Oxygenating Wort

[bendog15]

So far all I do is rock my carboy back and forth alot before I pitch yeast. Ive got a 6.5 gallon carboy, I fill it with a 5 gallon batch which gives me plenty of room to slosh it around. Ive also thought of pouring the wort back and forth between 2 sanitized buckets...

Is there a way I can make an oxygenator on the cheap? Its not high on my wish list of equipment. I was thinking of getting a small O2 tank from a welder shop, and a piece of hosing from the hardware store, then buying a diffusion stone somewhere...

Any thoughts?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

On moderate gravity beers (1.060 and lower) I use a mix-and-stir for 5 minutes. I'm very happy with the results! Should get you up to the 8ppm level, but I've never measured it.

 

[sudbuster]

So far all I do is rock my carboy back and forth alot before I pitch yeast. Ive got a 6.5 gallon carboy, I fill it with a 5 gallon batch which gives me plenty of room to slosh it around. Ive also thought of pouring the wort back and forth between 2 sanitized buckets...

Is there a way I can make an oxygenator on the cheap? Its not high on my wish list of equipment. I was thinking of getting a small O2 tank from a welder shop, and a piece of hosing from the hardware store, then buying a diffusion stone somewhere...

Any thoughts?

At this point don't worry. Beer was made long before oxygen tanks. If you are physically able, just pick the fermenter up and shake the **** out of it for a bit. The beer will be ok.

 

[Safa]

Venturi siphon? I'm afraid I don't help a helpful link (dumb phone...), but a quick google with homebrew talk and Venturi would return a how to. It's apparently very effective. I will be attempting one tomorrow myself.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[aiptasia]

Five minutes of rocking it on it's axis is about the same as a 30 second blast of pure O2, more than enough.

 

[RM-MN]

It's a carboy, it's made of glass, it's heavy and heavier still with wort in it. I wouldn't be picking it up and shaking it and even rocking it can be dangerous. Think what it would cost for a trip to the emergency room if that carboy should happen to break in your arms or even just while you were holding it and rocking it. Put a small portion of that towards an aquarium pump and airstone or better yet, replace it with a plastic bucket (and the pump and airstone) since the buckets don't have the potential to send you to the emergency room.

 

[Safa]

It's a carboy, it's made of glass, it's heavy and heavier still with wort in it. I wouldn't be picking it up and shaking it and even rocking it can be dangerous. Think what it would cost for a trip to the emergency room if that carboy should happen to break in your arms or even just while you were holding it and rocking it. Put a small portion of that towards an aquarium pump and airstone or better yet, replace it with a plastic bucket (and the pump and airstone) since the buckets don't have the potential to send you to the emergency room.

This.

Found the Carboy accidents thread and didn't sleep until I had replaced all glass with plastic. No need to take the chance for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[UberHasselhoff]

How about going with dry yeast? No shaking required and you'll save on cost. Plus no starter!

 

[QuercusMax]

I use buckets, so I use a drill paint stirrer (like this).

I do 2 minutes for ales, 5 minutes for lagers or really high gravity brews.

 

[Cadrian]

This is on my to buy list....

Just uses a oxygen tank you can get from lowes or homedepot for like 15 bucks..

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-OXYGEN-AERATION-SYSTEM-P699C106.aspx

 

[fartinmartin]

Once the beer is cooled, I draw off the brew from the valve into my fermenter with a good splash off the side of the FV , and sometimes give it a bit of a rock around, that's all the aeration I have ever needed ! There is not one item off equipment used, it's boil pot to FV , done.
Having done everything I can for sanitation I can not get at all interested in devices that will go into my clean beer. Each device has a risk , however small that risk is or may be.
There are so many posts that refer to contamination and infection, I always wonder if many of them are created by seemingly unnecessary practices like aeration and racking as splashing off the side does the job.

 

[masskrug]

I insert the plastic mash spoon into my portable drill motor. Oxygenate as I cool down the wort.

 

[CastleHollow]

You can also go with a degasser wand like this one, which fits through the carboy neck.

 

[bendog15]

Update- just brewed a high gravity stout from Williams. I borrowed a friends O2 tank complete with aeration stone. Stuck it in my cooled wort for 30 seconds, then added my yeast starter. Within 24 hours I had a very healthy fermentation going. Not bad for a starting gravity of 1.096 with a 9% alcohol prediction!
I'm sold on the O2 tank. Seeing as how I'm mostly making high gravity beers I'm gonna buy one. Thanks to all who contributed great advice and experience on this forum.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew