What's the fastest and most powerful stir plate for a 5L flask?

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This is the stirplate I've used for several years with my 5L Erlenmeyer flask. I built a small wood base for it so the bottom of the entire flask is supported. Easy to spin up and configure and it creates a big vortex though I very rarely want one. Skip to 2:57 to see a 5L flask used.


I got it shipped for about $80 USD.

http://www.digitalhomebrew.com/digital-stirplate-v3

User tip: Do not run the stirplate with a full 5L flask on top of a dryer without telling your beloved spouse not to turn on the dryer unless your couch is comfortable.
 
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There all pretty much the same. Honestly the reason I chose the malstrom was the ability to use a large stirbar without it getting thrown and the large base. The extra power and timer were just bonuses. Additionally northern brewer had a sale going so it was basically the same price as the cheaper diy style ones. Cheers
 
ApolloSimcoe said:
I have a Black Maxx. Insert joke here: __________. I am not very satisfied with it. It throws the bar, the bar chatters, sometimes the bar stops spinning and the dial is super finicky. Maybe I'm doing something wrong and someone can throw me some tips/advice. Until then I don't recommend this plate.
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I have a Black MAXX and it works great. My stir plate never throws the stir bar no matter where I set the knob. The stir bar chatters sometime but I can move the flask around until the chattering stops.

They claim their stir plate will stir 5 gallons. I don't know because I only use a 2 Liter flask. I can say it pulls a vortex almost all the way to the bottom at full speed!
 
no-body said:
I have a Black MAXX and it works great. My stir plate never throws the stir bar no matter where I set the knob. The stir bar chatters sometime but I can move the flask around until the chattering stops.

They claim their stir plate will stir 5 gallons. I don't know because I only use a 2 Liter flask. I can say it pulls a vortex almost all the way to the bottom at full speed!
Click to expand...

I bough mine from The Chi Company in California about 4 years ago.
https://www.chicompany.net/beer-sto...n-equipment/stir-plates/black-maxx-stir-plate

But I looked on Amazon and they have them too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BOGQZSY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
I get the chatter too. I move the flask around to stop it and it does for a while but then will start up again. The magnet also came unglued on mine, no big deal, i just glued it back on. I may have added an additional magnet but I don't recall. I just find that i always have to fiddle with the thing. It'll be running great when I go to bed and i get up in the morning and the thing is still running but the bar is no longer spinning. Or I'll need to continually adjust the knob etc.
 
Blazinlow86 said:
There all pretty much the same. Honestly the reason I chose the malstrom was the ability to use a large stirbar without it getting thrown and the large base. The extra power and timer were just bonuses. Additionally northern brewer had a sale going so it was basically the same price as the cheaper diy style ones. Cheers
Click to expand...

I have no idea how you can compare a Maelstrom Stir Plate with anything DIY! At $135.99 (not on sale) it is extremely expensive, IMO. Amazon has a bunch of them in the $30 to $50 range. I am sure some of them are up to the (unnecessary) task set by this thread.

With true DIY you should be able to make one for less than $15. I had an old computer that I scavenged the fan and hard drive from. on or the magnets in the hard drive went on the fan to turn a stirbar. I had a box sitting around to mount it in. I had to buy a potentiometer and some nuts and bolts. Total cost $7.40

I only do 2L starters but I know it would work for 5L. But not 5 gallons....
 
kh54s10 said:
I have no idea how you can compare a Maelstrom Stir Plate with anything DIY! At $135.99 (not on sale) it is extremely expensive, IMO. Amazon has a bunch of them in the $30 to $50 range. I am sure some of them are up to the (unnecessary) task set by this thread.

With true DIY you should be able to make one for less than $15. I had an old computer that I scavenged the fan and hard drive from. on or the magnets in the hard drive went on the fan to turn a stirbar. I had a box sitting around to mount it in. I had to buy a potentiometer and some nuts and bolts. Total cost $7.40

I only do 2L starters but I know it would work for 5L. But not 5 gallons....
Click to expand...
This is what I did... we use 1 gallon glass jugs for starters and I just use a wooden box with a large cpu fan and rare earth magnets attached to a steel washer glued to the top I use $7 pwm controllers from ebay like I used for my dc pumps.... I actually made a dual starter set with the stirrers side by side on the surface that fits 2 1 gallon jugs.. works well but I know not everyone likes diy here (well except when it comes to making beer).. I never paid attention to vortex size because as far as my experience goes and my understanding of it, it makes no practical difference.. YMMV
 
NeverDie said:
At the moment I have Wyeast Sweet Mead on my $35 stir plate, and yes, for that, a dimple is probably just fine. It's not throwing off a foam blanket the way Hornindal does almost within minutes. Sorry if my previous posts ruffled some feathers, as that was not my intent.

