My Stirstarter - What A Difference

[Montanaandy]

I am gradually getting back into homebrewing after many years away. Thanks to all of the great advice on this board you guys have made the transitiion/re-introduction really easy.

One of the best investments that I have made with respect to brewing equipment was to purchase a stirplate. I purchased mine from Dan @ www.stirstarters.com and the unit is very well made and the service was top notch.

Can't believe how much more active liquid yeast is after you add a starter and put it on the stirplate for a spell. I am never going back! Montanaandy

 

[SeamusMac]

$42 for everything but the beaker and it comes with a lifetime guarantee; not bad.

 

[MultumInParvo]

Yeah, they sell these at adventure in hombrewing. For 42 bucks its really hard to pass up, especially when all of you guys keep saying how good they are!

 

[the_bird]

Just got mine from Dan the other day; for $42 (shipped!), it wasn't worth futzing around with trying to get my homemade jobber to work.

 

[hsbcapt]

I ordered mine from Brewers Warehouse can't wait.

 

[BreWirfel]

just ordered one from Dan. no more shake shake shake of my yeasties.

 

[ChrisS]

I think that Dan and Derrin seem to make good products from the reviews on here and you probably can't go wrong with either one. I just got my plate from Derrin today and after unwrapping it I tried it out and it works like a champ. My flask isn't flat on the bottom but aside from a bit iof rattle noise from the stirbar the place was doing the job.

 

[hsbcapt]

I' sorry !! Mine is ordered from Darrin at Brewers Hardware. Looks like they are on back order until 11-30-09, but it will be worth the wait.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

I am sure both of these vendors sell great products, but just a plug to search for used laboratory stir plates. I got mine for $22 shipped, and I bought a stir bar for $2 from the local university.

 

[Montanaandy]

Huh. I ran the search and I didn't see anything that was $22 - I did see a $39 stirplate advertised .

To each his own. More power to you if you can save $20 but I personally prefer dealing with/supporting a small business person. Good luck getting a replacement/repairs/assistance in general if something goes wrong when you are purchasing in the used equipment market. Montanaandy

 

[jldc]

I love mine. I typically make a 2-2.5l starter, and harvest 500cc to put in a mason jar in the fridge. My last brew had krausen and airlock activity in 4 hours. 4 hours!

 

[ChrisS]

I looked on Ebay and when I found a decent deal it seemed that many others had the same idea and I was always out bid. Congrats to you to finding one.

My stirplate was a bit longer because if stirbars, I wonder what Derrin ran out of this time. Sounds like this might be taking off better that he realized?

 

[cyberbackpacker]

To each his own. More power to you if you can save $20 but I personally prefer dealing with/supporting a small business person. Good luck getting a replacement/repairs/assistance in general if something goes wrong when you are purchasing in the used equipment market. Montanaandy

Exactly, to each their own. Like I said, just another alternative for people to consider.

(But FYI there is no reason to try and scare people with a boogeyman of repairs/parts... Lab quality equipment is held up to the highest standards of testing and performance...)

 

[Brewers Hardware]

I looked on Ebay and when I found a decent deal it seemed that many others had the same idea and I was always out bid. Congrats to you to finding one.

My stirplate was a bit longer because if stirbars, I wonder what Derrin ran out of this time. Sounds like this might be taking off better that he realized?

Circuit boards.

I really didn't know what to expect when I first ordered the boards, honestly I never thought I'd sell them all. This is the second order of them and they should be here in about 10 more days. Once they're here, I'm going to hire my brewing buddy's son who is taking electronics classes right now to solder and test them. That should eliminate that bottle neck and coupled with the component inventory ramp up I just did; should get me back to same day shipping on the stir plates. My goal is to make sure anyone who wants a stir plate for Christmas gets their stir plate for Christmas.

 

[lanvp]

Circuit boards.

I really didn't know what to expect when I first ordered the boards, honestly I never thought I'd sell them all. This is the second order of them and they should be here in about 10 more days. Once they're here, I'm going to hire my brewing buddy's son who is taking electronics classes right now to solder and test them. That should eliminate that bottle neck and coupled with the component inventory ramp up I just did; should get me back to same day shipping on the stir plates. My goal is to make sure anyone who wants a stir plate for Christmas gets their stir plate for Christmas.

I just got one of your stir plate speed controller and I can only say OMG!

It works great. It took me 45mins to solder the components. This is a real bargain and it delivers. I can control the speed from stop to tornado spinning power with a 2" bar. I also got one of your temperature probe ends .These are high quality components. Will recommend it any time!:rockin:

 

[Montanaandy]

"But FYI there is no reason to try and scare people with a boogeyman of repairs/parts... Lab quality equipment is held up to the highest standards of testing and performance..."

I purchase things "secondhand" all the time. I refurbish old Airstreams so I am well aware of the used parts market and the pros & cons. Not familiar with the used lab equipment market in terms of reliability and the people/companies that you deal with.

The point that I was making is that when you purchase something in a secondary market that you are generally on your own if something goes wrong. You save a few bucks but there is a potential downside. Sometimes there is no choice because the parts are scarce.

Enjoy your stir plate. I love mine. Montanaandy