After posting my DIY Stir Plate for Homebrew Yeast Starters post I was contacted by the folks over at DigitalHomebrew.com in regards to their DIY Magnetic Stirplate Kit. I had one shipped to me so I could check it out and write another documented build post.

While the “kit” I previously used from Thermaltake included many of the parts needed to make a magnetic stir plate, this kit includes everything but the enclosure.

That means, in the bag, you get: computer fan with two rare earth magnets properly centered and fixed to the fan, a potentiometer to control the speed that also serves as an on/off switch, an LED power indication light, a stir bar, and a power supply.

Compared to the Thermaltake kit, all you need to supply for this kit is an enclosure to house the fan/controller and a flask for the starter wort. For the Thermaltake kit, I needed to supply the magnets (and properly center and mount them to ensure effective stirring), an enclosure, a stir bar, and a flask.

What’s in the Bag

I tested it last night on a flask with 1500ml in it and it spins much faster than my previous build. Not that I need that much speed for my size starters, but it’s good to know I can ramp up the speed if/when I make larger starters without throwing the stir bar.

I bought a wooden box from Michaels Crafts that I will use as the enclosure and some #8-32 x 1.5″ machine screws/nuts/washers for mounting the fan in the box. I’ll update this post with a link to the build when I get it done!