I found this online article on making your own stir plate and thought someone might like it. Hope it's not a repost. http://makeprojects.com/Project/Homebrew-Stir-Plate/277/1
That's a mighty puny stir plate with only an 80mm fan. He shows it with a mini-sized 250 ml beaker and he only has it filled to the 150ml level. That's like a whopping whole 5 ounces! A 2 liter starter would smother the thing. IMO, the magnets he is suggesting to use are too small, too weak and I have no idea why he suggests using four magnets arranged as he has them. I experimented using four magnets like that one time and it did not work well at all.
I have not seen that particular build before, but there are a gazillion of them floating around including my own. Here's my version using a full 2 liter flask with a 2" stir bar:
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These things are very easy to build and many of the parts can be scrounged up for free or very little cost and any parts you might need to buy are not at all expensive.
That's a great idea, and you can cut off the fan blades if you're at all worried about the fan cooling the yeast.
No need to cut off the fan blades. The moving air is beneficial in that it helps the fan motor run cooler. I don't have to worry about the starter temps much as I keep the house at about 70F year round and the yeast seem to be happy in that range.
I use two 3/4" X 1/4" rare earth disc magnets from Magcraft:
http://www.magcraft.com/products/disc/disc3.html
I've tested a variety of magnets and these work the best IMO.
These ones right? One glued at the center of the fan?
http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/p-65-nsn0582.aspx
These ones right? One glued at the center of the fan?
http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/p-65-nsn0582.aspx
Yeah I was thinking about that earlier and if we were to cut the blades wrong it'd create an imbalance of the rotation.
Here's a electrical parts list at least, especially if you don't have any in your possession.
120mm fan comes with rheostat to control speed -- $8.49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1&cm_re=fan_controller-_-35-200-021-_-Product
Molex Power Adapter - $12.49 (if you don't have a power supply you can use)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=molex_power_adapter-_-12-123-309-_-Product
And that's it! Then all you need is a glass/plexi plate, misc bolts and screws.
Catt, that is Sweet! nicely done.
Thankx! I've build more than a few of these for my brewing buddies. The design has sort of evolved over a number of years. My quest was for a minimalist, low cost design that would perform well and not be excessively ugly.
So you used oak? heh... just kidding. I love the "flywheel" idea!
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