Stir plate vs. Shaker table

[jgalati]

Hey all. Curious if anyone has any insight into why stir bars have become so popular in homebrewing as compared to shaker tables. In the rest of the world of microbiology, the very few labs I've seen use shakers. Is it possible that the stir plate solution is just cheaper?

Curious as to everyone's thoughts.

 

[podz]

The two devices have different purposes. Stir plate pulls down a vortex which introduces oxygen into the mix. Shaker table only ensures that the mix is even.

 

[AK7007]

The two devices have different purposes. Stir plate pulls down a vortex which introduces oxygen into the mix. Shaker table only ensures that the mix is even.

No. This is wrong. Shakers oxygenate a **** ton. Especially baffled flasks with antifoaming agents. Yeast labs do their starters in shakers.

Shakers are expensive compared to stir plates, can only hold around 1/5 of the volume of the flask (i.e., 200ml in a 1000ml flask, and reach the same density - meaning you need more/bigger flasks), and take up more space. That said - they are better in most other ways. Say you want to grow up ten different strains at once to pitch a blend (I do!) - you want a shaker.

Source: I'm a biochemist.

EDIT: Other homebrewers in science have thought of this before: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=257933