Venturi design?

My searching skills are failing me at the moment, but a few weeks ago I read a thread on this site about aerating wort by placing a venturi in the siphon tube from the BK to fermeter.

Long story short, I tried it, and judging by the two batches I've used it on so far, I like it!

The one I made was cheap and simple. Cut off 3 inches of a plastic racking cane, used my torch to heat up a small nail to melt two holes in the middle, then cut my siphon tubing to insert that in-line.

The amount of air being sucked in was unbelievable. There's just no way that shaking a carboy can compete with this. And the results speak for themselves. I used it twice, in the same day. Made two 5-gallon extract batches before leaving town for 4 days for a funeral. (An amber and an APA). Used dried Nottingham in both since I was on a time crunch and the LHBS has jack **** for liquid yeast.

After returning from the funeral trip (4 days) both batches had completed fermentation. Hydrometer verified, one is right at the projected FG, and the other is a little below. Gave them the 3 days for a double check, and they're both sitting stable.

Now to my real question. Because of the way I built my little venturi tube it has a lot of scratches, crevices, etc... So to use it I'm basically going to have to boil it in a saucepan every time I use it. Not a huge deal, but still, on a busy brew day it's good to streamline as much as possible.

Anyone out there come up with a way to make a little tube like this that can be easily sanitized with a quick star-san soak? Or does anyone sell one ready to go?

I've been shaking carboys for 6 years now, but these two batches have made a believer out of me. Definitely going with the venturi thing from now on (unless/if I bump to the oxygen tank, but I'm now not so sure that's even necessary).

Do you have a pic of what you did? I've been thinking trying something like this.

mobilecabinworks said:

Do you have a pic of what you did? I've been thinking trying something like this.

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Have a look at this thread

It's the first time I'd seen it. works like a charm.

Hugh_Jass said:

Have a look at this thread

It's the first time I'd seen it. works like a charm.

Click to expand...

THANK YOU! That's the thread I got the idea from. My searching just wasn't turning it up.

My method was considerably modified, though. 3 inch piece (one inch on each end for the tubing to slide onto, plus one inch in the middle for the holes). Ended up just doing two holes, paper-clip sized, directly across from each other. Sucked in so much air that I was concerned about an overflow, there was basically just foam coming out of the tube and into the carboy.

I was initally concerned about sucking in all of that unsanitized air, but after seeing how the yeast stepped up to the plate and kicked ass, I'd find it hard to believe than any wimpy little bacteria could out-compete them.

Now just looking for a better construction method that wouldn't leave quite so many nooks and crannies for bacteria growth. Want to simplify the sanitation down to a star-san soak, and I can tell just by looking that my current tube will need a boil to guarantee sanitation. Thinking maybe a short piece of stainless with a couple holes drilled in it, but the larger ID would probably decrease the venturi effect.

after viewing that same thread I added a Venturi as well - I simply inserted a TEE in the line off my kettle, it works very well and definitely makes a difference

DustBow said:

after viewing that same thread I added a Venturi as well - I simply inserted a TEE in the line off my kettle, it works very well and definitely makes a difference

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What sort of kettle are you using, and what sort of tee did you use?

I'm currently doing 3 gallon partial boils on extract batches, and this quick little hack with a 3 inch chunk of a racking cane aerated the hell out of both batches that I've tried it on. I have personal observation and hydromoter readings to prove it.

I'm currently buying gear to move up to bigger batches, though, so if there's a better way to implement this method, I'm all ears.

I like the idea of putting the venturi so it's just inside of the top of the carboy or bucket, so you are just pulling in the air in that area rather from the surrounding air. Probably just in my head, but it would make me feel better.

Question is how much hose do you need after the venturi to really get a good infusion?

mobilecabinworks said:

I like the idea of putting the venturi so it's just inside of the top of the carboy or bucket, so you are just pulling in the air in that area rather from the surrounding air. Probably just in my head, but it would make me feel better.

Question is how much hose do you need after the venturi to really get a good infusion?

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Not sure how much hose is necessary after the venturi, but probably not much. In my current setup I have about 3 feet after it.

I see what you're saying about putting it up high, but I found that I occasionally lost siphon when I did that. Putting the venturi lower than the bottom of the pot resolved that issue.

I want to hear about the "T".... I use larger tubing from my keggle to my carboy, I'm guessing I could still find some tubing that will fit but the tee sounds easier.

Sorry to forget about my prior post regarding the "tee" for aerating.
This pic isn't me/mine but it gives you the idea of what I did.

I use 1/2" silicone tubing coming off my ball valve, about half way down the length of the tubing I inserted a plastic tee with three 1/2" barbs. The wort flows down the "top and bottom" barbs and air get sucked into the wort thru the "side" barb.
It works really well - just pop your thumb over the side barb and you can see the wort flow speed up, take your thumb back off and the flow slows down and you can hear air getting sucked into the tee and see some bubbling action in the wort as it flows down into the fermenter.

One tip, depending on your setup/length of tubing/angle of tubing/etc., you might want to cover the side barb with your thumb when you first open the valve and get the wort flowing. Once a solid flow is established, you should be able to release your thumb and start the aerating.

About $10 worth of parts. 1/2" or 3/8" tubing and T from hardware store. Sterile filter is optional

I plan on using this tee with an o2 bottle hooked up to the middle barb for inline o2 aeration.

Using a T nice and simple, good job. Might have to try this my self.

I use 1/2" silicone tubing as well. I tried just sticking a stainless steel tee in the end of the tube during transfer, and it did aerate the wort a bit. But then I cut the tubing four inches from the end and put the tee in at that point, and with those four inches on the end it aerated the wort so much that I had foam pouring out of the top of my 6.5G carboy with 5.25G of wort!

That last four inches of tubing also help it stay in the mouth of the carboy, too.