Yeast Centrifuge Idea

[Yorg]

I like Kolsch. But the wyeast kolsch yeast is a ******* when it comes to flocculation.
I like to make large starters in an erlenmyer flask using DME to ensure yeast health in the main ferment.
Problem is, with very low flocculating yeast, much of the yeast is poured out and wasted when decanting the fermented DME starter. This obviously partly defeats the purpose of a starter.
So, an IDEA.
What if I took an old turntable, modified it to hold the flask, and adjusted the gearing to spin at say 200rpm (since it probably already does 45 or maybe if really old 78), and sat the finished starter on it.
The angle of the flask would encourage the yeast to hit the sides and run down to the bottom, ready for decanting - maybe.

????

 

[unterberg]

Hmm

In principle spinning them down works - thats what I do in the lab as well.
However I am not sure if 200rpm will work. you would really need an wide rotor to get some g`s going (multiples of the earths gravitation). With human cells I work with around 300g.
By increasing the spinning time from a few minutes up to an hour you might get a good result with even 150g I`d say.
Havent tried yet how low you can go and still get a good result.

 

[~MikE]

i spin e.coli all the time, yeast is very similar but generally i go about 3000g for 5 mins. in principle, any extra force will help it settle faster, but instead of looking at a 5min spin, you'd be looking at maybe overnight?

you use DME for your starters, what's wrong with dumping this into the fermenter? i can't imagine it'd affect the taste even if you're pushing 1L starters...

 

[Kai]

Yes, why are you not just pitching the entire starter?

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

you use DME for your starters, what's wrong with dumping this into the fermenter? i can't imagine it'd affect the taste even if you're pushing 1L starters...

I have thought of the idea of spinning my starter in the lab to seperate but really the time involved is it worth it.
IMHO nup. My starters a 1ltr for every 20ltrs of wort and it is prepared 24-36hrs prior. I dump the whole starter, DME and all and really I could not even tell if that has an effect on the finished product. The judges at SABSOSA and the AABC couldnt tell either :chug:

BYB

 

[Paul H]

Personally just before I pitch some slurry I just collect my yeast & trub & run really fast around the brew area in circles. I find that works everytime :icon_cheers:

Cheers

Paul

 

[mesa]

Just from a physics perspective,
if you flask has a radius of about 5cm, you'll get about 21m/s^2 (i.e. a little over 2G) at the edges of the flask (less towards the centre). And if its off centre. you may get complex waves sloshing around.
If you put it about 20cm away from the centre (and use a counter weight otherwise you'll destroy the axel) you could get a bit over 8G (about 81m/s^2). I assume 8G settles stuff 8 times faster than 1G (give or take Brownian motion).

Overall I think a centrifuge would be cool, but your better off pitching the whole starter.