shadyj
Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2013
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 0
Hello Everyone!
So I am a broke college kid who, like most college kids, loves beer. I just picked up the hobby of brewing my own beer and so far have done a Autumn Amber Ale(kit), Honey Bee Ale(kit), Double Chocolate Espresso Stout (exract recipe), and am currently about to brew my first all grain batch. I decided I wanted to start using a yeast starter for my beers so I needed a stir plate. Well I don't exactly have $40 laying around so I made this homemade on out of old broken pair of speakers, a car plug in fan, and my iphone box. So here's what I did.
I tore apart the speakers because I didn't have an old computer laying around like most threads recommended and I knew that speakers worked with magnets, I'm guessing any old desktop speakers will have the same parts. I also found a mother board that you will see in the pictures. With a little tinkering I was able to find out which wires were power, and which would power something (I used a flashlight bulb to test the wires).
I then went to Meijers (A michigan grocery store) and found this 12V LED Cooling Fan that plugs into the cigarette lighter in your car. I clipped off the plug and snipped off all the guards and blades with a wire cutter. I took the black and red wires and tied these to the wires that made the lightbulb light up and boom. I had a circuit that made the motor spin, whose speed i could adjust with the volume knob and turn on and off. I also left one of the LED lights from the fan on and let it stick out of the side because it flashed at the speed it was spinning (slow flash, slow spin/solid light, fast spin).
I tied up all the wires with electrical tape, fitted the whole thing into the box, cut out the box where the switches came out, put the divider back in the case and glued the motor to this. I then glued the two magnets to the (centered with opposite poles facing up) motor. I used cut pieces of coat hangar to keep the lid up at the height i desired and used superglue to keep them in the corners. Put my glass on top with a stir bar and turn it on and it's spinning away!
I'm having some problems with the magnets being to heavy but I have some lighter ones coming in the mail in the next few days that should work great!
check it out!
Shadyj
YITBOS
So I am a broke college kid who, like most college kids, loves beer. I just picked up the hobby of brewing my own beer and so far have done a Autumn Amber Ale(kit), Honey Bee Ale(kit), Double Chocolate Espresso Stout (exract recipe), and am currently about to brew my first all grain batch. I decided I wanted to start using a yeast starter for my beers so I needed a stir plate. Well I don't exactly have $40 laying around so I made this homemade on out of old broken pair of speakers, a car plug in fan, and my iphone box. So here's what I did.
I tore apart the speakers because I didn't have an old computer laying around like most threads recommended and I knew that speakers worked with magnets, I'm guessing any old desktop speakers will have the same parts. I also found a mother board that you will see in the pictures. With a little tinkering I was able to find out which wires were power, and which would power something (I used a flashlight bulb to test the wires).
I then went to Meijers (A michigan grocery store) and found this 12V LED Cooling Fan that plugs into the cigarette lighter in your car. I clipped off the plug and snipped off all the guards and blades with a wire cutter. I took the black and red wires and tied these to the wires that made the lightbulb light up and boom. I had a circuit that made the motor spin, whose speed i could adjust with the volume knob and turn on and off. I also left one of the LED lights from the fan on and let it stick out of the side because it flashed at the speed it was spinning (slow flash, slow spin/solid light, fast spin).
I tied up all the wires with electrical tape, fitted the whole thing into the box, cut out the box where the switches came out, put the divider back in the case and glued the motor to this. I then glued the two magnets to the (centered with opposite poles facing up) motor. I used cut pieces of coat hangar to keep the lid up at the height i desired and used superglue to keep them in the corners. Put my glass on top with a stir bar and turn it on and it's spinning away!
I'm having some problems with the magnets being to heavy but I have some lighter ones coming in the mail in the next few days that should work great!
check it out!
Shadyj
YITBOS
