9 replies to this topic

[vindee]

Here are some photos of my magnetic stirrers I have made. They run on a 9V battery with an power jack for 12V when the battery dies and you need it right now.
Steve

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[Hammered]

Tell us more!

What's the motor/spinner assembly and the magnet? Did you build the case or was it something stocked somewhere? And the spinner you use inside the beaker?

[vindee]

Hello Steve,
The motor is a 12vdc fan mounted on four plastic standoffs so I didn't have to drill through the case for mounting screws. The case is a 3" X 5" electronics enclosure from DigiKey.com
The magnet on the motor came out of a hard drive, centered so as not to vibrate, and held under it's own power and a dab of glue. The speed pot is a 1w 100ohm potentiometer with a 1/8" shaft and an aluminum knob. On/Off switch is a SPDT toggle maintained in the up position, off in the middle, and momentary (jog) in the down position. I threw in an ultra bright blue LED just for looks. I also added a 12v power jack so if the battery dies, (at a critical time), you can plug in a 12vdc wall transformer.
I have made several stir bars. One is a steel roll pin about 1/2" long. Another, I cut a 10-32 screw just above the threads and cut the head off and slipped on a rubber o-ring to the middle so when it spins, it spins on the o-ring, not the screw it's self. Very quiet that way. I just made another one today, and this one I dipped into liquid electrical tape along with an o-ring, which evenly coated the whole thing very nicely. I will try it out tonight to see if it works.
Weight, length, diameter and distance from magnet all play a roll in how well the stir bar spins.
BTW, hows the Sangio coming? You mentioned you were doing free-run and press-run separately. I would like to know how that comes out, as I will be doing the same this year.
Cheers
Steve P.

[Hammered]

Hello Steve,
The motor is a 12vdc fan mounted on four plastic standoffs so I didn't have to drill through the case for mounting screws. The case is a 3" X 5" electronics enclosure from DigiKey.com
The magnet on the motor came out of a hard drive, centered so not to vibrate, and held under it's own power and a dab of glue. The speed pot is a 1w 100ohm potentiometer with a 1 /8" shaft and an aluminum knob. On/Off switch is a SPDT toggle maintained in the up position, off in the middle, and momentary (jog) in the down position. I threw in an ultra bright blue LED just for looks. I also added a 12v power jack so if the battery dies, (at a critical time), you can plug in a 12vdc wall transformer.
I have made several stir bars. One is a steel roll pin about 1/2" long. Another, I cut a 10-32 screw just above the threads and cut the head off and slipped on a rubber o-ring to the middle so when it spins, it spins on the o-ring, not the screw it's self. Very quiet that way. I just made another one today, and this one I dipped into liquid electrical tape along with an o-ring, which evenly coated the whole thing very nicely. I will try it out tonight to see if it works.
Weight, length, diameter and distance from magnet all play a roll in how well the stir bar spins.
BTW, hows the Sangio coming? You mentioned you were doing free-run and press-run separately. I would like to know how that comes out, as I will be doing the same this year.
Cheers
Steve P.

Sounds cool, but a little beyond my electrical comprehension . You lost me with "potentiometer". I could wire a house, but DC is out of my realm of experience except for Physics 102 in college and running speaker wires. Tell you what, I'll trade you one of my bottle trees for one of your magnetic stirrers.

Sangio, and all the rest of the 2008's and one 2007 is slated to be blended, bottle-cleaned, sparged, bottled, corked, capped, labeled and cellared tomorrow. The bottles are almost all delabeled and ready to go. This will be another challenge of all the homemade contraptions, but knock on wood and we'll see about 30 cases of wine put to bed by day's end.

[vindee]

Sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you.
I plan to keep my barrel full until it gets a little closer to this years wine to replace it. And I only have 2 cases left to bottle cork cap and label, not 30. Yew!
I will have to think about your trade proposition. I would be interested in some day trading a bottle of my Sangio for one of yours. Or maybe last years Syrah. I will have to let the Syrah sit a bit longer, as it still tastes a little young. If it dosn't come around like I want it to, it might have to be 3 of my bottles for 1 of yours, just to keep things fare.
Steve P.

[WVMountaineerJack]

THats very cool, you even put a little light on it, very professional looking and you can use it anywhere. Crackedcork

[PaintingWino]

How much?

[deb_rn]

OK... so here's a stupid question...

WHAT are you stirring?

Debbie

[Purple Grin Winery]

WHAT are you stirring?

Samples in the lab during titration.

BEAUTIFUL. Don't know if your looking for a project, but you could sell them! Here and eBay.

[vindee]

Samples in the lab during titration.

BEAUTIFUL. Don't know if your looking for a project, but you could sell them! Here and eBay.

Sounds like it could be a worth while proposition. Are you up to being my marketing manager?
I have an outfit here in town that can do printing on the front panel to give it a more professional look. Also worth considering.
I'm thinking of building another one with a case that has a removable battery compartment for easy battery changes, so you don't have to open the case.
I'm also trying to come up with a thin rubber adhesive pad for the flask or beaker to sit on. The surface is a little slick when you set glass on it.
Steve P.