Aeration of wort before pitching yeast

[CRoark]

thanks for that gregorach...I used O2 in the States using Bernzomatic cylinders but they aren't available here and I was curious if they were worth re buying the regulator to fit these other ones. Looks like it will be a good alternative.
cheers

[hophit]

I just let the cold wort flow into the fermenter from a bit of a height. Never had a high gravity finish. I know people say this risks infection, but I can't see why it would risk it any more than a paddle and a drill, a whisk or a shake - at the end of the day with any of those methods you are just mixing in potentially 'dirty' oxygen from the air in the location you are brewing - I guess just don't do it near a bin or whatever where the air will have a higher concenration of nasties!

Interested in your method though Orlando - using a filter and a pump - is that a fish tank air pump and what kind of filter?

[hophit]

**Sorry meant to say Darkonis, not Orlando**

[Steve1262]

JEEEEEEZZ..... The company that supplies the flowmeter know how to charge for P&P.
Only needs a jiffy bag and a stamp

[oz11]

I queried their delivery charges earlier in the year and this is what they had to say:

"I am sorry you feel our delivery charges are high; our research shows that for most of our customers a timely and traceable delivery is most important; we therefore offer a traceable service from UPS on all goods, which incurs a minimum shipping charge. This charge is the same for all delivery in UK mainland up to 25kg and below £250 in value. Customers can also arrange for items to be collected from our Hanwell warehouse personally or by using their own courier services. Another alternative, when ordering small low value items, is to specify £5 Royal Mail delivery. However, please note that we do not encourage our customers to use this alternative, as with Royal Mail your item cannot be guaranteed."

[darkonnis]

Dunc, surely its 136/32 ? So you're looking at 4.25 mols which is 95.2L, which seems a bit more like it?

I use this: http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/wort-aerator.html, nice and simple, perhaps not as effective as using pure O2 but close enough, and it's a one off payment which unless you break it, won't need replacing.

[mysterio]

I use one of the Fermentap aeration stone systems with a Benzomatic oxygen tank for welding. Useful to use oxygen if you want to achieve more than the 8ppm maximum dissolved O2 that can be achieved by shaking.

If you're using an aquarium pump then some foam control is useful.

[orlando]

**Sorry meant to say Darkonis, not Orlando**

Had me worried for a minute there . I'm a paddle and a drill man myself, seems to work really well but would love to know just how effective/ineffective it is.

[Cpt.Frederickson]

JEEEEEEZZ..... The company that supplies the flowmeter know how to charge for P&P.
Only needs a jiffy bag and a stamp

So much so I started a seperate thread asking if others new of an alternative...surprisingly, some dude from Cole Parmer has chipped in offering a free p&p voucher. Evidently their research showed that homebrewers generally disagree with their research...

[gregorach]

Dunc, surely its 136/32 ? So you're looking at 4.25 mols which is 95.2L, which seems a bit more like it?

Yes, you're quite right. I don't know what I was thinking...

[greenxpaddy]

I'm getting good results with olive oil and splashing of wort into FV. If you are not keen on the olive oil idea, using O2 I would simply increase the O2 levels in your carboy and splash the wort round in the normal fashion. If 20% o2 in air gets 3ppm, I reckon 60% would get 9ppm in wort. So squirt o2 into the carboy before filling and seal of a fashion. O2 is very marginally heavier than air anyway.

[pads72]

Going to revive this thread!

I collect my wort in an FV and then pour it all into another sanitised FV and back again, creating a lovely foamy head and then pitch the yeast. It works, but I'm not convinced it's the most sanitary way of wort aeration due to possible aerial infection.

I like Setmash's solution from his big fat shiny American Keg brewery build thread -

Any advance on this or are people still happy with the paddle & drill technique?

[orlando]

The problem is knowing exactly what each method achieves, short of a dissolved oxygen meter, which I understand are heart stoppingly expensive, it's almost impossible to know. I'm a drill & paddle man myself but like you not convinced about it, or for that matter any other, short of forcing O2 into it, which is a little more dangerous than I fancy doing.

[greenxpaddy]

The problem is knowing exactly what each method achieves, short of a dissolved oxygen meter, which I understand are heart stoppingly expensive, it's almost impossible to know. I'm a drill & paddle man myself but like you not convinced about it, or for that matter any other, short of forcing O2 into it, which is a little more dangerous than I fancy doing.

I totally agree. Too much oxygen is as bad as not enough. For centuries splashing wort was enough and if the yeast strain was an oxygen monster they would do what was called a "double drop" after 24 hrs. You don't want oxygen cylinders around your house IMHO!

[ciderhead]

I have an Oxiturbo tank and reg from a local welding suppliers, a Norcal 0.5 diffuser stone and simple acrylic flowmeter from ebay. Beer line keeps the stone at the bottom of the FV.
For high gravity beers and lagers I wouldn't be without it as I get three times the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beer that I could from splashing without compromising loss of head that i used to get with my drill and paddle.