Anyhow, I did order the Maelstrom from Northern brewer, since they have a 1 year guarantee on the gear they sell. There had been one very vocal guy on youtube complaining in one video about how his Maelstrom had stopped working and then in another video about how poorly it was soldered, so I figure in this case it makes sense to find a reseller who will hopefully stand behind it if they say they will.
Click to expand...
ok doesnt the foam indicate there is good activity already going on?
 
augiedoggy said:
ok doesnt the foam indicate there is good activity already going on?
Click to expand...
Sure. However, in my case, I didn't want just any old activity in the starter. I'm doing stepped starters, and I specifically wanted to multiply the number of yeast. As I understand it, that requires oxygen, or at least benefits from oxygen. Activity which merely converts sugars into alcohol wasn't the objective.
 


He's recommending 12-15ppm dissolved oxygen for yeast health. The maximum from air alone is 8ppm. However, I figure if I don't merely front-load with air, but instead stir it in over a longer time, then it starts to approximate the benefits of what might have been gotten by frontloading using pure oxygen.
 
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NeverDie said:
Can either of those do a big vortex on a fairly full 5L flask? For oxygenation purposes, I want to suck a lot of air into the liquid. The maelstrom is the only one that shows it doing that in photos.
Click to expand...

I have the magnetic stir plate from MoreBeer. In my experiences, no. It is possible to use a 5L flask, but too much liquid and I get a thrown stir bar. Doesn't matter what size stir bar.
 
Tobor_8thMan said:
I have the magnetic stir plate from MoreBeer. In my experiences, no. It is possible to use a 5L flask, but too much liquid and I get a thrown stir bar. Doesn't matter what size stir bar.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I have the same magnetic stir plate model from Morebeer as you, but mine produces a nice full vortex in a 5L flask. It came with a 1" stir bar that worked well. I had bought a 2" stir bar from them and the magnet is not strong enough in the bar and it gets thrown off. I would not recommend that stir bar. Yesterday, I received a 1 1/2" stir bar from another vendor and made a 3.75L starter about eight hours ago. The 1 1/2" stir bar provides a larger full vortex.....at least large enough for my needs.
 
NeverDie said:


He's recommending 12-15ppm dissolved oxygen for yeast health. The maximum from air alone is 8ppm. However, I figure if I don't merely front-load with air, but instead stir it in over a longer time, then it starts to approximate the benefits of what might have been gotten by frontloading using pure oxygen.
Click to expand...


From what I understand. 8ppm is all you are going to get from ambient air no matter how big a vortex you are making.

Pure oxygen is probably best, but not a requirement.
 
NeverDie said:
A thick krausen appears to get in the way. Hornindal is very foamy yeast.
Click to expand...
Add a drop or two of fermcap to the starter to supress the kraeusen, and consider a used lab stirplate from ebay. I picked up an old Corning lab stirrer and cleaned it up, works really well with my 3L flask. IMHO, so long as the stirrer has a strong magnet, the stir bar itself; it's shape, size, is a more important variable in getting a vigorous stir.
 
kh54s10 said:
I have no idea how you can compare a Maelstrom Stir Plate with anything DIY! At $135.99 (not on sale) it is extremely expensive, IMO. Amazon has a bunch of them in the $30 to $50 range. I am sure some of them are up to the (unnecessary) task set by this thread.

With true DIY you should be able to make one for less than $15. I had an old computer that I scavenged the fan and hard drive from. on or the magnets in the hard drive went on the fan to turn a stirbar. I had a box sitting around to mount it in. I had to buy a potentiometer and some nuts and bolts. Total cost $7.40

I only do 2L starters but I know it would work for 5L. But not 5 gallons....
Click to expand...
For clarification I was referred to the diy style stirplates sold online. I made a few diy versions myself but didn't have alot of luck with them . either the fan was very weak or the stirbar would throw while I was away at work. im also aware that's lots of people that diy there own with good results so no need to start a debate there. The malstrom is overkill and very expensive. That being said it's also a awesome stirplate that can do as big a starter as you could ever need. When I bought mine it only cost about 50$ more than the diy style ones and I specifically liked the size of the base as I generally use a 5l flask . I'm not on a budget at all. I got tired of fiddling with my starters so I just bought the malstrom. It's awesome and overkill just like all my brewing equipment.


To summarize the malstrom is way expensive, overkill, and awesome. Cheers
 
beernutz said:
This is the stirplate I've used for several years with my 5L Erlenmeyer flask. I built a small wood base for it so the bottom of the entire flask is supported. Easy to spin up and configure and it creates a big vortex though I very rarely want one. Skip to 2:57 to see a 5L flask used.


