Show us your DIY stir plate!

[Phalanx]

Inspired by this thread and out of frustration about stirrplates on ebay selling for € 50 - 100 and even more, i decided to build my own



- 12 V plastic PC-fan
- 4 screws M5 x 40
- on/off switch
- led
- 650 Ohm resistor
- 1 kOhm potentiometer
- 12 V - 500 mA powersupply
- PS box approx 150 x 150 x 60 mm
- 2 neodymium powermagnets 8 x 5 mm



Overall cost ~ € 25.- and I could have saved half of it by ordering things online instead of buying at the local electro place.

This only took two evenings… I need a new project already

 

[shetc]

Fan from an old PC
Magnet from an old hard disk
DC wall wart from an old DSL router
Cigar box from Total Wine for 49 cents
Rocker switch and potentiometer from Radio Shack for 5 bucks
Going to buy a cheap vase from Michaels or some place like it.

 

[CooperBrew]

About $20 worth of radio shack parts soldered and connected.

The fan from my old PC was bigger than I thought, it barely fit in the project box. I epoxied the washer in place with 5 min epoxy. It gave me time to spin the fan at slow speed and make sure I had it centered properly. I have 4 small rare earth magnets that I attached to the washer.

Working as intended....

 

[Sbarnard80]

I haven't read through all of the comments here yet, so maybe someone else has already thought of this, but was wondering around the house this weekend looking for things I could turn into a potentiometer to control the speed of my DIY stir plate. Later this morning, my son came up and asked about setting up a little race car track he hasn't played with in over a year. Then the lightbulb went off. So I just tried hooking up one of those little variable trigger handles that control the speed of slot cars and it works perfectly! Will post some pictures once I get done with it, planning to make the container out of a 12pack bottle box (sweetwater 420). Sweet indeed!

 

[motleybrew]

those rc car controls are most times a PWM control circuit. That would work no problem.

 

[Cake]

Here is mine. I used cherry for the wood, an old multicolored light computer fan, poteniometer from radio shack, a hard-drive magnet, velcro, and some good ole' hot glue gun to keep the wires in place Let me know if you want more details! Just figured I'd do a quick and dirty response!

 

[nab911]

Rigged this up out of only spare parts from around the house.

Needs some more work, better led's, proper power switch and a potentiometer but the power plug is fixed and easy to disconnect, and hell, it was free and fun to make.

 

[theck]

Ripped an old firewire external HD apart, kept the switch and led... tossed in a used fan ($3), potentiometer ($4.50) and added the magnet from the HD. Glass was $22 and stir bar $14 (got a pack of 4 but wont stir the bigger ones).

 

[Jupapabear]

Here's mine in action. It spins...

[ame]http://youtu.be/LZUP_ZuPsDg[/ame]

Gutted an old router. I like how thin it was and it was surely wide enough for my 2L. The plus is that there was a 1.5" WPS button centered on top of the router, now there is nothing in the way of the magnets all. Not sure that it affects much, but I like to watch the fan.

 

[mattcuso]

Started with this

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[mattcuso]

Moved on to this

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[nab911]

Finally got around to picking up a rhiostat so I have speed control. Added a switch as well. REALLY had to cram it all in there but it works perfectly!

 

[alien]

OK, not exactly DIY, but I did have to fix the front panel to get it to work

Blog post: http://smokedprojects.blogspot.com/2013/12/stirplate-hot-fix.html

 

[mattcuso]

Any one know of any super deals on a flask

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[barrooze]

Any one know of any super deals on a flask

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What size? I've got a 2L that works great for almost all 5-6gallon batch brews I do. Here's the best price I've seen lately.

http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2014/01/reader-tip-2l-american-borosilicate.html

 

[theck]

My local shop was $22. Pretty good compared.

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[nab911]

What size? I've got a 2L that works great for almost all 5-6gallon batch brews I do. Here's the best price I've seen lately.

http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2014/01/reader-tip-2l-american-borosilicate.html

That's the one I got. Right at $15 shipped. Works great. There are some imperfections in the glass but I am not cooking meth, so who gives a ****. It gets boiled and cooled so you should not have any infection problems.

 

[Fat_Maul]

First I thought a high-tech approach was warranted. This is science after all!

[ame="http://youtu.be/ct50C180UCg"]http://youtu.be/ct50C180UCg[/ame]

Then I decided on a more practical (and power friendly) approach...

 

[Skep18]

Only shots I have of mine. Everything was sourced from scrap/stuff I had lying around with the exception of the stir rod.

 

[alien]

Any one know of any super deals on a flask

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This is the one I got. (2L Erlenmeyer $15.75, free shipping with $35 order.) Pretty good deal I reckon.

 

[Sbarnard80]

I love all the creative designs here, nice work! Gave me inspiration to cobble together my own. Spend a grand total of $4 on the stir bar, everything else was scraps I already had or got from someone else. BTW, I had a b@#ch of a time trying to figure out what to do about a potentiometer. I couldn't find a dial to use anywhere in the house and my wall adaptor was a bit too strong and kept throwing the bar. But I finally realized that if I hooked up a little Christmas light inside, it might draw enough current to slow it down just enough. And damned if it didn't work. And have light inside as a bonus. Takes 30 seconds to transfer to any 12 bottle box just depending on my mood

 

[COEBRA]

I spent $12 total on mine minus the stir bar. I had a really hard time getting the bar to stir without throwing it. Cutting the hole in the top of the box was the trick!


