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DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:41 pm
by sleepyjamie
Some of you might have seen this before.
I'm not sure if we have a HOWTO section on this forum where we can sticky these good findings.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/diy ... llars.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:24 am
by Graham.C
Seems basically what I did with mine, only I put in a switch, rheostat and used a 12V charger. I would like to slow it down even more since it tosses my stir bar around sometimes (especially the big one). I'm going to wire in another resistor before the rheostat, just haven't figured out what size.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:14 am
by RubberToe
Here's the one I built this week.
DIY Stir Plate by
Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 1:41 pm
by Jayme
Just posted this to the classifieds section if anyone is interested:
http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... f=6&t=3405
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:38 pm
by Broob
Reviving an old thread. In the process of building a stir plate. Had a hat time locating a potentiometer. Tried a rheostat on a light dimmer but the 120v dimmer was too much for the 12v power supply. I picked up a potentiometer from Jentronics in Burnside for $12. A little more than I was hoping. Connected the wiring all together and works well, just have to find a housing. Was going to use the power supply box from a PC but it messed up the magnet. Based on what I've seen you could basically use anything else. I like the Tupperware idea in the previous post.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:22 pm
by LeafMan66_67
Got mine from eBay for $1.50, free shipping. For a case, I used a $2 dollar store wooden tea box with plexi cover.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:26 pm
by chalmers
Me too, something like this:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Computer-CPU-3-P ... 742&_uhb=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:40 pm
by Broob
Damn, the one time I didn't ask first! Oh well, support a local business I guess.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:23 am
by Broob
IMG_1431.jpg
IMG_1430.jpg
IMG_1432.jpg
Here's the final build, seems to work well and is fairly sturdy. Not pretty on the inside.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:33 am
by LeafMan66_67
Looks good! Main thing is that it is functional. I probably have a knob that fits the potentiometer if you are around the Halifax / Dartmouth / Lower Sackville area.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:02 am
by CorneliusAlphonse
my physics is failing me... i was thinking about putting a second magnet on my fan, to make it a little less off-balance, and to increase the strength of the magnet (and hopefully not chuck bigger stir bars). would placing two magnets as illustrated below increase the strength of the field? it will be difficult to glue the second one, as the field from the first magnet will try to flip it around before the glue hardens.
stir plate.png
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 6:39 pm
by RubberToe
Mine's like this, seems to work well.
uploadfromtaptalk1400967538627.jpg
Sent from the brew timer.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 9:55 pm
by chalmers
I have no idea what this is.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:11 pm
by LeafMan66_67
Looks like 4 rare earth magnets under plexiglass or lexan, 2 north and 2 south
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:53 pm
by RubberToe
Yup. Mounted to a washer which is mounted to the fan. That case is a shitty plastic container.
I spaced the magnets acording to my stir bar.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 11:10 pm
by CorneliusAlphonse
I glued the left magnet from my diagram to my fan already. But gorilla glue didn't stick. So now I am free to do anything. Anyone have any glue that will stick a magnet to plastic??
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 10:32 pm
by Ladd
CorneliusAlphonse wrote: Anyone have any glue that will stick a magnet to plastic??
Hot glue from a glue gun worked well for me. Love that stuff!

Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:54 am
by Scott T
I made one for a friend with this
http://www.amazon.ca/Thermaltake-A1888- ... B00080G0BK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and a cigar box. I paid maybe $15 for the fan, the cigar box was free and total build with magnets from lee valley was less than $25. I found the fan runs a bit too high with the fan speed control knob and found it runs slower and better with it disconected. I used the usb wall jack from an old phone charger and it's been working perfectly for over a year now. Cheap, easy to build.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:06 pm
by jacinthebox
Here's mine...old box from a cuba trip...Frankenstein'd parts from dave...just need a better rheostat. ..this one is too sensitive. ..need a 100ohm not the 25 thats in it.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:19 pm
by Celiacbrew
jacinthebox wrote:Here's mine...old box from a cuba trip...Frankenstein'd parts from dave...just need a better rheostat. ..this one is too sensitive. ..need a 100ohm not the 25 thats in it.
Do you have any pictures of how you wired it up inside?
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:45 pm
by jacinthebox
Vortex and guts..
It spins too fast...throws the bar
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:50 pm
by Celiacbrew
jacinthebox wrote:Vortex and guts..
It spins too fast...throws the bar
Is that a muffin fan? If it is I have the same problem as you. I have a slider style dimmer that I plug it into and there is just one spot that works. Any less and it eventually stops and any more power and it will throw the bar. The vortex doesn't seem to hurt the yeast but I wish I could get it to spin slower. Let me know of the new rheostat works for you.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:20 pm
by jacinthebox
Eric is checking with a supplier in dartmouth. ..ill report back
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:27 pm
by RubberToe
I have to get off my rear and build another one of these.
Re: DIY stir plate
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:59 pm
by Keith
RubberToe wrote:I have to get off my rear and build another one of these.
May as well make it 2.
