GodsStepBrother
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,261
- Reaction score
- 30
very cool man, what do the runes say?
Show us your DIY stir plate!
- Thread starter DeBrewer
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
very cool man, what do the runes say?
BareKnuckleBrew
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2012
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 10
AWESOME stir plate! if there was a stir plate contest you'd win the "bad ass stir plate" catagory!
TaylorInOK
Well-Known Member
Chia
Well-Known Member
Made one for a friend today. instead of a hobby box he gave me a cigar box. the switch has an LED that lights up when the power is on! I might have to make a new one for me and sell my other one on e-bay :rockin:
bellam87
Active Member
Total cost...$6.
FirstStateBrewer
Well-Known Member
My stir plate worked great last week. But yesterday it kept throwing the stir bar!
Stephonovich
Well-Known Member
Just finished getting mine working today; built from member rocketman768's plans: Simple PWM Stirplate Controller. Big thanks to him for the troubleshooting he did via PM.
I added in an LED and power switch. P/S is a 12v wallwart from an old external HD case. It'll spin a 2L flask no problem, as well.
Right now I have a log pot in there, hence the fiddling with the knob to get it to settle down. I ran it up to full speed to show the vortex ('cause why not), and then it settles down a bit below 1/2, dead silent. I might order a linear pot and fix that, along with a MOSFET - currently using a TIP31 transistor which gets a little warm.
I'm using a shortie stir bar, as I have two rare earth magnets mounted fairly close to each other on a 120mm fan, and any bigger of a stirbar just gets thrown.
I added in an LED and power switch. P/S is a 12v wallwart from an old external HD case. It'll spin a 2L flask no problem, as well.
Right now I have a log pot in there, hence the fiddling with the knob to get it to settle down. I ran it up to full speed to show the vortex ('cause why not), and then it settles down a bit below 1/2, dead silent. I might order a linear pot and fix that, along with a MOSFET - currently using a TIP31 transistor which gets a little warm.
I'm using a shortie stir bar, as I have two rare earth magnets mounted fairly close to each other on a 120mm fan, and any bigger of a stirbar just gets thrown.
Last edited by a moderator:
CGVT
Senior Member
First time using mine...
TimpanogosSlim
Well-Known Member
Here's mine, next to my sleek (but limited to 800ml) solid state plate:
Just an old panaflo 120mm fan from a server i stripped down in the 90's, the grate it came with, a 12v wall wart, a zalman fan speed control i haven't used in ages, a big steel washer, and two little neodymium discs.
Just an old panaflo 120mm fan from a server i stripped down in the 90's, the grate it came with, a 12v wall wart, a zalman fan speed control i haven't used in ages, a big steel washer, and two little neodymium discs.
notcreative
Member
1000 nerd points, sir.
beau_cephus
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2011
- Messages
- 41
- Reaction score
- 0
Cost around $15. Had to replace a 12v power supply with a 5v.
beau_cephus
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2011
- Messages
- 41
- Reaction score
- 0
FirstStateBrewer said:
May want to step down the voltage on the power supply.
TimpanogosSlim
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that would slow down the motor.
Also, make sure the magnets are well centered across the motor axis
(I used a panaflo because I know it's a low-rpm fan, and strong as a bear)
Built with parts already laying around. Works with a bit of finesse.
Magnets aren't really strong enough -- throws the stir-bar if it starts too quickly, and occasionally thereafter.
Will use lessons learned to build a version 2!
-K
Magnets aren't really strong enough -- throws the stir-bar if it starts too quickly, and occasionally thereafter.
Will use lessons learned to build a version 2!
-K
socalboomer
Well-Known Member
Old power supply box (friend had spilled beer on it - crap beer so thank goodness nothing of worth was lost - and he let the factory smoke out. . .) - ripped the fried guts out. Fan was still good, so. . .
Power supply fan (12vdc) with LEDs on it so pretty light! WOO
old 12vdc power supply with removable cord - epoxy'd the lump part and cut out a small bit of the box so I could plug in the cord.
Couple of screws and nuts (from my father-in-laws expansive collection. . .)
variable resistor and knob (from Rad Shack - $7 or so)
stir bar ($10 from homebrew store. . . )
Works great!
Power supply fan (12vdc) with LEDs on it so pretty light! WOO
old 12vdc power supply with removable cord - epoxy'd the lump part and cut out a small bit of the box so I could plug in the cord.
