Show us your DIY stir plate!

[jimyson]

That's true for a 10 gallon. Just get 2, 2L flasks. Then you'll be golden.

I tried using a 1 gallon jug but wasn't fond of having the use a pot to make the wort and then transfer after cooling. My intention is to use just 1 vessel. And, not all of us have 2 stir plates so I think I am sold on a larger Erlenmeyer.

 

[Hang Glider]

OMG that is a $150 flask! It better clean the kitchen when you are done for that price

I paid like $25 or $30 several years ago...

 

[HDIr0n]

I finally finished mine up, it will hold 2x 2L flasks. I will update with a pic later with both of them on there.

Here is the outside shot


2013-10-11 13.54.16 by HDIr0n, on Flickr

And the interior


2013-10-11 13.55.31 by HDIr0n, on Flickr

I was going to do a usb panel mount for powering the two fans but that was going to double the cost of the build so I just drilled 2 holes in the back to pass the usb cable through.

-G

 

[1fast636]

Finally got my videos uploaded, now I still don't have a real stir bar just sorta made one with a alum piece I was making at work with an earth magnet inside of it.

New alum stir bar lol:

 

[boochuckles]

Couldn't find any crap computers yet but tore apart a DVD player and got to thinking any one ever use one of these I just took the DVD drive out cut the wire for the motor and tapped it into my power (will be getting speed control in next
Few days) and it worked and it's metal little topper so the magnet chills right on top here are some shots let me know what ya think

Did the dimmer switch not work for the DVD motor? I have an idea and I'm hoping to find Potentiometer that is going to work for mine...

 

[1fast636]

You know what I didn't even try it I might have to hook the other one up to the dimmer and see what it does. I think I might go for a different switch the dimmer if turned in the wrong spot sorta does a stutter

 

[boochuckles]

I went on my gut and picked one up from radio shack yesterday. It works just fine. I have to get everything together today now. I don't have a stir bar yet but i do have another magnet. How did you go about making that "tester" stir bar?

 

[1fast636]

The one that worked was two pieces of alum I machined at work on the Cnc and I was looking at it and was like hell I got a huge stir bar here, but to test it put a piece of metal rod to one side of the magnet drop in and turn on let me see If that vid finally uploaded and I will post it if it did

Edit: found it
http://youtu.be/29iq-juAqng

 

[dirkomatic]

So, here's my stirrer (I hesitate to call it a "plate") operating during its first starter...

[ame]http://youtu.be/rxZfyBMsRJ8[/ame]

and during the initial test with water...
[ame]http://youtu.be/2jUgP1it39s[/ame]

The support structure is built with an old test tube rack which I didn't use at all. I cut out the center portion to fit the fan, but left the bottom, which is now the top of the stirrer. The fan and speed control are a Rosewill RFX-80from newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200020), 1/2 x 1/4 magnets from totalElement via amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KUURP2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) and 1 x 5/16 stir bar from SEOH via amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ACM05U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20). The switch is an automotive switch that Radio Shack had on clearance for $1. The power supply is an old phone charger which supplies 7.5 volts. I hacksawed a 1" threaded PVC coupler in half for a spacer and used JB-Weld WaterWeld to secure everything.

This combination seems perfect to me. Using water, I can turn the speed all the way up without throwing the bar (I ran it that way for 30 minutes... Maybe it would eventually throw at that speed, but I kind of doubt it.) I was able to throw the bar running at really slow speed (as seen in the test video,) but that's not something I'll be doing ever.

 

[sar_dog_1]

Here it is! Just finished it today

 

[501irishred]

Here it is! Just finished it today

A new stir plate, and a "I see dumb people" coffee mug. Life is good at the sar-dog house!

What are the knobs (?) off the sides?

 

[sar_dog_1]

The middle knob is modified to control my speed and the other two are old sound powered phone jacks from a military ship. Wanted to keep it nostalgic and usefull.

 

[barneyfife]

cheap Made in China radio I won at christmas party. Use it in my shop. Waay too much time on my hands.

 

[501irishred]

cheap Made in China radio I won at christmas party. Use it in my shop. Waay too much time on my hands.

So it's still a working radio? Nice work!

 

[barneyfife]

So it's still a working radio? Nice work!

Yup, radio still works. Wife thinks this one looks better than the ghetto one i made and use on her kitchen counter.

Barney

 

[MedicMang]

Made from the parts of my first attempt at a stir plate with a pastic project box. It sucked and wouldn't work with my 5L flask. I went from a 5v power source to a 12v source and a fancy new box. Both of these bad boys were found at the thrift store for $1 each.

 

[stamandster]

Once I get my magnets, stir bar this'll be a monster Also going to use it for agitating water in my herms pot.

 

[johns]

interesting thread:rockin:

I have bought everything necessary using the OPs shopping list. Having looked around the house I found several boxes I could use and some people here have recommended the 100 ohm rheostat, instead of the 25 ohm one.