I got it shipped for about $80 USD.

http://www.digitalhomebrew.com/digital-stirplate-v3

User tip: Do not run the stirplate with a full 5L flask on top of a dryer without telling your beloved spouse not to turn on the dryer unless your couch is comfortable.
Click to expand...


I like that this stirplate can go 100rpm, apparently without stalling. The $35 stirplate that I have from amazon stalls out very easily at low rpm.

I like my Maelstrom, but I think for smaller stuff this would be an excellent complement to it. For instance, for a multi-stage starter, I may start with just 1ml of yeast slurry in a 10ml solution. Then go to 100ml. Then to 1 liter. This looks like it could handle those 3 stages. Then for the final stage, 5 liters, if I go that far, I could switch over to the Maelstrom.
 
Unicorn_Platypus said:
I use this stuff. Supposedly its vegetable based an not silicon based

https://www.homebrewing.org/Foam-Control_p_1773.html

This is the stir plate I use:

https://www.homebrewing.org/The-Stirstarter-Yeast-Stir-Plate-5L_p_3329.html
Click to expand...

@Unicorn_Platypus , thank you for bringing the vegetable based foam control to my attention. I have been wanting a substitute to the silicon based Fermcap-S. Especially after reading the FDAs new standard of use.

The more I read about foam control, I learned some countries supposedly ban the use of silicon based. I was able to download and read Birko Corp's hazarderous papers on the different foam control products. For those that are interested, here is the link https://www.birkocorp.com/brewing-distilling/products/. I mentioned to my LHBS and after they read it, they are going to look into carrying it.

I ended up ordering two bottles of the vegetable base (Patco 376). I have used it in my yeast starter this week and it works just like Fermcap-S. Now, I do not have to worry about following the FDAs new guidelines of filtering the wort or the beer.

Again, thank you for posting the link!
 
CodeSection said:
@Unicorn_Platypus , thank you for bringing the vegetable based foam control to my attention. I have been wanting a substitute to the silicon based Fermcap-S. Especially after reading the FDAs new standard of use.

The more I read about foam control, I learned some countries supposedly ban the use of silicon based. I was able to download and read Birko Corp's hazarderous papers on the different foam control products. For those that are interested, here is the link https://www.birkocorp.com/brewing-distilling/products/. I mentioned to my LHBS and after they read it, they are going to look into carrying it.

I ended up ordering two bottles of the vegetable base (Patco 376). I have used it in my yeast starter this week and it works just like Fermcap-S. Now, I do not have to worry about following the FDAs new guidelines of filtering the wort or the beer.

Again, thank you for posting the link!
Click to expand...
we use an animal fat based antifoam agent in our BK at the brewery that was recommended to us by someone on probrewer... we only use it in the BK though.. We are currently only using dry yeast though as the liquid costs as much as $200 more per batch at our size.
 
augiedoggy said:
we use an animal fat based antifoam agent in our BK at the brewery that was recommended to us by someone on probrewer... we only use it in the BK though.. We are currently only using dry yeast though as the liquid costs as much as $200 more per batch at our size.
Click to expand...

I used it in the yeast starter earlier in the week and then yesterday in the BK as well. It works great. I haven't tried it in the fermenter as I haven't had the need for it. However, it is recommended to use in the fermenter if you have very little headspace.

I'm glad to hear others are using a vegetable base defoamer. I wished I found it earlier.
 
Is adventures in homebrewing the only source for this stuff? It seems to have no real name.

Is there an MSDS for it? Just saying that it's vegetable based might be like saying spray foam insulation is soy based, which is just a partial truth that hides a bigger danger. Not saying that's necessarily the case here, though.

[Edit: I see it now: Patco 376.
http://ma.birkocorp.com/acton/attachment/6587/f-0077/1/-/-/l-0088/l-0088:d9e/Patco_376_SDS.pdf

It does say, however, "Precautions for Safe Handling: Do not contaminate food, feed, or natural water." Hmmm....
]
 
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NeverDie said:
Is adventures in homebrewing the only source for this stuff? It seems to have no real name.

Is there an MSDS for it? Just saying that it's vegetable based might be like saying spray foam insulation is soy based, which is just a partial truth that hides a bigger danger. Not saying that's necessarily the case here, though.

[Edit: I see it now: Patco 376.
http://ma.birkocorp.com/acton/attachment/6587/f-0077/1/-/-/l-0088/l-0088:d9e/Patco_376_SDS.pdf

It does say, however, "Precautions for Safe Handling: Do not contaminate food, feed, or natural water." Hmmm....
]
Click to expand...

