Erlenmeyer Flask For Starters?

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SJW

As you must brew, so you must drink
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I got my hands on two lab flasks the other day and I was thinking to reduce the chance of contamination I could boil my DME or LME in either this 1 litre Erlenmeyer flask (triangle type) or the 1 litre Volumentric (round ball type) flask then cool in cold water and add my Wyeast. Does anyone see any problems using this type of lab equip. to grow starters? One of the flasks is Pyrex and the other has some strange type of makings on it like, 10.10 from memory. But I did a test boil + quench and nothing went bang. Does anyone else use this method?


STEPHEN
 
These type of flasks are great - BUT I would never ever ever in my long legged life use second hand lab equipment for food (or drink!) items - there are just too many nasties that I know can adhere to glass and it doesn't matter how much you wash, they will still be there.

Its up to you - but I wouldn't risk it.

2L spirit bottles such as for bulk sherry or port are just as good, and food safe...

My 2.2cents

Matt
 
If they are second hand, passivate them with 1% nitric acid overnight, we used to do that where I used to work with success.

I probably wouldn't use that volumetric flask for boiling, but I use a 3L pyrex erlenmeyer flask for making starters.
 
They work great. For example at http://brewiki.org/StirPlate you can see
Stirrer2LStarter18Hr.jpg

Conical flasks are a good match for a stir plate too.
 
Can't see any problem. Don't know if I would boil in them then dunk them in the cold water. I know they are made pretty tough but why push them?

Personally I use the V8 juice bottles. They are nice reasonably thick glass bottles that reseal well. They come in 1l and 1.5l sizes. I just drill a hole in the lid insert a grommet and put in the air lock. Ideal for starters adn cheap too.
 
I use the flasks all the time for my starters. Just cover the top with some aluminium foil and boil it up directly over the gas / electric whatever.
As soon as its finished boiling for 10-15 minutes dunk it straight into cold water. Trust me it wont shatter, I do it all the time.
This method is the most sanitary method of preparing a starter IMO , as it will sterilise the lid ( the foil ) the wort and the container in one hit.
I usually replace the foil with a rubber stop and air lock when its time to add the yeast, which i sterilize also. Boiling the rubber stop is good wayto do this , and i usually drop the air lock into some sanitise as it will melt if its boiled.

If its done properly, you can prepare a starter with absolute minimum risk of infection using these flasks.


vlbaby.
 
vlbaby said:
I use the flasks all the time for my starters. Just cover the top with some aluminium foil and boil it up directly over the gas / electric whatever.

I guess on that note then it would be OK to boil a teflon covered stir bar at the same time, or would that be a bad idea?
 
ausdb said:
vlbaby said:
I use the flasks all the time for my starters. Just cover the top with some aluminium foil and boil it up directly over the gas / electric whatever.

I guess on that note then it would be OK to boil a teflon covered stir bar at the same time, or would that be a bad idea?
[post="67743"][/post]​
My stir bar goes in the pressure cooker every time. No obvious signs of stress.

From a slant, I go to 250 ml conical. The whole think goes in the pressure cooker and when it cools down, chuck a loop of yeast in there then spin it like buggery (yes less than 5 m/s pedro).
 
I cracked a El,Flask the first time i used it...!
To thin and wimpy for me.
Got 2 nice Conical Beakers off ebay ( 1L and 2L) that are thick glass base and sides that would need a bloody good knock to break em.
Straight on the stove, cool, then to the Stir plate ( thanks Joe!)

Cheers
:super:
 
Good advice about using NEW flasks. I found some on Ebay and was wondering is BOROSILICATE as good as PYREX? I just want to be able to boil the cool em.

STEPHEN
 
SJW said:
Good advice about using NEW flasks. I found some on Ebay and was wondering is BOROSILICATE as good as PYREX? I just want to be able to boil the cool em.

STEPHEN
[post="67814"][/post]​

Borosilicate can be heated using direct heat (ie: directly on the stove or over a flame) but I don't know whether its as shatterproof as pyrex when cooled quickly.

If you ever see anything marked soda or flint glass, that isn't safe for direct heat and will shatter if you put it on the stove. OK to autoclave though.

Cheers
Dave
 
SJW
Yeah, the Beakers i have are 'Borosilicate' and i am told they are sweet to heat and chill direct quickly.
I am a bit carefull when cooling them though. Given the small volume of liquid in the beaker ( upto 2L ) it cools down quickly when sat on the side of the sink for 30mins. Then thats when i dunk it into cold water in the sink to get it over and done with............
Cheers
:)
 
homebrewworld.com said:
I cracked a El,Flask the first time i used it...!
To thin and wimpy for me.
Got 2 nice Conical Beakers off ebay ( 1L and 2L) that are thick glass base and sides that would need a bloody good knock to break em.
Straight on the stove, cool, then to the Stir plate ( thanks Joe!)

Cheers
:super:
[post="67796"][/post]​


He have an ebay shop?
 

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