18 replies to this topic

[DubbelEntendre]

I just made a barley wine and not having brewed recently I had to build up one heck of a starter. This got me thinking about making a stir plate again, and I think I'm ready to tackle this project.I need some help though, in the form of good ideas.I was thinking of getting a small computer fan like this:https://www.radiosha...amp;tab=summaryand gluing some rare earth magnets on it.The problem is, I don't know how to power the fan once I get to this point.

[matt6150]

I have made a few using a old cell phone charger adapter for the power.

[Darterboy]

A world of information at your fingertips!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Great Timing on this posting and link to a Google search. I am tossing around the idea of building a stir plate myself too. I am excited about it too.

[cbbrown40]

I have made a few using a old cell phone charger adapter for the power.

I have made several the same way. Always used hard drive magnets glued to the fan

[djinkc]

Guess I got lucky, an old wall wort and the rheostat never gets used except at full bore. HD magnets and a 1 1/8" stirbar in a Big Lots glass vase. Works like a champ here....I did put in a toggle switch and LED because all the cool kids do it.......And still haven't put a knob on the POT because I forgot to get one...

Edited by dj in kc, 14 April 2009 - 06:02 PM.

[zymot]

There are many paths to success on this project. Here is how I got my stirplate up and running.One of the great topics of debate is the best way to vary the speed of your fan. If you have a modicum of basic electronics and can operate a soldering iron, this is a path to success.Download large version of above here.Here is a link to that other board with information on rheostat speed controls.And some more discussion.zymot

[LBG Bill]

Here's some pics of my DYI stir plate I made back in 2007.Details are at the LBG site.Stir Plate on LBG

[Cliff Claven]

Zymots's version is the one I used.

[Stout_fan]

Nice documentation Zymot!

[DubbelEntendre]

I went with this setup:https://davidtrumbel.../StirPlate.htmlI'm waiting on my magnets and stir bars, but I wired up the fan last night.If I wasn't so impatient I would probably have used the sweet zymot setup.

[zymot]

The only thing it has to do is stir your starter.If you get it to do that, you are gold.Then go brew good beer.zymot

[DubbelEntendre]

Everything went smoothly until I tried to stir something. The stir bar doesn't catch and kind of chases the fan as opposed to rotating nicely in the center. What are some troubleshooting options?I'm using these magnets:58605K37Ultra-High-Pull Neodymium Disc Magnet 1/2" Diameter, 1/4" Thick, 7.0 Pull lbs

[DubbelEntendre]

:)I glued the magnets to the fan facing North North - it worked a whole lot better when they were arranged North South

[DubbelEntendre]

Now I'm one of the cool kids:

[ColdAssHonky]

I just found a source for free, busted hard drives and working case fans on freecycle. I think I'll try and cobble as much of this project together from free stuff as I can.

[CaptRon]

I wired mine up last night, and I plug it in and the fan isn't spinning. I think I might have the negative leads from the power source going through the swich/rheostat. Unfortunately there isn't any identifying marks on the leads to see which one is positive and which is negative. So I guess that means I am going to have to re-wire the darn thing.

[zymot]

I wired mine up last night, and I plug it in and the fan isn't spinning. I think I might have the negative leads from the power source going through the swich/rheostat. Unfortunately there isn't any identifying marks on the leads to see which one is positive and which is negative. So I guess that means I am going to have to re-wire the darn thing.

Take a hunk of bare wire and short all three terminal of you rheostat.Take another hunk of wire and short out the terminals of your switch If it still does not work, swap the + and - terminals on the fan.If it still doesn't work, go over to the board of green and read my notes on rheostat wiring.zymot

[DubbelEntendre]

I went with this setup:https://davidtrumbel.../StirPlate.html

Burnt out the rheostat from this build tonight. Used Zymot's wiring diagram. 10 bucks at Radio Shack and a couple hours later, the stir plate is back up and running MUCH better than before. The pot doesn't even approach warm and I have a much higher gradient to play with for stirring speeds. Thanks for the great documentation and your work in developing this Zymot.