Best way to aerate in a carboy

pwizard · Mar 9, 2016

I'm going to start a 1-gallon mini-batch of blueberry mel this weekend. Most of the time, I do my primaries in a bucket, so aerating, feeding, and degassing is easy. However, this time I'll be using a jug and I'm not sure how people normally handle aeration with that kind of setup. Keep in mind I have no fancy pressurized gas/airstone gizmo, so I'll have to keep my methods low-tech.

I've already figured I'll have to sanitize my hydrometer equipment really well before I do gravity readings. I'll pour a bit of must off, measure it, and then pour it back in. I'd get some air into it during the pour, but it would likely be nowhere near enough to make a difference. I'm wondering if it will even be possible to get air into that jug, since during an active primary there is lots of outgassing and CO2 is heavier than air anyway. Should I just do my gravity checks/nutrient schedule and hope for the best? I figure I can degas by simply swirling the carboy. It will only be 2/3 to 3/4 full during primary to avoid overflows during feeding and to keep mead out of the airlock.

loveofrose · Mar 9, 2016

Swirling is all I do for 1 gallon batches. Swirl over the sink without the airlock though...just in case.

I also keep everything in secondary containers. Small to large plastic storage containers work great. Once again...just in case.

I've had too many "doesn't look like its fermenting" turn into "oh shit! It just won't stop!"

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pwizard · Mar 9, 2016

Out of curiosity, how do you aerate larger carboys? I imagine swirling a 3-gal or larger would be difficult, so you probably use one of those lees-stirrer things for degassing.

zpeckler · Mar 9, 2016

Yeah, fermenting in a carboy is annoying. The lees stirrer with the fold-out plastic blades on the end doesn't fit in a carboy. Pretty much using anything mechanical or aerating with a stone/wand/pump has huge potential for s MEA unless you leave a ton of headspace. I much prefer buckets.

Squatchy · Mar 9, 2016

My lees stirrer fits in all my carboys! You must be talking about 1 gallon jugs? My stirrer fits in my 3 through 25 gallon carboys

zpeckler · Mar 9, 2016

Squatchy said:
My lees stirrer fits in all my carboys! You must be talking about 1 gallon jugs? My stirrer fits in my 3 through 25 gallon carboys

Really? I've got this one and it won't even fit through the neck of my 6 gallon carboys.

Squatchy · Mar 9, 2016

Mine is close to that but just enough didn't that it works

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theDREWery · Mar 10, 2016

Got the same mixing rod and it fits in all my carboys. It is a tight squeeze tho, and I usually have to manually push the blades in.

For degassing, I usually tilt the carboy and swirl for several days before the drill comes out... I can still see where I had to mop the ceiling.

Mazer828 · Mar 10, 2016

Take a wire coat hanger, grab it by the hook and the middle of the long straight part and pull until it stretches out completely. Cut off the hook portion with a wire cutter. Stick the twisted portion that used to be the neck of the hanger into the chuck of a cordless drill. Sanitize the wire with a star San spay, and go for it. Just go slow at first to avoid the dreaded MEA.

Stasis · Mar 10, 2016

That's one of the better/simpler budget ideas I heard of Mazer828. At least by the sound of it. I'll give it a try someday

mrngbear · Mar 10, 2016

I made one with a plastic coat hanger...Cut the neck off both sides, straightened with a heat gun, and bent a short 1" 45 degree 'L' on one end. Works great!

I partially flattened the 1"- L, and drilled a couple holes in it.

Farmboyc · Mar 10, 2016

One more question in this line. In a carboy do you have to aerate with a stone? Basically all that the Lee stirrer is doing in the relatively closed environment of a carboy is de-gasing right?

mrngbear · Mar 10, 2016

mrngbear said:
I made one with a plastic coat hanger...Cut the neck off both sides, straightened with a heat gun, and bent a short 1" 45 degree 'L' on one end. Works great!

I partially flattened the 1"- L, and drilled a couple holes in it.

Originally I considered making one from a metal coat hanger, but was concerned, since they are made from steel wire and most have a varnish coating (and if not coated could rust or possibly have some sort of reaction with the must)

EbonHawk · Mar 10, 2016

mrngbear said:
Originally I considered making one from a metal coat hanger, but was concerned, since they are made from steel wire and most have a varnish coating (and if not coated could rust or possibly have some sort of reaction with the must)

Nah, minimal contact time (no time for a reaction), and if you rinse it clean and dry it, it shouldn't be rusting.

djsxxx · Mar 10, 2016

Mazer828 said:
Take a wire coat hanger, grab it by the hook and the middle of the long straight part and pull until it stretches out completely. Cut off the hook portion with a wire cutter. Stick the twisted portion that used to be the neck of the hanger into the chuck of a cordless drill. Sanitize the wire with a star San spay, and go for it. Just go slow at first to avoid the dreaded MEA.

Damn that's genius! Wish I had thought of that before spending £10 on a fancy degasser

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jdranchman · Mar 10, 2016

I only use better bottles so the generally available wine lees SS rod with plastic paddles fits just fine. I did get some 304 SS rod to see if I can fashion something that would work in glass carboys and gallon jugs (my current pressing need). If I can weld up something that works I'll post a pic. The initial design is just a "T" at the bottom or maybe a squished loop so it will cavitate lots when spun in a drill.

mrngbear · Mar 10, 2016

EbonHawk said:
Nah, minimal contact time (no time for a reaction), and if you rinse it clean and dry it, it shouldn't be rusting.

Of course, what was I thinking... and why do I even f***ing bother on this site! I just aint smart nuf to hang here!
no worries though!

cosmiccatastrophe · Mar 10, 2016

Lmfao!!!!!!!!

Squatchy · Mar 11, 2016

So here's one for ya. Home Depot and the like sells thick copper wire used to ground an electrical box outside of the house. In that state it is very bendy. So much so you wouldn't be able to use it far a stir stick. But I will teach how to stiffen it up to become very stiff. Attach one end to a fixed position with vise grips, vise, another person with pliers ect. Attach the other end to a drill. Place it centered in the chuck just like you would a drill bit and tighten it. Now spin it in the drill. The more you spin it up the tighter it will become and thus much stiffer. If you spin it super tight it will almost become as stiff as a steel rod.

Now you can bend it with a t at the end, make a tear dropped loop at the end. You can double it up so the to or loop follows the profile only doubled up, or how ever your heart's desire. 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

EvolvingCaveman · Mar 11, 2016

I have done the copper wire trick and I would like to add that you can throw the copper wire rod in the oven for an hour to sterilize it.

Best way to aerate in a carboy

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