Best way to aerate in a carboy
- Thread starter pwizard
- Start date
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What was that all about?!
Seriously, just get a rust-free coat hanger and like you said, make sure it doesn't have one of those weird varnish type coatings on it that can flake off, and if you have to, you could get a polishing cloth and remove any tarnish and then keep it someplace dry and you shouldn't have any long term issues with it. Just a brief soak in some sanitizing solution ahead of time should be all you need.
What kind of oven temps are we talking about? Like 180~190F, just enough to kill wild critters?
I have been sterilizing bottles at 330 degrees for one hour.
I start with the bottles in a cool oven and let it "cook" for an hour and let it cool in the oven.
The copper will heat up much faster.
I start with the bottles in a cool oven and let it "cook" for an hour and let it cool in the oven.
The copper will heat up much faster.
Or even bleach? I use bleach for bulk-sterilizing because it's cheap and I don't mind rinsing everything. I save the Star-San for quick applications.
Yep. I use a bleach soak for the tuff stuff, everything else gets hot water blast, and a follow up shot of Star San. Done.
You can now us it to stir and it will also help to remove sulphurous smells from your ferment if your yeast were a little bit offended at work
Copper only helps to remove sulfur odors AFTER fermentation is complete. During active fermentation, copper will cause the yeast to produce more H2S. I would not use copper for a stirrer during fermentation.
Bleaching copper can cause it to blacken and corrode, which could leach into your must... Use the Star-San or heat sterilize!
When you heat treat copper is will be more ductile (soft) the drill idea is good. You can work harden the copper when you wind it tight so you get the benifit of it being tight multi strand. Copper also age hardens so if you throw it in a cupboard for a few months it will reverse any effects annealing had on it. Just my 2 cents on the copper wire.
I made my own degaser after seeing I can only buy one locally for like 30 bux. I drilled a hole in a few feet of stainless steel 1/4" round stock and just loosely riveted in 2 fins I cut out of stainless sheet metal. It works like a charm and dose not corrode if taken care of. but I understand not everyone will have the means to make there own like that.
Another option is plastic PVC rod with a few hole drilled in it and some synthetic plastic wire looped threw it.
I made my own degaser after seeing I can only buy one locally for like 30 bux. I drilled a hole in a few feet of stainless steel 1/4" round stock and just loosely riveted in 2 fins I cut out of stainless sheet metal. It works like a charm and dose not corrode if taken care of. but I understand not everyone will have the means to make there own like that.
Another option is plastic PVC rod with a few hole drilled in it and some synthetic plastic wire looped threw it.
I bought a $10 "beverage frother" (you know, for whipping up a latte or something) and it just fits into a 1 gal carboy mouth. But it's rare that I use it, I generally do primary in buckets.
Another solution that one of our other members, Fatbloke, has suggested before, was to pour out some of your must into a sanitized blender/liquidiser, whip the crap out of it and pour it back in.
For my $.02, I wouldn't use a coat hanger because of the varnish. But you can buy stainless steel wire at the hardware store for not a lot and make your own whisk that fits into the carboy...
Another solution that one of our other members, Fatbloke, has suggested before, was to pour out some of your must into a sanitized blender/liquidiser, whip the crap out of it and pour it back in.
For my $.02, I wouldn't use a coat hanger because of the varnish. But you can buy stainless steel wire at the hardware store for not a lot and make your own whisk that fits into the carboy...
I looked at a few metal hangers (we actually had 3 left!) and 2 of them were covered in this flaky varnish stuff that I wouldn't put anywhere near my drinkables. The other one seemed ok, but I just got a plastic "wine whip" in the mail from Amazon. I think I'll just stick to the professional stuff from here on out...just in case.
Ok, really. Yes there are different qualities of hanger. We're talking about a budget solution after all. Let's not get ourselves all worked up.
