Commercial Stir Plates

[BeardedBrews]

Hey HBT,

After frustration with balancing and speed controlling a fan based stir plate I built a small hobby motor version. It worked great until the plastic gear box bit the dust, so I replaced the motor two more times. At this point I think I'm done with DIY for my stir plate needs.

Has anyone had a positive experience with their stir plates?

Desires:
- 4L or greater capacity
- Moderately sealed (occasional moisture in my ferment chamber)
- Reliable positioning of flask and magnet
- Reasonable durability (36 months would be nice)

At this point I am willing to entertain a fairly wide range of prices, but if I'm over $100 I would want some meaningful features. I am not interested in a commercial kit driven by a fan.


Thanks!

 

[JonM]

I've been using NB's Maelstrom for more than two years with no problems. It's all sealed, there are drip edges over the electrical connections and it can easily spin 5L.

 

[kh54s10]

I took apart an old computer for the fan and magnets out of the hard drive. I needed to get a potentiometer from Radio Shack and a couple of bolts to mount the fan.

I put it in a cigar box that I already had, polyurethaned it with some I already had. Total expenditure = $7.40

It has been going very well for over 5 years. I don't need sealed, in fact I drilled holes in the box to give the fan some air to keep it cool. I run the stirplate on my kitchen counter most of the time. You are propagating the yeast cell counts, not making beer so temperature control is not an issue.

 

[user 40839]

You are propagating the yeast cell counts, not making beer so temperature control is not an issue.

Not everyone is running the stir plates in the kitchen, though. Mine is in the garage, and right now it's in the low 50s in there. Not exactly ideal conditions for yeast multiplication.

 

[kh54s10]

Not everyone is running the stir plates in the kitchen, though. Mine is in the garage, and right now it's in the low 50s in there. Not exactly ideal conditions for yeast multiplication.

In your case you will need some control, or bring it inside.

Make sure the wort does not get "carbonated" with carbon monoxide.

 

[user 40839]

In your case you will need some control, or bring it inside.

Make sure the wort does not get "carbonated" with carbon monoxide.

I'd had a tube running from the exhaust from my motorcycle tailpipe in there to keep it warm!

 

[Kaz]

I'm having these exact issues with my stir starter plate. Throws the stir bar every 20 minutes, impossible to get it back in place....drives me nuts!

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

I'll second the Maelstrom, love mine, it works with 4L starters.

 

[metaltim]

My uncle used this plate for 15+ years, probably 150 batches, and now I have it. As they say, spend once, cry once.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/magnetic-stir-plate-hanna-instruments.html?site_id=7

 

[SDBob]

I've successfully designed a magnetic stirrer that accepts a wide range of stir bar sizes, and it's almost impossible to throw the bar at any speed. It's self balancing, and works great for my orbital stir plate too. It's all about the shape and strength of the fields driving the driven bar. Irs a computer fan, a PWM board, an 1-1/2" long piece of 1" PVC,, and 4 rare earth magnets making up the two poles. My wife is screaming "patent it", but it seems too simple to me to warrant a patent. I can tell you it works damn good for a junkyard build though. It's not earth shattering, it's a small tweak on what thousands have done and shared before me. I feel I'm a little out in left field for the normal folks, but PM me if you're interested. For now, back to nerd-ville...

 

[atlref]

I bought this (INTLABB)from Amazon $39 a month ago and have only used it twice but so far it is great for the price. If it holds up even better. This is my second stir plate. The first is a DYI and it is still running fine but is hard to get the spinner to stay put at times.
Down side to this plate and most others is if you want to use a 1 gallon jug with a concave bottom the magnet is not strong enough to hold the stir plate. On my DYI i can add height to the magnets so it fits into the bottom of the jug and give contact.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072K24X5P/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[BeardedBrews]

Oh man @atlref ! I can't believe I forgot to update this thread.

I bought that exact plate back on 10/5 and have been very happy with the performance so far (4 batches).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/R2JPEGTVE7/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I've got pictures on my review but for the money I feel like this is a great option.

 

[MaxStout]

I bought this (INTLABB)from Amazon $39 a month ago and have only used it twice but so far it is great for the price. If it holds up even better. This is my second stir plate. The first is a DYI and it is still running fine but is hard to get the spinner to stay put at times.
Down side to this plate and most others is if you want to use a 1 gallon jug with a concave bottom the magnet is not strong enough to hold the stir plate. On my DYI i can add height to the magnets so it fits into the bottom of the jug and give contact.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072K24X5P/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

A big stir plate for $39? I just added that to my Amazon wish list. Next order. I currently use a DIY plate that works well most of the time, but most isn't good enough when I get up some morning to find the stir bar off to the side.

 

[Jethro Choicebro]

Oh man @atlref ! I can't believe I forgot to update this thread.

I bought that exact plate back on 10/5 and have been very happy with the performance so far (4 batches).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/R2JPEGTVE7/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I've got pictures on my review but for the money I feel like this is a great option.

I had been looking at this one too...any thoughts on if it would handle a 5L flask?
Thanks!

 

[Gadjobrinus]

It's on my cart, too. I will likely step from 2L to 10L before pitching, so don't need something that can handle 5L as the 10L will obviously have to just be oxygenated and run its course, but anyone thought of the stirstarter, or large stirstarter (for up to 5L)?

 

[BeardedBrews]

I had been looking at this one too...any thoughts on if it would handle a 5L flask?
Thanks!

Sadly I don't have a 5L flask, but from what I've seen in buckets and jars I imagine it would do a fine job with a normal thickness yeast. I'll take a look around and see what I can dig up to test.