Beer Forum

In an effort to make a simple thing like stirring wort to create a whirlpool complex and expensive, I've decided to cobble together an automatic stirrer. Could I just pull the lid off the kettle and stir it with a spoon or just swirl my chiller around a bit? Sure I could, but that would require me getting my fat ass out of my chair on brew day, or at least leaning over a bit if I sit close enough. Horseshit I say.

So here's my plan. The stir paddle itself is just a 6x9 cutting board that I'll drill a hole in for a 1/4" threaded (because they're cheaper than flat) SS rod. The kettle lid will get drilled through the handle and the rod goes through that, using a set screw collar to keep the height consistent. Also attached to the lid is a small DC motor (geared to about 60 rpm) with a wheel on the motor and matching wheel on the rod (lock washers and nuts to hold it in place). Rather than have the wheels touch I'll probably run a band around them. The whole thing gets powered with a 5V phone charger or a 6V 4 AA battery pack. The whole thing will fit in the diameter of my immersion chiller, and with a couple spacers between the coils wort should move freely. Once the wort is cooled, I can pull the IC and let it stir for a few minutes longer to get all the crap to the center before racking.

This is the point I open myself to praise for my ingenious idea, or an utter shitting upon by my fellow s for bringing forth such a stupid and ultimately doomed concept. Or, hopefully, some constructive criticism pointing out where my plans can be improved. All input is welcome.


Parts:
Cutting Board: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032AM0M6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
SS Rod: http://www.homedepot.com/p/1-4-in-20-x-36-in-Stainless-Steel-Threaded-Rod-48000/100338194?N=12kx#.UXgIE7XvswA or something similar
Set Screw Collar: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Climax-1-4-inch-bore-Zinc-Plated-Mild-Steel-Set-Screw-Collar-C-025/203025014#.UXgUDrXvswA
DC Motor: http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1415.html
Wheels: http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1215.html
Shipping and Tax brings it out to about $35

It might work, but why reinvent the wheel? Look how the pros are doing it & emulate it the best you can. If you do build it, take lots of photos for us to cheer your victory or make fun of your defeat, depending on how it turns out. You can pretty much rest assured you'll get one of the two.

In an ideal world, when the alarm goes off, my system would mill my grain, fire up the HLT, mix the two together, mash, sparge, cool, ferment and bottle without me getting off my fat ass. I applaud your ingenuity, sir!

Dirk McLargeHuge wrote:In an ideal world, when the alarm goes off, my system would mill my grain, fire up the HLT, mix the two together, mash, sparge, cool, ferment and bottle without me getting off my fat ass. I applaud your ingenuity, sir!

What, your system doesn't do that? I thought that was the way we all brewed.

Ozwald wrote:It might work, but why reinvent the wheel? Look how the pros are doing it & emulate it the best you can. If you do build it, take lots of photos for us to cheer your victory or make fun of your defeat, depending on how it turns out. You can pretty much rest assured you'll get one of the two.

The description of the automatic stirrer sounds very similar in concept to the power mash rakes that the pros use.

That said, I'd love to see photos of the final product.

Beer_Baron wrote:

Ozwald wrote:It might work, but why reinvent the wheel? Look how the pros are doing it & emulate it the best you can. If you do build it, take lots of photos for us to cheer your victory or make fun of your defeat, depending on how it turns out. You can pretty much rest assured you'll get one of the two.

The description of the automatic stirrer sounds very similar in concept to the power mash rakes that the pros use.

That said, I'd love to see photos of the final product.

I wasn't aware that the pros were whirlpooling in the MLT It is similar to a mash rake, but that's not what rakes are for & a rake wouldn't whirlpool the liquid anyhow. I would look at fluid dynamics, not manual agitation; that is the final goal anyhow. Like I said though, it might work. Work or not, I'd bet there'd be some good lessons for all of us from the project.

I'm designing a new kettle and plan to use an existing pump to recirculate back into a tangential port for whirlpool. Building this stirrer makes more work for you since you'll have another thing to prep, clean and store. It would most likely work though if you want to pursue it.

dstar26t wrote:I'm designing a new kettle and plan to use an existing pump to recirculate back into a tangential port for whirlpool. Building this stirrer makes more work for you since you'll have another thing to prep, clean and store. It would most likely work though if you want to pursue it.

That's how my system works - through a whirlpool return port/arm. Besides having to prep, clean & store it, it's a more complex design with multiple extra points for potential failure/breakage. In the 2 breweries I worked at the mash rakes break down more often than anything else, considering the amount of time they're used (the pumps are always the thing to go down first, but they're used way more frequently than the rakes). Hence my original point, why reinvent the wheel? But on the other hand, I frequently do projects for the mere sake of doing them. Why? Because you can. This isn't something I'd have any interest in doing, but I'd sure be interested in the build itself & what can be learned from it to apply to other things.