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[renegade]

Built back in 2011, Around $20 into it

Click link
https://plus.google.com/photos/116582724815739880986/albums/5688253571804436993?banner=pwa

 

[Reaver]

Finally got my double stirplate tuned in. I had to change out the fans a couple times to get it where it would hold. I found that more weight would help slow the fan down enough to not throw the bar with a 12v power supply. I do mostly 10gal batches split into 2 carboys so I like to have split starters. Local Cigar shop had a perfect box for the task. I just got it tuned yesterday, so I'll put a layer of clear coat on it to protect the wood.

 

[jkjones15]

Simple, and built out of things I already had lying around the woodshop! The holes on the side help to keep the fan from overheating since it runs for 24 hours straight!


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[groundchuck]

What size stir bar is everyone using? I have the 2" bar and I cant get it to spin much at all with out throwing it. Should I get a 1" instead? Mine is similar to most of the cigar box ones on here.
Thanks!

 

[Reaver]

Mine are 2" and I had the same issue. I needed to slow down the fans a bit. I tried various methods. I eventually added more weight to the set up by using 2 hard drive magnets. Add some extra mass and see if it helps you. I also have a 28 Ohm Rheostat almost at the slowest setting.

I had originally cut the fan blades off, that is one reason it was too fast.
And the transformer I used output 14VDC instead of 12VDC (typical).

 

[501irishred]

What size stir bar is everyone using? I have the 2" bar and I cant get it to spin much at all with out throwing it. Should I get a 1" instead? Mine is similar to most of the cigar box ones on here.
Thanks!

Not all stir bars are made alike. I nearly gave up after I could never get my first stir bar to hold. Out of desperation I bought a second (supposedly identical) stir bar, and can run my fan at nearly full speed without it throwing the bar.


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[MedicMang]

I haven't tried it but I have heard that the barbell lookin stirbars are great for not being thrown. I have tried a 2" stirbar and like you guys, it got thrown. Went back to my 1" er and it spins 5L just fine.

 

[groundchuck]

Not all stir bars are made alike.
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Thanks for the input guys. I was wondering if there was possibly something wrong with the stir bar. I have pretty strong magnets and the fan is running so slow I can almost count the revolutions on the stir bar.

I should pick up another stir bar and I will probably go with the 1" instead this time. Hopefully that does the trick!

 

[501irishred]

Thanks for the input guys. I was wondering if there was possibly something wrong with the stir bar. I have pretty strong magnets and the fan is running so slow I can almost count the revolutions on the stir bar.



I should pick up another stir bar and I will probably go with the 1" instead this time. Hopefully that does the trick!

May very well work as-is, but be prepared to reset the mag position if it doesn't work right away with the smaller bar.


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[blanstuf]

Finally got around to taking some pictures. Here it is on the floor in my workout/fermenting room.

 

[Monday30]

Here is mine! Made it out I recovered fan and hard drive magnets from an old computer. I added a rocker switch and a potentiometer for speed control.


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[uncleben113]

So I finally got around to making a stir plate. I wanted mine to have a little flare so I found this Jurassic Park lunch box on ebay and made my stir plate out of it. I was obsessed with Jurassic Park when I was younger and think I even had this lunch box so I am stoked about it


Here she is!

First small starter on it to refresh some old yeast.

The inner workings

Easy storage for the power cord

It rattles a little bit but I am proud as can be of it!

 

[groundchuck]

May very well work as-is, but be prepared to reset the mag position if doesn't work right away with the smaller bar.

I just picked up a 1" stirrer and it works like a champ. No adjustment or tweaking necessary. It also "holds" a lot better to the magnet on the fan. The 2" magnet sort of held it self in place. The 1" magnet "jumps" into to place and holds on tight.

When I picked up my new stirrer today I "stuck" them all to the steel shelf that they were sold from. I noticed some held better than others so I grabbed the "best" one (as far as I could tell).

So ........ tip of the day ......... when you buy your stirrer from a LHBS try them all out first if you can. :rockin:

 

[groundchuck]

Here is a picture of the final product. Everything packs in side when it's not in use.

 

[Jcbrown360]

Here is mine in the process of running a starter for my NW IPA.

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[501irishred]

I just picked up a 1" stirrer and it works like a champ. No adjustment or tweaking necessary. It also "holds" a lot better to the magnet on the fan. The 2" magnet sort of held it self in place. The 1" magnet "jumps" into to place and holds on tight.



When I picked up my new stirrer today I "stuck" them all to the steel shelf that they were sold from. I noticed some held better than others so I grabbed the "best" one (as far as I could tell).



So ........ tip of the day ......... when you buy your stirrer from a LHBS try them all out first if you can. :rockin:

Glad to hear it! Sounds the same as mine, other than the change in size. With my first one I would have to adjust and rotate the flask to get it to "bite"........


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[MikeInMKE]

Very useful link on what types of magnets to use and in which orientation for a DIY stir plate:

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=stir-bars

 

[Coppinburgh]

Just finished mine! My 15 year old son made the wood box in wood craft class. Man I love that kid!


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