Mix Stir?

Ingredients
1

I’m contemplating ditching my red oxygen tanks for a Mix Stir?  When I searched on this, most of the topics go back a number of years.  I was wondering if people are still using a Mix Stir to aerate their wort.  It does seem like a much simpler method and I cringe every time one of the red tanks goes into the trash knowing it’s headed to the landfill.  Based on threads from years ago, most said they couldn’t notice a difference between the two methods.

The other option would be to upgrade to an oxygen tank that can be exchanged at the same place I purchase my CO2.  Not sure I want to go that route either.

I know, try both methods and see what I think.  I’d rather not spend $25-30 on yet another gadget that winds up on the shelf with all the other “dead” gadgets I have purchased over the years.

2

I use a mix stir, but I can’t compare that to an oxygen tank because I have never had one. It works great for me and I also use it to de-gas mead.

3

I can say exactly the same thing. I already had one for degassing mead when I started brewing beer and I think it works great. It takes a little practice to avoid making the occasional mess but it only takes a few uses to master.

4

Me too. For big beers, I do another mix stir after about 12 hours and often have the lid on loosely for the primary ferment to get enough oxygen into the wort.

5

I have both and only use the mix stir (wine degasser type with four prongs) anymore.  I don’t oxygenate with dry yeast, but give wort a good whip when using liquid yeast.  At one point along the way, I had an issue on a double batch when I didn’t boil the aeration stone between batches and the second batch got an infection.  My fault entirely, but it made me think about keeping it simpler.  Soak the mix stir in sanitizer while chilling the wort and it should be good to go.  A burst of the drill on high speed gets it nice and frothy.  My fermentations typically take off pretty quickly with that process.

6

Pretty sure this was popularized by Denny and I think he still does it.

7

I think I was one of the first to do that, but I no longer do.  Once I started pumping into the fermenter I got plenty of aeration from that.  But the MixStir is a great tool otherwise.

8

I currently pump into a fermenter, and maybe that’s enough.  I think I’ll give the Mix Stir a try and use a belt-and-suspenders approach.

Thanks for the feedback.

9

While a mix stir works, a venturi works better.

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10

Please refresh my memory. Is it just a tube, open on both ends, and the holes bring in air via the Bernoulli effect? If that’s all it is, is there any magic to tube size or the spacing or pattern of the holes?

11

Mark can say for sure, but I understand that you want the holes angled downward and inward to draw in the air in the best way.

12

Having used both, I don’t think I can agree.  If I felt a venturi worked better, I wouldn’t have switched to a MixStir.