Clogged Air Stone

[jpiwek]

Hi all,
Ive got an air stone that now only lets a few bubbles out the top of the stone using an aquarium pump. Ive tried boiling it in hot water and pumping it in boiling water but cant get the bugger cleaned out :angry:

Has anyone got any tips on getting it unplugged?

Big Thanks,

Heffer

 

[mobrien]

Are we talking about a stainless airstone here or a normal aquarium one?

 

[jpiwek]

Are we talking about a stainless airstone here or a normal aquarium one?

Hi Mobrien, Ive got a stainless one but I cant rember what mircron it is.

 

[Pumpy]

Hi all,
Ive got an air stone that now only lets a few bubbles out the top of the stone using an aquarium pump. Ive tried boiling it in hot water and pumping it in boiling water but cant get the bugger cleaned out :angry:

Has anyone got any tips on getting it unplugged?

Big Thanks,

Heffer

Give a Soak in Napisan overnight a try

pumpy

 

[mobrien]

Give a Soak in Napisan overnight a try

Thats what I'd be trying too - that really put some new life in my hop sock!

If it was a stone aquarium one, I was going to say throw it away

M

 

[Pumpy]

Yeah Mo ,

I only used my airstone twice another piece of junk , all it done was make a load of bubbles :blink:

I like giving the wort a shake , I like the Huffy Puffy gotta keep fit somehow


Pumpy

 

[jpiwek]

Give a Soak in Napisan overnight a try

pumpy

I'll give that a go,

its now swimming in Napisan

 

[Batz]

I bet it is too small a micron what ever the thingy's are ( size of holes in the airstone)
I scored one from the states and I needed a mother of air-pumps to drive it,scored one of those as well.
Works a treat now and has done for many years,greenhouse foot print could be better.
This was before we had oz retailers selling such things.

Batz

 

[jpiwek]

quote name='Batz' date='Jun 18 2007, 08:32 PM' post='219000']
I bet it is too small a micron what ever the thingy's are ( size of holes in the airstone)
I scored one from the states and I needed a mother of air-pumps to drive it,scored one of those as well.
Works a treat now and has done for many years,greenhouse foot print could be better.
This was before we had oz retailers selling such things.

Batz
[/quote]

Batz you just got me thinking... along time ago I got this from the States also and it was a kit with a filter and came with a regulator that screws onto a disposable air tank. I stoped useing it years ago(cant rember why mabe it was too expensive each brew) and only just found it again in the shed and thought why not put it to use with an aquarium pump that was also gathering dust.

Mabe the stone was only desinged for use with the regulator and the air tank. so 'greenhouse foot print ' thats the pump you use?

Batz you just got me thinking... along time ago I got this from the States also and it was a kit with a filter and came with a regulator that screws onto a disposable air tank. I stopped using it years ago(cant remember why maybe it was too expensive each brew) and only just found it again in the shed and thought why not put it to use with an aquarium pump that was also gathering dust.

Maybe the stone was only designed for use with the regulator and the air tank. so 'greenhouse foot print ' thats the pump you use?

Hefferflocken

 

[Ross]

Sounds like you've got a 0.5 micron stone - these are meant more for carbonating & require a fair bit of pressure. The 2 micron stone or coarser, is what you need for aeration and they only require a standard aquarium pump

cheers Ross

 

[BENJAMOO]

A soak in liquid caustic solution overnight (use caution with this stuff, safety glasses & rubber gloves are a good idea when handling) followed by a scrub with a tootbrush or better still a couple of runs through an ultrasonic bath (e.g. one for cleaning jewellery) should improve its performance.

Forgot to add - give it a good rinse with clean water afterwards to flush out the caustic. You can neutralise it with a weak citric acid solution as well if the caustic was on the stronger side.

 

[Ross]

A soak in liquid caustic solution overnight (use caution with this stuff, safety glasses & rubber gloves are a good idea when handling) followed by a scrub with a tootbrush or better still a couple of runs through an ultrasonic bath (e.g. one for cleaning jewellery) should improve its performance.

Not sure a toothbrush will achieve anything, but the ultrasonic bath could be a winner
Maybe simpler to just buy a new one....

Cheers Ross

 

[jpiwek]

Not sure a toothbrush will achieve anything, but the ultrasonic bath could be a winner
Maybe simpler to just buy a new one....

Cheers Ross

Yep, I think so, its on my next shopping list.

 

[jpiwek]

o.k so next day after a nights soak in Napisan it was a third better so I dropped it in meth for a few hours and its as clean as a whistle.

So methos the go.

 

[ohitsbrad]

Is it possible to aerate using an aquarium pump, sanitary filter and hose only, no air stone? And use something to weight the hose so it sits on the bottom? I guess more specifically, what is the need for an air stone?

 

[ohitsbrad]

o.k so next day after a nights soak in Napisan it was a third better so I dropped it in meth for a few hours and its as clean as a whistle.

So methos the go.

Can I ask have you checked that its working well again, just in some water or something? I may have a similar problem and might try the napisan or metho.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Not sure if its completely relevant, but

I dropped my little sanitary filter into my sanitiser solution bath by accident. Once it got wet it wouldn't work anymore. For a while I thought it was my air stone being clogged.

Had to give the filter a series of gentle microwavings to dry it out before it would let air through again.

Maybe Metho works on the stones because they get a bit of hop oil/gum on them and the alcohol dissolves it???

Thirsty

 

[Ross]

Is it possible to aerate using an aquarium pump, sanitary filter and hose only, no air stone? And use something to weight the hose so it sits on the bottom? I guess more specifically, what is the need for an air stone?

It's possible, but the airstone produces fine bubbles that aerates your wort much quicker. for the small extra cost, i see little point in not using one, plus it weights your line

cheers Ross

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I might be too late for the original poster, but I wonder if CLR might help. It's a powerful cleaner of last resort in this household...

 

[jpiwek]

Can I ask have you checked that its working well again, just in some water or something? I may have a similar problem and might try the napisan or metho.

Hi ohitsbrad, after a good soaking in overnight metho overnight I had hundreds of streams of tiny bubbles and am pleased to say its like new now