maelstrom stir plate

[Double_D]

So I've done a couple small starters with my new stir plate. I stepped up from 500ml to 2000ml.

swmbo was supposed to get me a 5000ml flask for my birthday but there was a minor misunderstanding in regards to the volume I actually required. That's how I ended up with the 500ml.

I did a helles lager, propagated my single pouch of wyeast 2308 from 500ml to 2000ml. I was planning on moving up to an 8L starter for 12 gal of 1.051 wort. The problem is that I can't get the magnets in the stir plate to catch the stir bar because of the dome in the bottom. Any ideas? Currently I'm using a brew bucket with a lid and an air lock and it's really noisy.

Can't get the backup stir bar to pull the stir bar in the carboy up over the dome of the carboy...should I try to find a different 3 gal carboy?

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

What stir bar are you using? I found the small 1" one that came with it to be too small and swapped it out for a larger one I had on hand. The small one would kick off even with a 2-3L starter at high speeds for me.

 

[max384]

You are probably going to need a new container if you have a domed bottom on a carboy.

Why the 8L starter? I didn't plug anything into a yeast calculator, but that seems overkill for a 1.051 OG lager, even if it is 12 gallons. If you're looking for an alternative on the cheap, you may be able to find a large flower vase at a dollar store that would be in the 4-5L range, which I would think may work for your application.

 

[Double_D]

What stir bar are you using? I found the small 1" one that came with it to be too small and swapped it out for a larger one I had on hand. The small one would kick off even with a 2-3L starter at high speeds for me.

I bought the 2 inch one...

You are probably going to need a new container if you have a domed bottom on a carboy.

Why the 8L starter? I didn't plug anything into a yeast calculator, but that seems overkill for a 1.051 OG lager, even if it is 12 gallons. If you're looking for an alternative on the cheap, you may be able to find a large flower vase at a dollar store that would be in the 4-5L range, which I would think may work for your application.

Beer smith calculated I needed two pouches in a 4.86 liter starter. I didn't have two pouches because I didn't bother to double check... I doubled the size of that step to compensate. I know there's a certain "it would have been fine" level going on there but I wanted to try to get as close to the optimum pitch rate as possible to see if there was an appreciable difference.