DIY Orbital Shaker?

[tjpfeister]

I did a thread search and came up dry. A Google search finds some marginal information. But I want to be certain that I am not reinventing the wheel here.

My current process of carbonating beer involves kegging at room temperature, setting my CO2 canister next to my rocking chair and force carbonating like momma bird until the pressures hit equilibrium. This usually takes 45-60 minutes of rocking. (You know you have hit equilibrium and you are FULLY carbonated because a small amount of beer will usually be found in the gas line. I don't think the "shake 62 times at 30psi" is at all accurate).

But I digress. I don't mind sitting in my rocking chair, but as I find myself brewing more and more often, I don't always have the time to relax and watch TV. So I am imagining an orbital shaker than can support approximately 90 lbs (2 full kegs) and will gently slosh them back and forth while I walk away, free to perform what ever flight of fancy strikes me.

I'm broke at the moment, so things like stainless steel and computer controls are out of the question. I am imagining something made of particle board and likely using a box-fan motor. This motor would have a small pulley and a belt drive would operate a larger pulley. This reduction would give a slower orbit and also allow for the torque needed to overcome 90lbs worth of inertia.

I'm open to thoughts on this. Ideas for salvage motors that can handle lower RPMs without burning up.. and more importantly, what can I build bearings out of that support the weight. Perhaps some old pool balls?

Please pop ideas up and I will update as I build.

Here is some idea food:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5593228.pdf

 

[Catt22]

I've thought about doing something similar, but never actually constructed anything. You can improve the carbonation rate by laying the kegs on their sides which creates more surface are inside vs having them standing on end. One idea I had was to build a small platform with rockers on the bottom much like rocking chair rockers. You could power it with a relatively small, low rpm motor which would turn a crank arm. Attach a long vertical lever to the side of the platform. Attach a cord to the lever and the crank arm on the motor and as the crank turned it would rock the platform. A gentle rocking motion is all that you need to keep the beer moving inside the keg. Maybe find one of those baby swings and use it to rock the platform.

My current method of force carbing is to simply chill the beer well, connect the CO2 and set the regulator at 30 psi. I keep it on the gas continuously for 24-36 hours and check it frequently. When I first detect bubbles in the beer, I dial down the regulator to a few pounds above the target serving pressure. Once the desired carb level is reached, I reduce it further to the actual serving pressure which is usually 12-13 psi for most of my beer. I only use the rock & roll method when I am pressed for time, which is only rarely these days.

 

[tjpfeister]

On their sides, that's how I rock them now. In the picture below you will see one of my friends whom I have conscripted into doing the ***** work for me:

And that Is what I'm imagining on this shaker. But your idea to rock them, baby cradle style, would be a little easier since it would avoid bearings/bushings/or other movable mounts.

 

[tjpfeister]

I sketched this up quickly, forgive the crudeness of my MS Paint blue prints. (It's obviously not to scale, nor would that cam work as positioned... duh)

What do you think of that? I think it would require a relatively powerful motor, but I could probably pull one out of a junk washer or drier that would do the trick.
Also, the motor would be better positioned on the ground, but it was easier to draw in this fashion.

 

[Catt22]

I sketched this up quickly, forgive the crudeness of my MS Paint blue prints. (It's obviously not to scale, nor would that cam work as positioned... duh)

What do you think of that? I think it would require a relatively powerful motor, but I could probably pull one out of a junk washer or drier that would do the trick.
Also, the motor would be better positioned on the ground, but it was easier to draw in this fashion.

IMO, you would want to use a very low rpm gearmotor for this application. Something like this gearmotor might work:

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=10-2332&catname=electric

I don't think it will require a great deal of torque to run something like this.

 

[slbradley01]

Recently upgraded my brew setup to 1.5 bbl. I'm thinking of building a keg rocker. I envision a rocking chair type setup made from 2x8 and an elliptical pulley attached to a cordless drill. Daisy chain four kegs together and there you have it. If it's balanced correctly, it won't take much to rock it. Will post photos. 30 psi for 3-4 minutes, cold kegs, on their side, usually works perfectly.

 

[tjpfeister]

Brad, Id be curious to see your contraption. That said, six years later, I have adopted the use of a makeshift Blichmann carbonator, and love it. Only moving object is the beer.