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andrewschwab

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So what kind of device are high quantity mead makers using to stir the batches?

Even at barrel size what is used. Then when you get into the 100+ gallons?

Even after years of looking have not really found anything.???
 
be interesting to know.

tho a stirrer is easy enough (electric motor, gearbox and paddles) or simply pump it out and back in like they do with wine.
 
mmclean that website has alot of high quality drum mixers for closed and open containers, need to get a compressor for some of the air powered ones though
 
Pump is your friend

To 'mix' must together, it is a good idea to use a stainless steel centrifugal pump. To 'aerate' must after fermentation begins one of the electric drum mixers will work well. (think large electric drill! Air operated requires huge compressors $$$)

The stainless steel pumps are usually not 'priming' pumps, so you will need to prime the pump with water, or have it hooked up with the outlet from your tank lower than the hieght of the pump (think siphon receiving container needs to be lower than the container with your mead when racking and the same principle applies with this type of pump to get it primed).

A stainless steel centrifugal pump will eat through any honey that isn't properly heated or 'liquified' and they are meant to do this sort of job. Anything less and you run into problems (in my limited experience/opinion)

My batches are 300 gallons or so for mixing honey and water, then combined into the fermentor to 1000 gallons. Patrons Brewlog section has far more detail.
 
There are stainless steel priming pumps that are strong enough to take in viscous fluid like melted honey. But they cost a bit.

Some examples are(from "generally speaking" worse to better):
Impeller pumps (not all of them are stainless, so make sure they are)
Hose pumps (not neccesarily stainless, but don't need to be, because only the hose is in contact with the fluid)
Excenter screw pumps
Lobe pumps
Improved versions of lobe pumps

The wider hoses the better is mostly true, if pumping the honey directly and avoid going too fast if there are options for regulating speed (most priming pumps will need special add-ons for this).

The best way to work though is to actually not pump the honey, but instead pump water into the honey and then take the "sort of mixed honey water" (from the top, into the bottom) and then circulate that back into the honey until almost everything is mixed. Once you come this far you can go the other way (pumping from the bottom, into the top)
 
Call me old fashioned, but we mix up each batch in 55 gallon drums and use a SS mix paddle and drill to mix it up. At first, we found that we went through a set of mixer blades every few weeks. But then we had a local machine shop make us some custom blades out of 1/4" thick HDPE that we bought from US Plastics.

In the new tank we're getting (2500 gallons), there is a very large (read: expensive) mixer mounted to the top of the tank.
 
Brad Dahlhofer said:
Call me old fashioned, but we mix up each batch in 55 gallon drums and use a SS mix paddle and drill to mix it up. At first, we found that we went through a set of mixer blades every few weeks. But then we had a local machine shop make us some custom blades out of 1/4" thick HDPE that we bought from US Plastics.

In the new tank we're getting (2500 gallons), there is a very large (read: expensive) mixer mounted to the top of the tank.
Click to expand...

I watched the video of you guys making the Pineapple Coconut melomel and mixing it with the drill ... made me respect B-Nektar more knowing that you guys dont mind the physical labor and put hard work into making your meads ... oh and by the way I baught a bottle and it was delicious !

Heres the video I watched if anyone was wondering:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYEUK-c4i00
 
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Can you believe we actually produce and bottle 100 cases a week doing it this way?? And we're still using the red Portuguese floor corker with an pair of Enolmatic bottle fillers. Of course we go through a corker a month. Maybe it's time to buy something better. Like a monobloc bottling line. :)

TDMooney said:
I watched the video of you guys making the Pineapple Coconut melomel and mixing it with the drill ... made me respect B-Nektar more knowing that you guys dont mind the physical labor and put hard work into making your meads ... oh and by the way I baught a bottle and it was delicious !

Heres the video I watched if anyone was wondering:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYEUK-c4i00
Click to expand...
 
Brad Dahlhofer said:
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Can you believe we actually produce and bottle 100 cases a week doing it this way?? And we're still using the red Portuguese floor corker with an pair of Enolmatic bottle fillers. Of course we go through a corker a month. Maybe it's time to buy something better. Like a monobloc bottling line. :)
Click to expand...

Just means your truly passionate about what you do and will do whatever it takes to share your meads with people that enjoy them ... even if it means going through a corker a month !
 
It is all about Volume, Brad does 55 gallons at a time, then combines, totally works for him. Think about what volume you want to mix, then adjust for the complications of the volume and the risk involved. IE: you knock over a 55 gallon isn't as bad financially as knocking over the 1k gallon financially, which isn't as bad as knocking over the 2500 gallon financially.

The smaller the size, the less risk, but the more repetition. U pick ur poison ;)
 
IanB said:
It is all about Volume, Brad does 55 gallons at a time, then combines, totally works for him. Think about what volume you want to mix, then adjust for the complications of the volume and the risk involved. IE: you knock over a 55 gallon isn't as bad financially as knocking over the 1k gallon financially, which isn't as bad as knocking over the 2500 gallon financially.

The smaller the size, the less risk, but the more repetition. U pick ur poison ;)
Click to expand...

It also helps if you have the staff to do your mixing for you. ;P
 
IanB said:
It is all about Volume, Brad does 55 gallons at a time, then combines, totally works for him. Think about what volume you want to mix, then adjust for the complications of the volume and the risk involved. IE: you knock over a 55 gallon isn't as bad financially as knocking over the 1k gallon financially, which isn't as bad as knocking over the 2500 gallon financially.

The smaller the size, the less risk, but the more repetition. U pick ur poison ;)
Click to expand...

In respect it takes alot more force to knock over 2500 gallons then 55 gallons
 
i guess i am a bit crazy when it comes to risk

When I talk about risk as it relates to batch size it is it is just a figurative example of knocking the tank over. What I am talking about in reality is contamination of some kind while mixing the batch. Dropping something into the tank by accident, maybe one of your honey buckets has something wrong with it...maybe the tank leaks, maybe a bird flies into your open garage door and caps in your tank.....i could go on and on.......

The point is that there is less risk with smaller batches of mixing. On a side note, staff to help mix would be awesome ;b
 
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