I guess it depends upon the situation. According to the paper, it is to be used in blood and food processing operations. Section 12 says it is biodegradable.

Section 6 where you quoted, was referring to accidental release (spills?), clean up, reuse or disposal. I would imagine if the quantity was 100 times the recommended dosage spilled on food or a any blood processing operation, there would be concern. I bet there are many food ingredients that would carry similar warnings....
 
Reporting back: tried the 3 inch stir bar I referenced above, which turns out to be heavy enough that my $35 amazon stirplate can't really get it to spin, but the Maelstrom can. In any case, this 3" monster stirbar creates a large vortex now even at lower RPM.
 
NeverDie said:
Epilog: I just now found a blog where someone had done an experiment confirming that bigger stir plate vortexes lead to more yeast growth than smaller vortexes, or a dimple: http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2013/03/25/stir-speed-and-yeast-growth/

He also looked into an anti-foaming alternative.
Click to expand...

One sentence in that leads me to suspect the findings: Not all flasks received the same amount of wort since I wanted to prevent the slow speed one from developing a vortex.

https://www.experimentalbrew.com/blogs/denny/confessions-yeast-abuser
https://www.experimentalbrew.com/blogs/denny/old-dognew-tricks
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=24447.msg311550#msg311550
 
NeverDie said:
At the moment I have Wyeast Sweet Mead on my $35 stir plate, and yes, for that, a dimple is probably just fine. It's not throwing off a foam blanket the way Hornindal does almost within minutes. Sorry if my previous posts ruffled some feathers, as that was not my intent.

Anyhow, I did order the Maelstrom from Northern brewer, since they have a 1 year guarantee on the gear they sell. There had been one very vocal guy on youtube complaining in one video about how his Maelstrom had stopped working and then in another video about how poorly it was soldered, so I figure in this case it makes sense to find a reseller who will hopefully stand behind it if they say they will.
Click to expand...

I see the Maelstrom is on sale at $99.98. Are you still using yours? Are you still happy with it? The YouTube videos showcased the quality control issues that may or may not continue to exist....
 
I've had a malestrom for about 3 year's now. It's excellent and just the base alone makes it worth the extra money for me. Cheers
 
One thing I'll add though. The Maelstrom is awesome. But ditch the stir bar it comes with, and get a set of different sized ones, with center rings, so you can get optimal performance on different size jobs. This set works for me, for 100 mL FFTs up to 4-5L propagations (biggest I've done,) and for mixing DME and such.

Magnetic Stir Bar Combo Pack,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0798WGBLP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
 
I'm looking at getting another stir plate for two reasons:1) I recently made a 3.75L @ 1.081 (which was my SG for the Blue Chimay I was about to brew and my stir plate's vortex was more like a dimple...it never did that before AND I felt it took longer than usual make...was using Wyeast 1214; and 2) I want a backup.

I've narrowed it down to two vendors that have been mentioned in this thread. The price difference including shipping costs is only $17.68 since there is a sale going on. Past quality control issues are of concern. When I Google one vendor's unit, auto-fill choices discloses searches such as "Brand Name Stir Plate parts list" or "Brand Name Stir Plate replacement parts lists". Those search results are of concern as well since obviously there was a reason that came up in Google's search results.

I want a stir plate that can handle a larger gravity starter of 4-5L easily and one that is built with quality parts....
 
If I was basing a decision on the vendor, BrewHardware would be my pick. The Noreaster looks like a solidly built stirplate with simpler controls that may hold up better over time.

That said, I haven't used it and I don't remember it being around when I bought my Maelstrom. If it were, I might have bought it instead.

I can tell you that I really like my Maelstrom though. It hasn't failed yet and I love that I can set a timer for how long it spins. It's also much more powerful than it needs to be for a 5L flask. I regularly make 3-4L starters in my flask and never need more speed than level 1. It will go much higher and really create a vortex that bounces off the bottom. But that's just not needed...
 
Robert65 said:
If there's one thing I unequivocally love about NB it's my Maelstrom. Fine piece of gear.
Click to expand...

Agree. Been using mine for the last 18 months or so (got it on sale with a discount code at NB) after suffering for several years with a DIY stir plate that was nothing but headaches. This Maelstrom is a beast, currently trying to bring life to a two-year old Wyeast 3711 French Saison smack pack I found hidden away in my beer fridge and long forgotten. Next challenge will be bringing renewed life to a second-generation harvest of 10-month old WLP-830 German Lager yeast slurry harvest.

Amazing what you find tucked away in corners of your refrigerator.

Brooo Brother
 

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