I’m new to all grain and in the process of improving the quality of my beer and reducing the duration of my brew day. Currently, I have an aquarium pump with a diffusion stone and oxygenate my wort with air for 30 minutes before I pitch. The pump is similar to this one from Northern Brewer: Oxygenation Kit 2.0
After reading Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff, I learned that I should shoot for 8-10ppm of oxygen and that pure O2 is more efficient than an aquarium pump. So I had a few questions on what I need in assembling my system:
What size O2 tank is best for oxygenating?
Where is the best place to get a tank? Can the tanks be purchased or rented? Which is best?
What’s the best flow meter for the tank?
What size diffusion stone is best for oxygenating wort? Can I use the one from my aquarium pump system?
Should I use a wand or tubing to connect the tank to the stone? I have heard that the wands are difficult to sanitize.
Let me know what you all think. Thanks for your help.
Here is what I have and I love it. I bought it off of Craigslist for $100:
The little number 1 on the left indicates the flow rate which in this setting is 1 liter of O2 per minute. This tank will last me for years and then is only $15 to exchange.
And I use the stainless tube with a stone on the end. Wrestling with a flexible tube is not something I want to do. I have not had an infection. I let it sit in Starsan while I am brewing then as soon as I’m done aerating the wort, back into Starsan it goes.
If you don’t want to buy a tank, you can use the red disposable oxygen tanks which most hardware stores carry. One of the larger red tanks will last me more than a year.
The wands really aren’t difficult to sanitize. You can spray sanitizer down the inside of the wand, and the stone on the end can be boiled.
Looks like I will just need to pick up a tank somewhere. What do you think? Also, I’m assuming that I should be cleaning and sanitizing both the barb and the vinyl hose that connects to the wand?