# Wort Aeration With Paint Stirrer



## samhighley (5/2/08)

Has anyone ever thought about stirring up wort in the fermenter using one of those plastic paint stirrers that attach to an electric drill?

I thought about it this morning while using one of these milk frothers to make my morning coffee. The purpose of this device is to add air into the milk.

The one i'm thinking of is the Squirrel Mixer, which is sold at Bunnings.

This could be a great way of getting air into the wort before pitching the yeast.

Sam


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## Steve (5/2/08)

Sammy said:


> Has anyone ever thought about stirring up wort in the fermenter using one of those plastic paint stirrers that attach to an electric drill?
> 
> I thought about it this morning while using one of these milk frothers to make my morning coffee. The purpose of this device is to add air into the milk.
> 
> ...



Yes many people have and do. I find the splashing from the tap or jug when topping up the fermenter is good enough. I only use dry yeast though. Never had a drama. Do a search on paint or stirrer im sure theres some threads?
Cheers
Steve


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## lonte (5/2/08)

Along similar lines I use a "Stick Mixer" (Bamix is the expensive brand-name one) - I got mine for <$10 at Pick'n'Pay. Best thing is it comes in two parts so easy to fully submerge the mixing blade to sanatise.


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## Adzmax (5/2/08)

Silly question but assuming you are AG wouldn't it be easier to simply use a short hose and splash the wort (on the bottom of the drum) into the fermentor when draining the kettle?


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## tcraig20 (5/2/08)

My tap has an aerator on it. Seems to do the job just fine.


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## RobB (5/2/08)

I have seen the squirrel mixers in shops, but only the plastic ones. These could pose an infection risk as there is a hair-line crevice between the metal shaft and plastic cage. The photos on the link look like they include some all-metal models on the right, but I haven't seen these on the shelf.

I considered using one of these in two ways. Firstly, I thought that by using it slowly at the bottom of the kettle, I could generate a good vortex around an immersion chiller to speed the process up. A bit like MrMalty does here.

The idea was then to raise the stirrer up to the surface to add air once the wort was cool.

It seemed like a reasonable idea at the time, but the join between shaft and cage put me off.

Cheers,

Rob


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## samhighley (5/2/08)

Malty Cultural said:


> It seemed like a reasonable idea at the time, but the join between shaft and cage put me off.



I believe the cage sections come apart reasonably easily, so you could disassemble for cleaning.

The website linked above makes mention of the cages coming apart for use in shallow tins.

Sam


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## bugwan (5/2/08)

Many people are happy with a bit of a splash in terms of aeration. If it's going to cost you more than $20 for a drill attachment, you may as well settle for an aquarium pump and just pump filtered air into the wort IMO...

Cheers


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## aspro (5/2/08)

Malty Cultural said:


> I have seen the squirrel mixers in shops, but only the plastic ones. These could pose an infection risk as there is a hair-line crevice between the metal shaft and plastic cage. The photos on the link look like they include some all-metal models on the right, but I haven't seen these on the shelf.
> 
> I considered using one of these in two ways. Firstly, I thought that by using it slowly at the bottom of the kettle, I could generate a good vortex around an immersion chiller to speed the process up. A bit like MrMalty does here.
> 
> ...



Gee Mr Malty doesnt like plate chillers much.

Aspro


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## scrogster (5/2/08)

I just "borrow" one of the beaters from SWMBO's cake mixer, and put it in the chuck of my cordless drill.

Cake beaters are usually stainless, so can easily be sterilized.


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## mfdes (6/2/08)

Having a look at the all-metal ones, they are galvanised, not stainless. I'm not sure I'd want that zinc in contact with my wort.

MFS


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## Darren (6/2/08)

My feeing about this type of airation is that the generated by either a drill or "barmix" would throw more bugs into the open topped fermeter.
My advice is if you are using dry yeast, there is no need to airate at all. If you are using liquid yeast, a good shake a couple of hours before pitching is all that is required at the homebrew level.

cheers

Darren


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## SJW (6/2/08)

Darren, your freaking me out, thats twice now I have to agree with you. There is no need to airate the wort at all if u are using dry yeast, at least thats what the manufacutuers say, but what the hell do they know :huh: http://www.danstaryeast.com/faq.html

Steve


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