Fermentation Vibration

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bzwyatt

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I have a fermenting fridge. It sits on a wooden platform out on my back porch, next to the washing machine. When the washing machine is running, it vibrates the wooden platform a little, so the whole thing shakes a bit. When I look in the fridge at the carboys, the beer is shaking in rhythm to the cycle of the washing machine.

You think that could oxygenate my fermenting beer? With the layer of alchohol and CO2 it shouldn't act like a stir plate, right? I guess shaking the carboys vigorously for any length of time might not be that great, but a little shaking I can't see hurting it. Might even help it keep fermenting if the yeast need some help. This only happens a couple times every day or two, so shouldn't be a big factor anyway. But even if it was more constant, can you see it being a problem? Is there anything I'm not thinking of that a little motion could be doing to harm my beer?
 
You're right, with the layer of CO2 you should be fine. I wouldn't want major shaking, but a little vibration is probably fine. My only thought would be that you might have a tough time getting a nice compact yeast cake to rack off of, resulting in some cloudiness.
 
My day job is a vibration analyst and my hobby is home brewing. It sounds like you brew isn't being shaken hard enough to cause any sloshing or splashing so you should be OK. A little sway is OK. I would agree with Brycel about lack of compaction of your sediment; be very careful when you rack.

So who is putting the unbalanced loads in the washing machine? Is the suspension of the washer OK? Our washer doesn't seem to vibrate that much.
 
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