So, I bought a stirplate but not a flask (smart huh?). I was thinking I could just use my 1 gal jugs but they are not flat enough on the bottom. My LHBS only carries1000ml and I cant find anyone in town that has something bigger. Other than wait another week to order one. I was wondering if somebody is using something else that’ll work to get a big starter going.
-J.K.L.
That reminds me… I put a 2L Erlenmeyer on my brand new stir plate and I guess there was too much of a gap, because the widget was NOT turning, no matter what I tried. So I resorted to the “swirl every time you walk by” technique. It worked, but it’s a pain and NOT what I paid for… :-[
O crap… the magnet is in the bottom of my Belgian ale fermenting… must remember to dig that up!
How about a growler? Just don’t put in on the stove! Sorry, you probably knew that.
I didn’t think about a growler. Surely I’ve got 1 lying around somewhere. Still a little small but better than nothing if it works. As far as the putting it on the stove part, yeah I think that might not work out for me ;) This is actually part of the reason I didn’t buy a flask. I dont really need something else I can break. I’ve thought about going with Nalgene but they are expensive. I don’t really need to boil in it. My 2 qt S/S pot works just as good and I don’t worry about it cracking or breaking.
-J.K.L.
a flat-bottomed flower vase
Get a barbell stir bar, that might work. The shape lets it stay in the center of the jug.
at http://stirbars.com/ you can buy any kind of stir bar you want.
Bad thing is the minimum order is I think $50.
They do have “Barbell” bars too.
I use a one gallon glass jug on my homemade stirplate. I use a standard 2" stir bar. The down side is that I can’t boil in the jug but I am in the market for a 5000mL Erlenmeyer flask.
In another thread, Tygo got me to looking around. Best I’ve found so far is…
http://www.store.homebrew4less.com/prodinfo.asp?number=FTY450&variation=
Wow…nice price there.
Thanks for the tip Joe.
That’s a good deal. Better than morebeer unless you’re buying enough other stuff to qualify for the free shipping in which case it’s about the same.
I got mine from university surplus, $15 bucks each. If you have that kind of place near you it’s worth checking out, ours has monthly public sales (the only time I can buy stuff to take home).
Unless you want two. Get two and I’ll never break the first one, get only one and guess what. That’s the way my luck runs. 
I’ve given up on finding anything in town. By now I could’ve almost got one in the mail. My brew partner went to The Container Store yesterday and found a 3000ml glass flip top container with a relatively flat bottom on it. I put some water in it last night and it works but the stir bar looses it place at higher speeds. I’m just gonna order a flask. I need to do a test run on the new system anyway so I’ll just use some US-05 for that. The 10 gal lager will just have to wait a couple more weeks. I’ve decided to get a pump too, so I think I’m just going to get both from Rebel Brewer? 500ml’s are $35 and a March 809 inline is $129. I think shipping for both is around $10. Thanks for the replies guys!!
-J.K.L.
I hear ya. I do have two of them myself for when I split batches and use two different yeasts.
I have a 2L and a 5L flask, and both of these will throw the stir bar if I get the speed up high enough. It’s important to remember that a high spin rate is totally unnecessary. Barely turning around is actually fine. All you are trying to do is keep the liquid circulating.
I thought the goal was to get a vortex started, not a top to bottom one, but one that is at least an inch deep or so. Does a much lower rate of mixing create enough turnover to really boost the oxygen transfer to the starter wort?
Based on my experience, that’s plenty. I get a vortex maybe 1/4-1/2 in. deep and get great yeast growth.
Maybe it depends on the type of stir plate and/or stir bar that you use, but I use a one gallon glass jug on my stirplate no problem.
[quote=“narcout, post:19, topic:5653, username:narcout”]
Maybe it depends on the type of stir plate and/or stir bar that you use, but I use a one gallon glass jug on my stirplate no problem.
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Same here. Although, with a previous plate and bar the same jug didn’t work. I don’t know for a fact, but I think it’s because the stir bar I use no is longer than the previous one.