Brace yourselves for another @TETB invention...
Amaze your family and friends....!!
Save a few quid.... (possibly)
I use a cheapo aquarium air pump to aerate my wort sometimes; and last night I was reading a post by Martin Brungard about how he uses an air pump to keep the air-space above his stirred starter refreshed with fresh oxygen.
That sounds sensible, I thought, but if I'm going to be pumping air into my starter I want to make sure it's free from airborne bacteria and spores.
Step 1: get a small, cheap plastic box - I had some of these kicking around, but any small plastic clip-top box with a reasonably airtight lid would do
Step 2: Drill holes in the ends, marginally smaller than your air tubing (in my case, 5.5mm drill)
Step 3: stuff the air tube through then force some slightly larger tube into the inside end to stop it pulling back out. I used bits of 5/16" beer line:
Step 4: Seal up the joins with hot glue:
Step 5: stuff the inside with wadded-up cotton wool pads or face masks (I'm guessing you have a pack or two of those around). Make sure it's nice and full with no air-gaps.
.
Step 6: screw the lid on and check the airflow (incidentally, I won't normally have the end of the tube actually in the starter)
Ehh Vwallah :-)
Amaze your family and friends....!!
Save a few quid.... (possibly)
I use a cheapo aquarium air pump to aerate my wort sometimes; and last night I was reading a post by Martin Brungard about how he uses an air pump to keep the air-space above his stirred starter refreshed with fresh oxygen.
That sounds sensible, I thought, but if I'm going to be pumping air into my starter I want to make sure it's free from airborne bacteria and spores.
Step 1: get a small, cheap plastic box - I had some of these kicking around, but any small plastic clip-top box with a reasonably airtight lid would do
Step 2: Drill holes in the ends, marginally smaller than your air tubing (in my case, 5.5mm drill)
Step 3: stuff the air tube through then force some slightly larger tube into the inside end to stop it pulling back out. I used bits of 5/16" beer line:
Step 4: Seal up the joins with hot glue:
Step 5: stuff the inside with wadded-up cotton wool pads or face masks (I'm guessing you have a pack or two of those around). Make sure it's nice and full with no air-gaps.
Step 6: screw the lid on and check the airflow (incidentally, I won't normally have the end of the tube actually in the starter)
Ehh Vwallah :-)
