How Not To Store Your Stirbar

[Fourstar]

Well i began starting a 1968 slant yesterday and was ready to stepup to stage two = stirplate time.

After storing my stirbar on a magnet (not just any magnet) for a couple of months it turns out both ends of my stirbar are now the same polarity. GREAT!

If you do store your stirbar on a magnet, make sure its either.

A. your stirplate
B. Refer to A
C. Only stick ONE end of it to a magnet

So how did i do it?

I had mine stuck on my knife wall magnet strip since its last use as i was afraid of it getting knocked off the stirplate and lost. Not such a smart idea.

Thinking it was just one magnet but i was obviously wrong. It turns out there are two of em and both are the same polarity. Consequently when it first stuck on, only one end was truely stuck and after time the polarity has weakened on the other end to the point of both ends now being the same. I should have picked up in the beginning that it wasnt sticking straight but on a slight angle.

Oh well, now i have some fresh yeast struggling to grow and have to source a stirbar tomorrow/wednesday. Not to mention having to reassemble my stirplate after stripping it back thinking my magnets were out of place. Doh!

Maybe i'll just bite the bullet and buy a fresh smack pack and a stirbar for future use. <_<

 

[Nick JD]

Do you have access to a neodymium magnet? A "rare earth" one?

You can switch the polarity in a couple of swipes. Or recharge one.

 

[emnpaul]

Do you have access to a neodymium magnet? A "rare earth" one?

You can switch the polarity in a couple of swipes. Or recharge one.

Way off topic but, if you haven't already then check this out. http://scienceblogs.com/sciencepunk/2009/0...ger_with_tw.php

 

[Nick JD]

I have a couple of 25mm x 25mm magnets for charging guitar pickups. Scary stuff - not enough to take your finger off, but enough to take a chunk of flesh.

 

[peaky]

Oh well, now i have some fresh yeast struggling to grow and have to source a stirbar tomorrow/wednesday. Not to mention having to reassemble my stirplate after stripping it back thinking my magnets were out of place. Doh!

Do you think your stirbar polarities may change back if you sat it on your stirplate for a while? I'm assuming you have rear earth magnets in your stir plate.

 

[MaltyHops]

Interesting and timely post (made me go locate my stirbars).
This reminds me - magnets are often stored with iron containing
metal bars are placed against the north-south ends to provide a path
for the magnetic flux to flow through efficiently - this maintains the
the strength of the magnets (goggle keeper magnet).

So with stirbars, either put two together with their ends that want to
stick together next to each other - or bend a paper clip or iron metal
strip into a wide U just wide enough to fit the stirbar end to end.

T.

 

[Fourstar]

I have rare earths in my stirplate and ive pulled them out and stuck them to it but the rare earths are strong enought to want to stick together close to the center because one end is so weak. I dont think its going to work but worth a try overnight i suppose if i can get the weak ends to stay at opposite polarity

 

[Phoney]

I just keep em in a little tub full of all my other brewing bits n bobs like fermenter taps etc.

Only time ive ever lost one is when ive pitched into a fermenter, forgotten, and 2 weeks later tipped the trub into the bushes.

 

[Fourstar]

Do you have access to a neodymium magnet? A "rare earth" one?
You can switch the polarity in a couple of swipes. Or recharge one.

ok so i stacked all of my RE magnets to give as much power as possible, stuck at one end and spun the stirbar on it for around a minute. Swappedends of stirbar and RE mangnets (other polarity) and performed the same.

NOW, they repel! Huzzah! Prior the ends were really weak. Ive now wedged a big piece of blu-tak between the RE magnets and stuck it on the stirbar to give some decent clearance. hopefully that charges it up overnight some more

 

[Nick JD]

ok so i stacked all of my RE magnets to give as much power as possible, stuck at one end and spun the stirbar on it for around a minute. Swappedends of stirbar and RE mangnets (other polarity) and performed the same.

NOW, they repel! Huzzah! Prior the ends were really weak. Ive now wedged a big piece of blu-tak between the RE magnets and stuck it on the stirbar to give some decent clearance. hopefully that charges it up overnight some more

Shazam!

 

[WarmBeer]

F*cking magnets, how do they work?

 

[stux]

Livingstone say to store stirbars alongside other stirbars, parallel to each other, not jumbled up. This should help preserve their magnetism

 

[drtomc]

Btw, where do people get their stirbars from?

 

[felten]

ebay

 

[DU99]

got mine from Ebay also

 

[Fourstar]

Just purchased some more from one of those links last night actually. A decent price for a mixed set of bars. :icon_cheers:

 

[ashley_leask]

I got some stirbars, flasks and test tubes from www.proscitech.com.au

 

[Josh]

I get most of my lab type stuff from Livingstone.

 

[mikk]

I get most of my lab type stuff from Livingstone.

I tried to get some stir bars from Livingstone, with no luck. They wouldn't let me register an account, with their reply of-

"Hi, We were very sorry to inform you that right now we cannot accept your registration with us because we need to follow instructions given to us. We were very particular about the companies to approve and at the same time what are they doing. Kind Regards, Sheila Bolivar"

Just thought i'd pass on the news. Back to ebay it is!

 

[stux]

Guess they think you're a drug dealing bomb making terrorist