Couple of screws and nuts (from my father-in-laws expansive collection. . .)
variable resistor and knob (from Rad Shack - $7 or so)
stir bar ($10 from homebrew store. . . )
Works great!
Hang Glider
Beer Drinker
like that ^ !
here's mine:
here's mine:
Here's mine. I finally finished it off this morning. The circuit is a simple modification of Rocketman's PWM design: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/simple-pwm-stirplate-controller-219121/. I subbed in a 556 dual timer instead of his 555 and basically built two copies into one box.
The upper right section in the box is a storage cubby for the DC supply, stir bars, and an extra stirring block (2" in this case). The blocks attach to the fans with industrial strength velcro so they can be swapped on and off, and the two you see attached in the pictures are for 1" bars. For aesthetic reasons I didn't want to drill/screw through the spine of the book or either front or bottom covers, so the extra wood blocks (top mid and bottom left) are to wedge the fans in place to hold them still. The fans sit on standoffs to lift them off the bottom, but those standoffs are not attached to the bottom of the book.
The action shot shows a 1" bar stirring a 1L flask while a 2" bar stirs a 2L flask, using only a 5V supply instead of the 12V shown in the photo. The book/box is sized to be just large enough to hold two 2L flasks should I ever want to do that. I'm quite happy with it, and it looks great sitting inconspicuously on my bookcase.
The upper right section in the box is a storage cubby for the DC supply, stir bars, and an extra stirring block (2" in this case). The blocks attach to the fans with industrial strength velcro so they can be swapped on and off, and the two you see attached in the pictures are for 1" bars. For aesthetic reasons I didn't want to drill/screw through the spine of the book or either front or bottom covers, so the extra wood blocks (top mid and bottom left) are to wedge the fans in place to hold them still. The fans sit on standoffs to lift them off the bottom, but those standoffs are not attached to the bottom of the book.
The action shot shows a 1" bar stirring a 1L flask while a 2" bar stirs a 2L flask, using only a 5V supply instead of the 12V shown in the photo. The book/box is sized to be just large enough to hold two 2L flasks should I ever want to do that. I'm quite happy with it, and it looks great sitting inconspicuously on my bookcase
.
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
I did mine with a cell phone charger, a magnet from a hard drive, a computer case fan, some screws, and a sheet of plexiglass. Total cost was free but it would be around $7 if you're not a computer nerd with tons of spare parts laying all around.
My guide on how to build one is here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/homemade-stir-plate-guide-pics-232000/
My guide on how to build one is here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/homemade-stir-plate-guide-pics-232000/
ThatGeekGuy
Well-Known Member
Have most of the parts, minus a PWM controller and stir bar. Ordered those from Amazon today, $5 PWM and $4 stir bar, both free shipping. Going to gut the controller and build into a box, but it already comes in it's own little box if you wanted to go real barebones.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L4KKF2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ACM0O6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L4KKF2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ACM0O6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Last edited by a moderator:
fatherbigfoot
Well-Known Member
After taking the picture I could not get my stir bar to spin correct I believe the magnet was shorter than the stir bar. I went to Home Depot and got a pack of three rare earth magnets for 3.89 hot glued them on the piece of wood and the stir bar spun like a champ
Off
On
Finished product these are the moments that make you proud to build it yourself instead of buying pre made
Nice little vortex started at the top can get a tin vortex all the way to the stir bar (1") but it usually throws the stir bar shortly after that. That is a 3000ml flask
nauticalias
Member
old stuff...Free
waiting for not free stir bars.
power works led is burnt out.
fatherbigfoot
Well-Known Member
nauticalias said:
It would be even cooler if you could still play super Mario on it. Nice build
nauticalias
Member
Was looking for the power source. When it struck me. Make not working nintendo work again.
cookstownbrewer
Active Member
nauticalias said:
Holy crap that's awesome!
Old power supply box (friend had spilled beer on it - crap beer so thank goodness nothing of worth was lost - and he let the factory smoke out. . .) - ripped the fried guts out. Fan was still good, so. . .
Power supply fan (12vdc) with LEDs on it so pretty light! WOO
old 12vdc power supply with removable cord - epoxy'd the lump part and cut out a small bit of the box so I could plug in the cord.
Couple of screws and nuts (from my father-in-laws expansive collection. . .)
variable resistor and knob (from Rad Shack - $7 or so)
stir bar ($10 from homebrew store. . . )
Works great!
This is kinda Epic. Very nice.
