dissolved oxygen meter - anyone use them?

[JJFlash]

Just for grins I have been considering a dissolved oxygen meter. They range in price from $170 to thousands of dollars. I understand the better units have altitude and salinity corrections built in. I suppose without that you can consult a value correction chart. I see B3 has them in the catalog. I have been looking at the Milwaukee SM600 portable unit. Anyone use them?

[bub]

No...
BUB

[Homegrown Hops]

I have two DO meters (at work) that I use on a regular basis. One is an Orion and the other is an Orbisphere. They run about $1200 and $6000 respectively. IMHO for a homebrewer a DO meter is not really necessary and would be a cool thing to have (gadget geeks) but the funds could be used for a more practical purpose. In craft beer production we are moving beer around post fermentation with strong pumps and sani-fittings (TC fittings) so there is some room for error in the process. In a homebrewing we (most of us) are not using pumps to move beer from the fermenter thru DE filters and into bright tanks, then on to a packaging line. With this in mind I think that you should consider other outlets for your Homebrewing duckets.

I would save the $200 that you would fork out for such an item and maybe purchase a pump, save for a conical, both of which I would fit with Tri-clovers for flare and sanitary purposes.

Again this is just my two cents so good luck with your descision.

Cheers,
HH

[JJFlash]

Thank you Homegrown Hops for your words of wisdom.

Yes, I am a gadget geek and like to be able to measure and control any possible variables with brewing in my pursuit of the absolute best beer I can brew.

Would you be kind enough divulge your DO numbers? Do you aeriate once or more?

Secondly, I don't understand how a conical fermentor could improve upon the quality of my beer. I know sloppy racking to a seconday will inappropriately aeriate by beer leading to off flavors. However I can leave most beers on the yeast bed 3-4 weeks without flavor problems then rack to kegs. So the convenience of trub dropping isn't critical. I don't salvage yeast for repitching, always use fresh new starters. Also, I can get three glass 5 gallon carboys in my refrigerator versus one conical. Don't get me wrong, I love the cool look of conicals, I just don't see where they improve my product. If someone can tell me just how conicals improve the quality of my beer over glass carboys I would buy one tomorrow.

[mfischer2]

A few goldfish would be cheaper, put them in and see how long they live, that will show your dissolved oxygen amount.

[JJFlash]

A few goldfish would be cheaper, put them in and see how long they live, that will show your dissolved oxygen amount.

That's an easy one, if they go belly up and turn gray then I have 0 ppm oxygen. It's the in between, 0 - 18 ppm I have just not quite figured out yet.

[Homegrown Hops]

Would you be kind enough divulge your DO numbers? Do you aeriate once or more?

I rarely check the O2 levels of the pre-fermented sweet wort, but from what I can recall the last time I did a check on the Orbi's calibration the O2 was 0.042 ppm. We only aerate the wort as it comes out of the heat exchanger going to the fermenter. I generally use these devices for QC to make sure that the beer is being filtered without being exposed to oxygen due to leaky sight glass or other unseen leaks. I also check during bottling runs to make sure that the product is not being aerated by the pump as it makes its way to the bottle filler.

Secondly, I don't understand how a conical fermentor could improve upon the quality of my beer.

I'm not even going to start the debate on why conicals are better, but I will point out that if you are a gadget geek then the conical is a good investment that is worth the money you will spend.

HH