Too much oxygen

[Froyd]

First time using an oxygenation stone hooked to a cylinder of welding oxygen. Emptied the whole container in less than a minute by opening the regulator at full throttle.

Lesson learned. I'll open the regulator just a bit in the future, but what do you think will be the repercussions of 5 gallons of worth blasted with a full 1.4 Bernzomatic oxygen cylinder?

 

[ba-brewer]

Assuming the beer foamed like crazy, if that is the case the majority of the oxygen escaped and did not get into the beer so you don't have anything to worry about. Probably did not get too much oxygen in your beer too.

Best to get something to limit the flow at known flow rate that is reproduceable, until then reduce the flow until you get just a small amount of foam on top.

1L/min of oxygen for 1 min per 20L of beer is good for most medium strength beers < 1060. 1L/min will foam pretty good, I use .12L/min for 8min and it barely makes much foam if you gently swirl while oxygenating.

edit: since I got a flow rate regulator I get over 25 uses per little red tank.

 

[ba-brewer]

a couple of links to get some information

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/oxygenating-wort.655294/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/oxygen-tank-longevity.599662/

 

[mongoose33]

Repercussions? None. Your beer will be fine.

Next time, crack the valve just enough to have bubbles breaking the surface. Swirl the wand or tube around the bottom of the fermenter for 60-90 seconds, and you should be just fine. Plus, your oxygen cylinder will last more than one brew.

You should be able to get 10-15 beers out of a single cylinder.

Couple of other things. First, you probably enjoyed wrestling with the cylinder, with the tubing, the wand, your fementer. They cylinder wants to tip, you feel like you need three hands...I made a "caddy" for mine, which holds everything solid and steady, out of scrap plywood I had. It makes this much more enjoyable.

I use a flow meter on it to dial down the flow and make it easier to control. You can actually dial in a flow and come pretty close to it, and when it's time to cut it off, easier than that valve on the cylinder:



Here's the flow meter I have on mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0UWZ2T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also oxygenate my starter wort. There are about 5 of us on HBT who do that. I still put the starter on a stir plate, but adding oxygen counteracts the effect of boiling the starter wort, which depletes the water of oxygen. I don't want my yeast being dumped into starter wort w/o oxygen. The starter takes off faster, and I see better take-off of fermentation this way. YMMV.

 

[ba-brewer]

Still impressed every time I see your simple but elegant oxygen caddy @mongoose33.

 

[Robert65]

I have this flow meter in my rig

JIAWANSHUN Oxygen Air Flow Meter... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0UWZ2T?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I find no more than 0.2 L/min is almost too much in terms of keeping the bubbles from breaking the surface. 1 minute is plenty for most beers. And bottles last forever.

 

[mongoose33]

I have this flow meter in my rig

JIAWANSHUN Oxygen Air Flow Meter... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0UWZ2T?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I find no more than 0.2 L/min is almost too much in terms of keeping the bubbles from breaking the surface. 1 minute is plenty for most beers. And bottles last forever.

Same flow meter I'm using.

I always figured it was ok if I filled the headspace above the starter wort with oxygen from bubbles breaking the surface of the wort. It gives the stir plate something to bring back into the wort.

 

[Froyd]

Thanks for the reassurance, all.

I'll shoot for visual calibration first (bubbles just breaking the surface, but if that doesn't work I'll look into one of those fancy flow regulators... always space in my drawer for one more piece of kit!

 

[CodeSection]

....I made a "caddy" for mine, which holds everything solid and steady, out of scrap plywood I had. It makes this much more enjoyable.

I use a flow meter on it to dial down the flow and make it easier to control. You can actually dial in a flow and come pretty close to it, and when it's time to cut it off, easier than that valve on the cylinder:

Here's the flow meter I have on mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0UWZ2T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also oxygenate my starter wort. There are about 5 of us on HBT who do that. I still put the starter on a stir plate, but adding oxygen counteracts the effect of boiling the starter wort, which depletes the water of oxygen. I don't want my yeast being dumped into starter wort w/o oxygen. The starter takes off faster, and I see better take-off of fermentation this way. YMMV.

Three more things to add to my to-do list. I like the sound of that...MY to-do list. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Robert65]

For a different "caddy" approach here's mine. You can get these holders for a Bernzomatic cylinder where you get the cylinder, about $4 as I recall.

 

[Froyd]

One more Q: pay no mind to the Prop 65 warning on the oxygen cylinder or run to an oncologist as fast as my feet carry me? OK, I was just kidding, but what's up with the scary warning?

 

[Robert65]

Oxygen causes birth defects? Lack of it causes more. Um, we're all still here, so, yeah, ignore the Prop-whatever warnings that appear on everything nowadays just to keep a bunch of lawyers in Cali happy. (Remember, don't eat your Christmas lights.)

Seriously, if this means anything, it's probably just that this is not certified as a food grade or medical grade gas, which just means it has not had to prove that it is free of oil residues from compressor lubricants. But it's just that it hasn't had to *prove* that, saving the expenses of certification. If it did contain those contaminants, it would probably not be suitable for its intended purpose, so the manufacturer will be sure it's a pretty darn pure product.

 

[Katman]

I think that warning is for when you use it with map gas or propane for wielding or soldering. As far as I know pretty much the only difference between pure/medical grade O2 and these cylinders is the equipment used to manufacture it and maybe a slight difference in purity. A wielding supply guy told me that the medical grade oxygen is around 99% pure and sterile while tanks you buy are around 95%,with the other 5% being air but I am not sure if that is true.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I'm gonna have to get one of those flow meters. I'm also picking up a used DO meter to be able to actually measure how much dissolved oxygen I am adding.

 

[kh54s10]

Everything causes cancer or birth defects in California. If you don't live there it is probably OK to use the product.

 

[mongoose33]

Everything causes cancer or birth defects in California. If you don't live there it is probably OK to use the product.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Everyone who has ever died has either consumed or come into physical contact with dihydrogen monoxide, yet it doesn't have a warning label in CA.
Conspiracy?

 

[Robert65]

Everyone who has ever died has either consumed or come into physical contact with dihydrogen monoxide, yet it doesn't have a warning label in CA.
Conspiracy?

I think you just Googled it wrong. The warning is given under the name "oxidane."

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I think you just Googled it wrong. The warning is given under the name "oxidane."

That's one of the trade names. It goes by many names, but can be deadly by any name!

 

[deadwolfbones]

Prop 65 is kind of a running joke. Starbucks recently had to label all of their coffee as potentially cancer-causing, for instance.

 

[deadwolfbones]

(They should really just label it with "probably tastes like burnt garbage," but I digress...)