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Author Topic: Inline Aeration  (Read 3526 times)

Offline In The Sand

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Inline Aeration
« on: June 10, 2013, 12:39:44 pm »
I've recently made some upgrades in equipment.  Bought a Chugger SS pump and a Blichmann Therminator plate chiller.  I'm now looking into oxygenation choices, so I have a shorter lag time to drink.  I've was looking at this one and am curious as to its application and efficiency/ease-of-use.  I plan on chilling prior to aerating.  Should I pump the wort through the plate chiller at a low flow rate so I don't get backflow into the O2 line?  Also, is the 2-micron stone sufficient, or does anyone else have suggestions on a different inline system around the same price?

(BTW I know there are lots of threads on aeration, but I couldn't find something along these lines)

Thanks in advance.
Trey W.

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Inline Aeration
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2013, 01:08:36 pm »
I can't tell you much about it, but it should be easy to add a check-valve on the O2 line to prevent backflow. Then you can chill as fast as you want.
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Offline dak0415

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Re: Inline Aeration
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2013, 01:36:08 pm »
I believe that the aeration stone is placed AFTER the chiller as it is going into the fermenter so there would be very little back-pressure at that point.  Put a little pressure on the O2 line before you start and you will prevent backflow.
Dave Koenig
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Offline In The Sand

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Re: Inline Aeration
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2013, 02:01:19 pm »
I believe that the aeration stone is placed AFTER the chiller as it is going into the fermenter so there would be very little back-pressure at that point.  Put a little pressure on the O2 line before you start and you will prevent backflow.

I'm sure the backflow would be minimal, but according to the instructions you are to run off half the wort before starting the O2.

And a check valve may do the trick.  Thanks Jimmy.
Trey W.

Offline In The Sand

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Re: Inline Aeration
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2013, 02:37:20 pm »
Also, what should I oxygenate with?  Just ambient air using a pump, or pure "food grade" O2?  I read some posts about potential for over-oxygenating with straight O2, but apparently you can't with air mixture.
Trey W.

Offline jjflash

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Re: Inline Aeration
« Reply #5 on: June 16, 2013, 04:02:20 pm »
Been using that same Beer3 inline system for years.  Works great. Use mine with oxygen, tho an air pump would surely be fine also.  Plumb into your system so it is the last before the fermentor.  You will never over oxygenate the wort with O2. Limited to maximum wort saturation and prompt desaturation. Over oxygenation is only an issue with yeast propagation using O2, and even then only with yeast repitch. Aerate / oxygenate the wort all you want.
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Offline mabrungard

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Re: Inline Aeration
« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2013, 04:31:43 pm »
I run an in-line oxygenation system. I place it after the chiller so that the oxygen solubility and uptake is higher.  There is no way that you could ever get any sort of back flow of wort into the oxygen system when the regulator is cracked open because the pump can only supply a few feet of head.  Remember that 1 psi is about 2.3 ft of water column (head).  After you've pumped through the chiller, you've probably only got 5 or 6 feet of head loss to get into the fermenter (assuming the fermenter is at the same level as the pump).  That means the oxygen system only needs to provide 2 or 3 psi to overcome the head in the tubing. 

A check valve would be nice.  But considering that system would quickly reach pneumatic-lock (like hydraulic-lock) if the wort backflowed into the oxygen line, that wort isn't going to go far.  Its just not a reality for my system. 

I have about 20 ft of tubing after the airstone, so the oxygen has a decent amount of time to dissolve in the wort.  I only trickle the oxygen into the wort...enough so that I can actually see that there is a bit of foam streaming in the tubing during the wort transfer.  I probably get 15 to 20 5-gal batches with the typical little red bottle.  It would be nice if the little red bottles were food-grade, but there probably isn't much else in that oxygen.  I suppose there could be some other gases, but not much else.
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