How do you know when you have enough o2

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mikemet

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I have been a shaker for the better part of my 9 batches. I usually shake till I get a nasty head on top- then pitch my yeast. That works out-


I recently saw a video with an attachment to a tube- pvc with a single hole in it- causing o2 I would presume buy the wort flowing through the pipe- so it got me thinking


I drilled 5 small holes in a 1/2 inch tube- and attached that to my 3/8 inch siphon tube- and siphoned my wort into the carboy using this neat little air system I came up with


The end result was a rich creamy white head- without any shaking! But not knowing if it was sufficient enough- I did rock the carboy several times causing additional o2.


Im wondering- anyone make a rig like this- and if so- was that creamy head of air enough? How would I know?

My fermentation did take off 24 hours later- as expected- not as vigorous as I would expect-

any thoughts?
 
Unless you are going to invest in some expensive testing equipment, the proof is going to be in your fermentation results. 1 slow start could just be bad luck and could happen to anyone. Consistently less vigorous starts would be an indication that your new method isn't as effective as the old.
 
Yea you stumbled upon a technique that a few others have done, myself included...its nice because more holes = more air! Up to a point of course before you start leaking beer out :)
 
Everything else being equal:

Overly sweet/fruity, stuck fermentation = Not enough O2
Overly dry and harsh, no esters = Too much O2

Experiment by increaseing / decreasing O2 until you get it just right.
Be consistent and record your results.
 
I wouldn't worry about putting too much oxygen in your wort unless you are using pure oxygen. It takes about 25 minutes of shaking your wort violently to get the same amount of oxygen from a pure source with stone in about 90-120 seconds.
 
I wouldn't worry about putting too much oxygen in your wort unless you are using pure oxygen. It takes about 25 minutes of shaking your wort violently to get the same amount of oxygen from a pure source with stone in about 90-120 seconds.

Interesting. I NEVER shook it that long. I guess it also has to do with how much space your carboy has- if it has more air- that will result it more violent shaking etc.


Im also not worried about too much- more so- when is it enough...


Billl all of my beer so far has fermented. Since using Extract- and going to Grain- im losing efficiency until I can dial in my gear- I understand that- so the slow start could be just a product of that- im hoping. I do get fermentation within 24- airlock- kreusen formed- yeasties doing their thing- perhaps tonight I will see more activity --
 
Based on some experiments the Wyeast did, you can get almost completely saturated (8 ppm) with less than a minute of shaking. Of course that probably depends on how hard you shake.
 
When my arm gets tired from shaking after 2-3 minutes.

Ive never had yeast fail to start, even if i forget to shake.
 
The yeast has took off- within my 24 hour mark. Its been fermenting pretty good- Im going to wait to post my "problem with this batch" in a few weeks- (patience people!) after I get my FG. I missed my OG by a bunch- missed my sparge temp- not sure if that screwed up my efficiency- but will know soon enough :)
 
I wouldn't worry about putting too much oxygen in your wort unless you are using pure oxygen. It takes about 25 minutes of shaking your wort violently to get the same amount of oxygen from a pure source with stone in about 90-120 seconds.

I wouldn't worry about getting too much, period. There is only so much O2 you can dissolve into solution via bubbling... and it is literally impossible to get as much O2 in via shaking as you can via pure O2 bubbling.

If you use pure oxygen for too long... you waste oxygen. You won't oversaturate or hurt your beer.
 
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