Quieting Stir Plate

[danthebugman]

So my wife is not fond of the sound the stir bar makes as it spins around in the starter vessel. The ringing/dinging sound it makes is like nails on a chalk board to her. It's not been a real big deal as I have just been putting the stir plate in an unused room and closing the door. But now that room is going to be getting used and I won't be able to do that. Ideas on how to quiet the stir plate in a simple manner? I thought about just putting it in a big styrofoam cooler, but then it takes up a LOT more room and I have to keep this cooler around.

 

[AlCophile]

Try padding between flask and plate, but be sure it doesn't let flask slip off. Also, there are different shape stir bars, and some with a ring at their center, so, only point of contact with the glass is at the ring. Look in a science supply catalog, or McMaster-Carr. Good luck.

 

[Brewing_Between_Games]

Maybe the sound is transferring from your starter container to your stir plate to the counter top, amplifying the sound. Maybe some rubber or plastic feet (I use cabinet door bumpers) on the bottom of stir plate and between stir plate and starter container. I use in both places and can hear the spin bar moving around but it is muffled by starter wort and rubber bumpers. I gotta get up close to really hearit.

 

[danthebugman]

I have the stir bars with the ring in the middle already. Good call on something between the container and stir plate, that should be easy enough to implement! I'll see about adding some rubber feet also.

 

[CGish]

Small o rings slipped over each end of the stir bar so it turns on the two o-rings can really cut down on noise as well.

 

[KartRacer54]

I have noticed by moving the flask around slightly that the bar becomes silent. The center of the magnetic field ( I know nothing about magnetic fields but seems logical) being off center with the stir bar makes it wobble and therefore noisy. Give it a shot mine makes zero noise once centered.

 

[Natdavis777]

One of my flasks does the same thing. Ive noticed I can make it more manageable by trying to get the flask as centered as possible. One other thing I recently discovered was that one flask does better on one stir plate, as does the other flask with my other plate. So I try and remember which flask to put with which stir plate to avoid the rattle.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I had a flask that did that. The bottom was not flat and had a sort of wave shape and the bar would bottom out while spinning. I found that I could manipulate the bar on top of the hill if I adjusted it just right. Alas that flask met its end and I bought a new one with a much flatter bottom.

 

[MagicMatt]

I have a slightly domed flask as well. A little trick that works is to cut a small section of tubing the length of the stir bar (like siphon/transfer tubing) and slip the stir bar into it, like a sleeve. I've heard of the o-ring trick before (one on each end) but have not tried it.

 

[Natdavis777]

I have a slightly domed flask as well. A little trick that works is to cut a small section of tubing the length of the stir bar (like siphon/transfer tubing) and slip the stir bar into it, like a sleeve. I've heard of the o-ring trick before (one on each end) but have not tried it.

Sounds like a solid idea. I bet some beverage line would be ideal.

 

[outside92129]

i switched from a stir-bar to a "stir-egg", it got rid of almost all the noise. The Fam-bam is much happier now.