Now I am thinking that I could return the project box and exchange the rheostat for more ohms. Also I could not take off the magnet from a hard drive (it has really small torax screws) so I bought ceramic rectangle ones from RS. They look like they will work well. I found a 12 volt/1.5 amp power supply that I also use for my chinese pump.

Now for the questions. Will the PS work for a fan that is rated at 0.14 amps? Also I could not find a 4 in fan, but I have several 3 inch fans available to me. Will a 3 inch fan work as well as a 4 inch fan?

Any advise or suggestions welcome.

 

[boat_eggs]

I have bought everything necessary using the OPs shopping list. Having looked around the house I found several boxes I could use and some people here have recommended the 100 ohm rheostat, instead of the 25 ohm one.

both should work, the 100 ohm one will just allow you to slow the speed down more

Also I could not take off the magnet from a hard drive (it has really small torax screws) so I bought ceramic rectangle ones from RS. They look like they will work well.

i dont think the ceramic magnets will be powerful enough. i once used a hammer and flathead screwdriver (tapping gently) to get the magnets out of a harddrive after taking the torx out with a really small flathead. might give that a shot.

I found a 12 volt/1.5 amp power supply that I also use for my chinese pump. Now for the questions. Will the PS work for a fan that is rated at 0.14 amps? Also I could not find a 4 in fan, but I have several 3 inch fans available to me. Will a 3 inch fan work as well as a 4 inch fan?

the PS will be fine (you want more current than required, but not excess voltage) and the fans should be fine too

 

[boat_eggs]

Here is mine, I built a double thinking that I may never need more than one but did not want to have to build another later or rebuild this one.

Got the PWM from amazon for ~$4, the fans from newegg for ~$2 each, the wood was like $5 and the plastic top was about $8. Can't remember how much the hardware was and the switches/magnets/wires are from ye ol' crap box. The PS was from an old router and I unsoldered the plug from the router circuit board so I did not have to keep the PS attached. I'm thinking of adding a parts box to the underside between the fans to store my stirbars.

 

[Phalanx]

Inspired by this thread and out of frustration about stirrplates on ebay selling for € 50 - 100 and even more, i decided to build my own



- 12 V plastic PC-fan
- 4 screws M5 x 40
- on/off switch
- led
- 650 Ohm resistor
- 1 kOhm potentiometer
- 12 V - 500 mA powersupply
- PS box approx 150 x 150 x 60 mm
- 2 neodymium powermagnets 8 x 5 mm



Overall cost ~ € 25.- and I could have saved half of it by ordering things online instead of buying at the local electro place.

This only took two evenings… I need a new project already

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Fan from an old PC
Magnet from an old hard disk
DC wall wart from an old DSL router
Cigar box from Total Wine for 49 cents
Rocker switch and potentiometer from Radio Shack for 5 bucks
Going to buy a cheap vase from Michaels or some place like it.

 

[CooperBrew]

About $20 worth of radio shack parts soldered and connected.

The fan from my old PC was bigger than I thought, it barely fit in the project box. I epoxied the washer in place with 5 min epoxy. It gave me time to spin the fan at slow speed and make sure I had it centered properly. I have 4 small rare earth magnets that I attached to the washer.

Working as intended....

 

[Sbarnard80]

I haven't read through all of the comments here yet, so maybe someone else has already thought of this, but was wondering around the house this weekend looking for things I could turn into a potentiometer to control the speed of my DIY stir plate. Later this morning, my son came up and asked about setting up a little race car track he hasn't played with in over a year. Then the lightbulb went off. So I just tried hooking up one of those little variable trigger handles that control the speed of slot cars and it works perfectly! Will post some pictures once I get done with it, planning to make the container out of a 12pack bottle box (sweetwater 420). Sweet indeed!

 

[motleybrew]

those rc car controls are most times a PWM control circuit. That would work no problem.

 

[Cake]

Here is mine. I used cherry for the wood, an old multicolored light computer fan, poteniometer from radio shack, a hard-drive magnet, velcro, and some good ole' hot glue gun to keep the wires in place Let me know if you want more details! Just figured I'd do a quick and dirty response!

 

[nab911]

Rigged this up out of only spare parts from around the house.

Needs some more work, better led's, proper power switch and a potentiometer but the power plug is fixed and easy to disconnect, and hell, it was free and fun to make.

 

[theck]

Ripped an old firewire external HD apart, kept the switch and led... tossed in a used fan ($3), potentiometer ($4.50) and added the magnet from the HD. Glass was $22 and stir bar $14 (got a pack of 4 but wont stir the bigger ones).

 

[Jupapabear]

Here's mine in action. It spins...

[ame]http://youtu.be/LZUP_ZuPsDg[/ame]

Gutted an old router. I like how thin it was and it was surely wide enough for my 2L. The plus is that there was a 1.5" WPS button centered on top of the router, now there is nothing in the way of the magnets all. Not sure that it affects much, but I like to watch the fan.

 

[mattcuso]

Started with this

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