And link to the original build thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/easy-stir-plate-362308/#post4515959
ok this might be a dumb question but since i'm all new to all this figured i would just ask. what is the reasoning of a stir plate i'm guessing adding yeast but that is a guess. getting all my ducks in a line and figureing out this wonderful world of home brewing befor i start
fatherbigfoot
Well-Known Member
Stir plates are used on starters to get oxygen into solution for the yeast to use. In a starter when you are trying to build yeast populations oxygen is used to improve the health of the yeast cell wall. This allows for better growth during fermentation and the reduction of off flavored or aromas being used. Health yeast will also ferment beer faster which will inhibit the spas of any contamination that might have gotten into your beer during transfer.
I am so very jealous. Your Erlenmeyer flasks all have such smooth bottoms. When I spin my 1 inch bar up it sounds like my LHBS bought flask is stirring a marble or two. Though with a lot of fiddling I can find the one spot where it is almost unnoticeable when you are not in the same room as it.
reverendnathan
Well-Known Member
I used and a trip to fry's. Local liquor store sells the empty cigarette boxes when they are done, so I grabbed the nicest one and started from there. You'll notice I don't have a potentiometer on it... well, fry's doesn't sell 'em and by the time I was building this I left it out. That "box" in the lower right controls the speed in place of a knob, but I found starting it at full RPM doesn't lose the magnet.
I actually bought a stirplate from the LHBS because the replacement bars they sell are only large, and I couldn't get a large bar to work no matter what I did. So now I have two plates, two bars, and the altogether potential to make a huge starter.
I have a second, very long cigar box I plan on making a "double stirplate" with, which has two fans and can stir two different starters at two different speeds. Seems like it would be pretty cool if I can get it to work.
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks to this and many other threads, I finished my DIY stir plate! Can't remember the exact costs, but mine was a litte more expensive than some, probably about $25-30 all said and done. That being said, it was still a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new one!
Here she is (note I added the black velvet top at the end to protect the flask from the exposed screw heads):
Here she is (note I added the black velvet top at the end to protect the flask from the exposed screw heads):
LoloMT7
Well-Known Member
I had this linksys router laying around that didn't work so I removed the circuit board and mounted a 12V computer fan in it with a couple of small hard drive magnets. I cut a usb cable off of an old computer mouse and wired to the fan.. then a simple USB to wall adapter and i'm good to go. Didn't bother with a rheostat but I'll wait and see how the 2" ebay stir bar works and then decide if i need to add a rheostat inline and use a 9-12V cable instead..
Just finished mine, works like a champ. The only problem I had was setting the magnets just right so it wouldnt throw the bar. I may buy a 9v adapter instead of using the 12, a little to much power right off the bat.
LoloMT7
Well-Known Member
What size is your stir bar? Now that I got my stir bar in I'm having all kinds of problems getting the magnets set right it is like they are 2 week maybe? Its a 2 inch bar... ive tried all kinds of different rare earth magnets and placements... one on each side one offset... 2 opposite everything.. tried volts from 5 to 12... its like the magnets don't grab the bar and do any thing with it... grrrr im gonna go watch football.. Maybe buy some bigger rare earth magnets tomorrow..?
Mines a 2 inch bar, but as ya can see the center has that hump. I guess it creates less friction somehow and lets it spin more freely. I have the 3/8 earth magnets i bought from harbor freight, I use 2 on each side stacked. Try moving the magnets farther apart, that might help. Im now using a 7.5 volt adapter 200ma. Got any pics? how far are the magnets from the base, maybe wanna try getting it closer to the base to give more surface contact, without it hitting of course.
LoloMT7
Well-Known Member
Mine has the band around the middle also. I pulled the whole thing apart and had the flask right on top of the fan still nothing though... think all these magnets are 2 weak.. i tried spacing them way out etc... think ill try harbor freight here tomorrow. Thanks.
adamreef
Well-Known Member
BFG,
My build is almost identical to yours (same box & fan), but mine keeps throwing the stir bar. I have tried s hard drive magnet and 3/8 round neodymium magnets with various spacing. What did you use? How much space between the magnets and the back side of the lid of the box?
Thanks!
Adam
My build is almost identical to yours (same box & fan), but mine keeps throwing the stir bar. I have tried s hard drive magnet and 3/8 round neodymium magnets with various spacing. What did you use? How much space between the magnets and the back side of the lid of the box?
Thanks!
Adam
Similar threads
