Mazzei Venturi Aeration System

Hi Guys,

Rather than brewing today I finished up my venturi wort aeration system. I thought someone might benefit from all the trial and error I did pulling it together.

My first several takes on this were inspired by threads on HBT (http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-aeration-gadget-68218/) and this one (http://randystacye.com/diy_venturi.htm) but I found it didn't pull as much air in as I wanted. So I read over a few spec sheets for the various produced venturis that would fit my 1/2" system and stumbled onto this crazy video on YouTube: .

Long story short, I ended up making the system in the attached pics. This is a Mazzei 484 1/2" model (the clear model in the YouTube vid above is only a demo, I called Mazzei to try to buy it) with 304 stainless on the inlet from the BK and schedule 40 PVC on the outlet (it is only rated to 140F). You can Google to find all of this stuff.

Along the way I found the other guy who has a clear Mazzei (http://waterreclaim.com/product/ozone/manifold) and he gave some helpful tips: make sure you have at least 6" before and after the venturi to line up the flow and maximize aeration. He also said the way he set up his system on the pic above was far more effective than the way I eventually went with. But I'm not shooting to aerate a full municipal water supply like he is, so I'm fine with it.

Anyway, enough with the typing, here are some photos of it before and during operation. When running there is a solid column of foam that comes out after the venturi (the black T with a periscope for an air filter). Awesome! I'll brew with it next weekend and am sure it will be a game changer for my yeast.

Cheers!

PS if anyone comes up with a clear Mazzei please let me know! :rockin:

 

Nicely done, I was thinking about doing the same except adding a nipple to add pure O2 for high gravity beers.

 

Thanks man, I've never built anything like this and had a lot of fun doing it. If anyone can think of an air-filter-type-thing that would screw flush into the reducer elbow that would be the only thing I'd tweak about it...for now.

 

What about this? http://www.zorotools.com/g/00059936/k-G2681594?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google_Shopping_Feed&kw={keyword}&gclid=CLXnsvHnua8CFQhN4AodyjBlkA

 

1/8 scale nitro gas car engines (and maybe heli engines) have very effective 2 stage foam filters to keep dust and dirt out of the engines. You might head over to a good hobby shop and see if something like that might work for you.

Here is an example: http://www.motorsaverfilters.com/8onroad.htm
These have around 1/2 inch outlets. Look for two stage (tight inner foam core and and a more porous outer core)

The usual protocol is to soak the filter in a special sticky oil to catch everything, but I bet it would work well soaked in starsan too (seeing as how you are not driving your brewing equipment around a dirt track!)

 

For a filter you could adapt a p100(HEPA) respirator filter.

 

Awesome, thanks for the ideas. The 2-stage filters look like exactly what I was looking for.

My theory is that by stepping up the 1/4" venturi intake to 1" with the the elbow I am increasing the amount of air pulled into the system. It seems right but I have no idea about this stuff. Is this correct?

I like the in-line filter but, similarly, it seems like this would restrict the airflow, right?

EDIT: this is exactly what I had in mind: http://www.mcmaster.com/#air-intake-filters/=h4x17y. McMaster-Carr wins again!

 

That youtube vid is awesome. Thanks for the link. Sorry for a stupid question, but what is the flow for your system? You pump the finished wort through this venturi into your ferm vessal then pitch?

 

I hear you man, I've watched that video way too many times lol.

Yes that's my system at knock-out: BK-->pump-->chiller-->venturi-->carboy

After getting it all into the fermenter I'll run hot water from my sink (next to the stove--in case you can't tell I'm brewing out of a tiny NYC apartment, so space is tight) into the BK and run the wort-side of the system with Sanstar. The water side of the system drains via gravity when I disconnect from the sink faucet.

I like this aeration setup because 1) it is set-and-forget 2) it is cheaper than an O2 canister, regulator, etc. The Mazzei brand venturi was pricy but there are many other brands. After I saw that video though I had to have it

 

"The fish are writing death threats"

Nice build!

 

Thanks man, and yeah that guy's fish hate him.

Here is one more shot, of the filter/muffler that arrived today. It works great and reduces the noise (there was a lot of gurgling before). $6 on eBay.

 

this is awesome, gonna get on this build right away!