium pump, I would probably buy the stone/rod piece (you can buy it separately from Williams).

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I agree. I wish I had the steel rod. It'd make things easier...

I inject pure O2 right after my wort comes out of my plate chiller @ 2LPM. It then is pumped into my primary. So far, it has worked great!

I'm wondering if I should get an aeration system. I do full boils but I have never aerated my wort afterwards. I use a bottling bucket as a primary, and I hold a sanitized strainer over my bucket and open up the valve on the brew kettle. I get a HUGE foamy head on the wort as it goes in. My LHBS guy said that this should be good enough to aerate and I've never had a problem that I know of, although I can say that my fermentation has seemed a little bit sluggish, although it usually does get down to a good fg, eventually. Is aeration going to help that go faster?

I think it is probably all good. Just a matter of efficiency and time.

I don't always aerate, and I'm not sure I can tell the difference when I do. When I do, I use an aquarium pump and a regular stone (although I plan on getting a stainless steel one soon and possibly an O2 setup). The rest of the time, I splash, stir, and/or shake.

A lot of the stuff that we do, isn't absolutely necessary, but it makes the process more efficient, repeatable, and certain.

I have the Williams system and I am pleased.
I use it for my starters in conjuction with my Yuri stirplate.

I'm sure it's overkill, but it's fulfilling my geek needs aplenty.
Happiness provided by the minor details of brewing should never be underestimated.

Interesting article on Wort Aeration:

http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/1206.html

ymmv