Subbing and orbital shaker for a stirplate?

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SenorPepe

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I'm hoping someone can help me out here. I'm about to move to a place with more space for brewing so I'm keeping an eye out for deals. One thing I need is a stirplate. So in the course of checking the university surplus auctions for one, I saw this orbital shaker.

orbit16.jpg

The site says:
Orbit Shaker

Features RPM gauge (0-400)
"Dimmer" dial for shaking strength
Specimen platform features "grip-it" type material
Dimensions/specimen platform: 13" x 11.5"
Model #3520
Serial #0786-0112
Manufactured by Lab-Line Instruments
120 volts
100 watts
0.9 amps
Unit size: 7" H x 11.5" W x 14" D
Cosmetic condition: fair, much showable wear
Tested and works, powered on, platform commenced shaking
Two types of operation:

Constant, continuous
Timed (0-60 minutes)

This is basically what it does:
orbital-anim.gif


You guys think this could be used in place of a stirplate? It seems to me (and I am pretty much talking out my ass) that it would oxygenate and keep the yeast in suspension just as well...and I could probably fit a huge starter on that bad boy. Any thoughts or musings welcome.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. It's cheap so I'll try to snap it up. Thanks for the headsup Revvy I'll take a look for them.
 
Personally I would prefer an orbital shaker. One big plus is you don't have to worry about heat from the motor warming your starter, and you can use one gallon jugs easier.

be on the look out for 2800ml flasks too, they are the wide bottom wide mouth models specifically designed for bacterial and yeast culturing. they are called furnbach flasks, and maximize aeration on a shaker.

http://www.daigger.com/catalog/prod...es/p-8655/Pyrex®+Glass+2800+mL+Fernbach+Flask
 
I use the shaker every day at work, and it is our golden means of growing just about everything aerobic.

The yeast will love it!
 
Awesome replies, thanks. Bsquared those things look sweet-100 bucks a pop? Hopefully the university surplus has some of these at some point. I'll keep my eyes open.
 
search on ebay for 2800ml or furnbach, i picked one up for $25 shipped. most home brewers are looking for 4000ml erlenmeyer flasks, so those can be expensive.
 
It might come with it, but you may need some kind of clasps or clamps to keep the containers from going nuts. To get the best results, you'll probably need to shake it kind of quickly, and without some way of keeping the vessels in place, you could have some trouble or a mess on your hands. You'll notice that 2 of the 3 animation examples you posted there is some mechanism in place to keep the vessels stationary on the platform. I bet there's a good chance of finding those at whatever surplus place you found the shaker. Good luck and let us know how it goes when you make your first starter on it!
 
Those shakers are set in RPMs, I'd guess a good speed would be around 150 rpm. The shaker may or may not have a way to attach flask clamps. The clamps are held to the plate with one screw in the bottom, some shakers have them some don't and just use the rubber mat. IME if you lack clamps then some duct tape on the bottom works just as well :)

EDIT: Oh, if you do get it and when you turn it on it doesn't look like it's working just get it rotating manually. I had to do this with the old one I used last semester every time I turned it on. It's like it forgot how to shake...or maybe that it was stored in a 20*C walk in cooler for years...
 
OS will work fine for aeration. As said, you really should use clamps above 100 RPM to ensure you dont throw your starter.

Also, use a baffled flask as this will improve aeration tremendously.
 

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