Starter never really took off.... Weak?

I washed yeast from a previous batch of Oatmeal Stout. :fro:

I got just under a half gallon of liquid. Then I boiled 1 1/2 pints in 1 1/4 cup of DME.

Day 1 and it appears though its still fermenting but the tiny amount of krausen makes me wonder if theres not much action going on there. Theres about 2 millimeters of krausen and it seems to be slowing down already. Arent you supposed to get a good ferment in three days? Maybe I should add more DME? I only have liquid LME left now.

How come all these other people seem to post pics of some rocket fuel starters? Is that because they use all grain? I just feel as if im missing something here.

i never see much action in my starters but they sure take off in the primary

So I might want to bump up the yeast more. Maybe I can boil up some LME and use that to boost the yeast?

About under a cup of LME to a pint and a half of boiled water?

unless you are making a huge beer, i would think you have enough yeast now.
it certainly won't hurt to bump it up as you suggest.
if i think a starter is slow i will take a taste - if sweet - i know it is still fermenting and no need to add more extract.
i swirl my starters everytime i pass them for the 2 -3 days they are working.
by day 3 when i swirl i get a big fizzy head- then i know it is good to go.
good luck

Ahh ha. Yes I swirled it around a couple of times in the day. It foams up about 2 inches when swirled....

1 1/2 pints water to 1 1/4 cups DME is a very high gravity starter. I would suggest about 1/2 - 3/4 cup DME for 1 1/2 pints, and the yeast should take off faster.

-a.

Ahh ok. I thought it took off too quickly though. Its almost been a day and it seems to have slowed down to almost nothing now.

I hardly ever see activity in my starters. Remember, the starter is about propagating yeast cells, not fermentation. If you have some krausen, you should be good to go. If you are doing a really huge beer, you may want to step it up, I usually do 1.5 quart starters for really big beers.