Aeration!

[maxashton]

Hi folks.

Apparently shaking for aeration doesn't cut the mustard.

I have a shower head that does the bubbly water stream stuff. Do you reckon that would suffice?

(I watched my blue peter, me.)



Max

[Hoppkins]

How much liquid are you talking?

I vigoursly shake my demi johns to aerate and it does the job, the fermentation starts faster than not shaking.

I think if you are going to use oxygen to aerate you need a "Air Stone" for an aquarium and an oxygen bottle.

Nne of the other guys can give you a better description im sure. I would be careful putting a shower head in beer as it may have parts which are hard to sanitise or may taint the beer.

[tubby_shaw]

Does said shower head just pump air then ?
If so is it sterile air ?
If not then I would avoid it
Or does it mix air and water as the water flows through ?
I would have thought that sanitising could be a pain as well

[Hoppkins]

People on this forum regularly use power drills to aerate by attaching a spoon or something to the end. If your using a demi john then i guess the neck would be too narrow. Perhaps a bottle brush (sterilised) on the end would work?

[maxashton]

Well, i just thought since i will be topping off with mains water anyway, it wouldn't be too much of an issue. A shower head is unlikely to be more or less contaminated than the mains water it's pumping.

I'm only using a plakky fermenter bucket, but a carboy is on the cards. I was looking at a better bottle.

Where do i get an oxy tank? I've seen little tiny ones for sale at raver shops and such (which i find horrific, considering how dangerous oxygen is.), but nothing with a standard attachment i could use for an airstone.

[maxashton]

Er, also, i meant the shower head for topping up the fermentor, rather than just for pumping air through.
I figured the shower head would provide good aeration for the wort.

[Frothy]

Agitating the wort when you dump it into the fermentor is a good idea (as long as it's cold) you could just drop is from a height or tip it back and forth.

Airstones are great if you've got a narrow necked fermentor and cant fit in a whisk or paddle to do it by hand, see here-> http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2964

Frothy

[mysterio]

I use an aeration stone and aquarium pump with a filter and blast it until the froth is up to the brim of the fermenter (20-30 mins or so). Then I wait until the foam has died down then usually give it another blast. This is more-so with liquid yeast which tends to be much more oxygen hungry in my experience, dry yeast seems to be more forgiving.