Sorrow
Well-Known Member
First off, thanks to everyone here for all the tips, suggestions and information. I think I read through most of the major stir plate threads before deciding to go ahead and also try my hand at making my own.
I used all parts I had around the house already, and since I usually brew two batches at a time, I decided to make a stir plate that could handle two starters at the same time too. I used an old DVD player, gutted as my base. The top was metal, so I cut a couple of holes for the magnets to pass through, but over all it's much sturdier than some of the other options I tried. I also had a 3-fan controller left over from a gaming pc I built a couple of years ago which had an IDE power connection and even an external power brick, so I got away without having to do any wiring.
I used two left over 120mm fans and pulled several magnets from old harddrives. I ended up mounting the fans to the top of the dvd case. At first I wasn't overly happy with that, since it will limit the size of the flasks I can use but I didn't have the tools to cut through the bottom of the case. The metal was too thick and strong for what I had available. In the end though, having the screws up top worked out pretty well. I was able to test the flask and raise/lower the fans as needed till I find the right balance and get things working. I few washers to fill in the gaps and everything is tight and in place.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it and used it the last couple of days to make my first starter with it. Just need to pick up a second flask now so I can really put it to work. Thanks again to everyone here for all the helpfull advice!
I used all parts I had around the house already, and since I usually brew two batches at a time, I decided to make a stir plate that could handle two starters at the same time too. I used an old DVD player, gutted as my base. The top was metal, so I cut a couple of holes for the magnets to pass through, but over all it's much sturdier than some of the other options I tried. I also had a 3-fan controller left over from a gaming pc I built a couple of years ago which had an IDE power connection and even an external power brick, so I got away without having to do any wiring.
I used two left over 120mm fans and pulled several magnets from old harddrives. I ended up mounting the fans to the top of the dvd case. At first I wasn't overly happy with that, since it will limit the size of the flasks I can use but I didn't have the tools to cut through the bottom of the case. The metal was too thick and strong for what I had available. In the end though, having the screws up top worked out pretty well. I was able to test the flask and raise/lower the fans as needed till I find the right balance and get things working. I few washers to fill in the gaps and everything is tight and in place.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it and used it the last couple of days to make my first starter with it. Just need to pick up a second flask now so I can really put it to work. Thanks again to everyone here for all the helpfull advice!