Stir Plate

[blisster]

Finally got around to getting my stir plate done.

Nothing fancy but works great.

I might have to look for another box though, I'm not sure how much I would trust my electrical masterpiece inside a very flammable cigar box overnight 

[Jake]

Right on man; I do like the choice of box. Very cool.

[brew]

Hard to beat the Montecristo!

[blisster]

Hard to beat the Montecristo!

Indeed... My short list of go-to cigars has mostly MontreCristo's on it.

I'm hoping the yeast I cultivate from this stir plate gives a little bit of a MonteCristo profile 

[blisster]

I was always nervous of leaving this box plugged in while away... It wouldn't take much heat to set that old cigar box on fire, especially with a fan blowing air inside.

I rigged up a new one for peace of mind:

[robcoombs]

Great job @blisster! You should sell these. I'm sure a number of guys in the club would buy them. I'd certainly pay for one.

[Two Wheeler]

Looks great! What are those risers?

[blisster]

Looks great! What are those risers?

Thanks.. The black spots on top?  They are rubber stickers that go under desktop computers, haha

Rob, I'd happily help anyone make one.. It wouldn't be worth the time and effort to sell them though. This cost about $25 in total (pvc box was most of it) and about 2-3 beers in time.  For $80 or so you can get a new stir plate online.

[nagirroc]

Looks great! What are those risers?

Thanks.. The black spots on top?  They are rubber stickers that go under desktop computers, haha

Rob, I'd happily help anyone make one.. It wouldn't be worth the time and effort to sell them though. This cost about $25 in total (pvc box was most of it) and about 2-3 beers in time.  For $80 or so you can get a new stir plate online.

Old post but I have a question. I tried to make one of these but I was popping the power source (cell phone charger). I suspected the rheostat. Anything special about the rheostat or power supply you chose?

[blisster]

Hard to say.. Could be a defective rehostat but I'm guessing it (or the fan) needs too much power for what the adapter  can handle?

What is the DC out on your ac adapter? I've used DC9V and DC12V.

[Roger]

I think you'll want to make sure the output rating on the power source is similar to the draw from the components. I use power sources from old charges like from Black and Decker cordless drills and stuff like that. I've never used a cell phone charger so maybe it's just not up to the task.

[feldmann]

I've been using a cell phone charger for years, most of the builds I read online used them. Mine says Input 110-240V, Output 5.0-5.4V on the back. I'm pretty sure I have a 25 ohm rheostat.

[nagirroc]

The two I have scraped were 12v 1amp and 5v 1amp. The fan is 12v .6amp. I do not remember what the rheostat was.

Do you have any other electronics in line or just a rheostat? What rating rheostat did you use?

[mikegraham]

where can i get a rheostat local?? i have everything to make a stir plate accept that.

[blisster]

Do you have any other electronics in line or just a rheostat? What rating rheostat did you use?

Just the on/off switch... I've built 4-5 stir plates so far and have alway used 12V computer fan speed controllers for a rheostat similar to this:
http://www.dx.com/p/pc-cpu-cooling-fan-speed-controller-front-bay-mount-5986#.VvUreUWEqnM

where can i get a rheostat local?? i have everything to make a stir plate accept that.

Best bet would be dx.com or ebay (if you aren't in a hurry) but local computer shops may have fan speed controllers. Radio Shack used to carry rheostats back in the day, The Source might still but doubt it?

I may have an extra one on hand, I'll check when I get back.

I no longer use the cigar box stir plate if one of you want it ... I wouldn't leave it running unattended but it works fine.. Or you can just strip the parts out of it and build another. Would look to get $20 for it (that's what I have in it).