Lull...

[Lucky137]

So, I love this hobby. Hands down. And the way my first brew came out, I am so happy, I can't even explain! So thank you for all of your guidance thus far.

BUT (who didn't see that coming), I'm moving in two weeks, and can't really start any new brews between now and then. I don't want to have to move anything in a fermenter, and I don't comfortably have enough time to get something into bottles. But I'm having those cravings, where I need to do SOMETHING.

Anyone have anything good for me to do?? DIY projects, ways I can update or change my brew setup, etc. Any thoughts at all?

Thanks all!

 

[kegdawg]

Read John Palmer's How to Brew book....I'm new as well and have found it very helpful and interesting.

 

[shuckit]

Start working on sourcing/making a keggle.

 

[birvine]

Go to a local shop and see if anyone they know needs a guiding hand with their first brew.

B

 

[Homercidal]

Do you own a stirplate? They are a nice small DIY project that might help no matter what your brewing level.

Or a wort chiller?

And more reading is always fun and useful.

And of course the obvious: Beer study. It's never too late to bone up on your tasting experience.

 

[Lucky137]

Do you own a stirplate? They are a nice small DIY project that might help no matter what your brewing level.

Or a wort chiller?

And more reading is always fun and useful.

And of course the obvious: Beer study. It's never too late to bone up on your tasting experience.

Stirplate! Yes. I started looking into this and hit a few snags:

1) I pulled apart an old harddrive, tried to grab that kidney shaped magnet, and it broke into two piece, one about 2/3 of the length and the other 1/3. This happened to me twice, and I'm not really sure how to do this properly. Any suggestions? I did some searches and I couldn't find any specific instructions on how to get this thing out without breaking it.

2) Is there anything around the house I can use as a stirbar? When I do DIY projects I like to recycle as much as I can laying around the house.


And as far as beer sampling, I prefer to see it as collecting bottles. Definitely been doing my fair share of this.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Depending on your brew pot size, I second the idea of making a keggle. Then get a nice Blichmann 3-piece valve, weldless valve kit, order a sight glass / thermometer from Bobby at brewhardware.com. Make a dip tube for it.

 

[Homercidal]

Stirplate! Yes. I started looking into this and hit a few snags:

1) I pulled apart an old harddrive, tried to grab that kidney shaped magnet, and it broke into two piece, one about 2/3 of the length and the other 1/3. This happened to me twice, and I'm not really sure how to do this properly. Any suggestions? I did some searches and I couldn't find any specific instructions on how to get this thing out without breaking it.

2) Is there anything around the house I can use as a stirbar? When I do DIY projects I like to recycle as much as I can laying around the house.


And as far as beer sampling, I prefer to see it as collecting bottles. Definitely been doing my fair share of this.

I've done the hard drive thing and I have TONS of them in the garage and at work. But I recently bought a very tall stack of small Rare Earth magnets off ebay. They are uniform in shape and I think a bit easier to use since you don't have to try and remove from backing plate, and they are easier to line up properly.

The best luck I've had in removing them is to smack them just right with a screwdriver and a hammer. Some come right off, others crack in two (which gives you two magnets instead of one. I've tried heating the back just until the adhesive comes loose, but it's always made the magnet weak, no matter how careful I was. I've even had the guys at work use a Wire EDM to cut a magnet off, but it was way too much work. I got so many of those little magnets off ebay that I don't know what to do with them all.

Some people have centered a washer on the fan and glued it, then mounted the magnet on that, which I think would help center the thing properly, so that may be an option.

I started out with a simple pot on my stirplate and I still use it, but I've also tried a $7 circuit that really controls the speed nicely.

I use old printer selector boxes from work that I know we'll never use again. Everything is IP-based on the network nowadays. Lots of people use stuff laying around for boxes like cigar boxes, plastic containers, or project boxes form Radio Shack.

Get a power supply from an old cell phone. There are millions of those laying around.

 

[jwplessner]

Get your brewing stuff in a box, drive it over to a friend's house, and teach them to brew. Leave the stuff there till you've moved.

 

[Lucky137]

I've done the hard drive thing and I have TONS of them in the garage and at work. But I recently bought a very tall stack of small Rare Earth magnets off ebay. They are uniform in shape and I think a bit easier to use since you don't have to try and remove from backing plate, and they are easier to line up properly.

The best luck I've had in removing them is to smack them just right with a screwdriver and a hammer. Some come right off, others crack in two (which gives you two magnets instead of one. I've tried heating the back just until the adhesive comes loose, but it's always made the magnet weak, no matter how careful I was. I've even had the guys at work use a Wire EDM to cut a magnet off, but it was way too much work. I got so many of those little magnets off ebay that I don't know what to do with them all.

Some people have centered a washer on the fan and glued it, then mounted the magnet on that, which I think would help center the thing properly, so that may be an option.

I started out with a simple pot on my stirplate and I still use it, but I've also tried a $7 circuit that really controls the speed nicely.

I use old printer selector boxes from work that I know we'll never use again. Everything is IP-based on the network nowadays. Lots of people use stuff laying around for boxes like cigar boxes, plastic containers, or project boxes form Radio Shack.

Get a power supply from an old cell phone. There are millions of those laying around.

Thanks for all the info! So if I'm looking into purchasing magnets, should I go for two rods of the same dimensions? should one be flat for the fan-side? And do i need to put the magnet that's going into my starter into anything, like a piece of vinyl tubing or something?

Thanks so much!

 

[Nashbrewer]

The method I used to get the magnets off of the hard drive is a PIA but it only took some of the plating off. I used two pliers and grabbed each end of the metal plate and then bent it backwards until the magnet popped off. I've read this is one of the more successful methods. I popped two off and they are working great in my stir plate, but apparently there is still some rate of failure.

 

[certaut]

you only have to bend the plate a little for most of them, and they pop right off. A vice and a crescent wrench are my preferred tools
older drives have bigger magnets.