Oxygen Injection ....worth it?

Wondering if the little do-hickey that injects oxygen into the wort is worth the cost? I just brewed up a batch of stout and simply rocked the plastic pail around for about a minute or 2. The fermentation started overnight and has continued for four days with no problems. 50 bucks seems like a bit much, just wondering if this is something I really need.

Yes it is worth it. but some people just use a stir stick with good results.

Both are much better than “rocking” a carboy.

I’ve had good success with “shaking a carboy like it owes me money” but my back tends to disagree with that method.

I’m not comfortable having a tank of pure oxygen around. I aerate with the mix stir and have had good results with no back pain.

What I’ve read on forums and books tells me there are multiple ways to aerate the wort, shaking, rocking, pouring back and forth and actual oxygen injection. The first batch I did I used the pour back and forth between brew kettle and fermentor, but I really don’t like that method because I’m worried about exposing the cooled wort to bacteria. That did work though. I guess I’ll just bite the bullet and spend the 50 bucks for the oxygenator. I’m thinking someday if I’m doing 10 gal batches in a large conical fermentor I will need that anyhow?

As long as you don’t take a long time at it or are doing it in a dirty environment (lots of airborne dust, ect), there is little danger of contamination from pouring the wort back and forth. I’ve used this method more than any other over ten years of brewing, and I’ve never had a batch contaminated because of it.

That said, I got to get me a mix-stir. It just makes more sense.

Oxygen injection is new and neat, but has no real advantage over shake and swirl. It may put more oxygen into the wort, but has no advantage. A few great beers were made before some started selling the idea.

I sit on a chair while aerating my carboys. No back aches.

I’ve always made good beer, but now I think I make great beer. Partly due to getting O2.

Happy yeast, damn great beer.

I almost feel like all re-brewing the batches I thought were good in the past to see how good they can really be.

If you’ve got a bit of cash, why not make the best beer possible??

I bought an O2 set up several years ago and am happy I did. O2 levels where they should be in 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. No muss, no fuss, just happy healthy yeast.

Oxygen injection is new and neat, but has no real advantage over shake and swirl. It may put more oxygen into the wort, but has no advantage. A few great beers were made before some started selling the idea.

I sit on a chair while aerating my carboys. No back aches.[/quote]

Not quite, O2 has been injected into wort for over a century in professional brew houses throughout the world. When using liquid slurries it is imperative that the yeast has access to high levels of O2 to rebuild sterols/lipids/reserves when first starting towards a healthy anaerobic ferment. Because when any liquid yeast is first pitched the cells are sterol deficient and will produce sickly or sluggish ferments if plenty of O2 is not present for the aerobic stage.

I cannot remember some of the recent figures but if memory serves shaking a carboy will get part of the job done because you can create up to 5%+/- saturation. Whereas with pure O2 you are getting upwards of 10% which is close to the most you can ever saturate wort. Why this is important if you can try to get closer is because during studies it has been shown that in either case (5% or 10% saturated worts) the post aerobic but pre-anaerobic ferment worts had no remaining O2 in saturation as the yeast had utilized every bit of O2.
What this means is that most of the yeast will be healthy/ sterol replete and bud correctly even with 5% wort, But the remaining 20-40% of the yeast could have build more reserves with a fully saturated wort and then you are left with a fully functioning team instead of leaving fractions of yeast still sterol deficient and perhaps creating petite mutants also.

I say LHBS are just providing the needed gear to follow this practice observed in the pro world, which you can put together elsewhere for cheaper also. They are not really concerned about selling the idea. They bring it to you yes, but the choice is yours as too what works for you. So my vote is for using a O2 injection system if you have the wherewithall.

I’ve never heard this one before. What’s your concern?

For those who think there’s no advantage to using O2, I suggest reading the book that Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff wrote on yeast. A more credible resource than a bunch of strangers on the Internet (including myself in that, of course). Heck, even if you believe in the benefits of O2 already, the book is still very much worth reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... ords=yeast

From my experience, good aeration results in a better fermentation than poor aeration (pour back-and-forth vs. almost nothing), but not a lot better. Where it really makes a difference is if you are planning to reuse the yeast for a future batch. Seems like the little guys can get the job done without aeration, but they are exhausted by the end of it and won’t be up to as strong an effort as they need to perform well in a repitch. Have never tried O2 injection, but I suspect the same trend would hold.

I’ve never heard this one before. What’s your concern?

For those who think there’s no advantage to using O2, I suggest reading the book that Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff wrote on yeast. A more credible resource than a bunch of strangers on the Internet (including myself in that, of course). Heck, even if you believe in the benefits of O2 already, the book is still very much worth reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... ords=yeast[/quote]

I think a lot of people are not comfortable with the idea of a tank of pure oxygen laying around because of the idea that it is flammable and going to explode and blow your house to smithereens!

This of course is not true. In fact oxygen by itself is not flammable, but it is one hell of an oxidizer! It seems like every time I turn around I find somebody telling me that oxygen is a flammable gas (which it isn’t) and is dangerous to have around, and in some regards it is, but mostly not.

The only real important factor that oxygen plays in a fire is… well… the oxygen part. In and of itself it has no flammability although it will make any current fire react more aggressively as more oxygen in introduced.

In a brewing application you would be working with such small amounts in an area where you’ll likely have decent enough ventilation that you’ll never have a problem.

The only real worry you have is if your house catches fire, the fire gets close enough to your oxygen tank to heat it to the point of failure (which is a standard s%@tload) and it causes a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) which would in fact blow your house to smithereens as well as anyone in it. But not because of the oxygen but because of that propane tank sitting next to it that you use for your burner.

WOW!!! What a bunch of smart folks. Thanks for all the great replies. I think also if I ever brew a high gravity beer I will really need it as well.

[quote=“muddywater_grant”]Yes it is worth it. but some people just use a stir stick with good results.

Both are much better than “rocking” a carboy.[/quote]

Look at the data and make a decision for yourself. There is a lot of BS around on forums
A mix stir is almost the same price as an 02 setup, minus the 6 bucks to replace tanks.

I use an 02 setup because, I saw a vast improvement in my beers and it is much easier.

If you are planning to do lagers or high gravity beers, O2 is definitely a necessity for success, I think. For most normal gravity ales, a mix stir or shaking for a few minutes in conjunction with pitching a lot of yeast is sufficient.

I have the wand from William’s Brewing. Love it.

I’ve never heard this one before. What’s your concern?

For those who think there’s no advantage to using O2, I suggest reading the book that Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff wrote on yeast. A more credible resource than a bunch of strangers on the Internet (including myself in that, of course). Heck, even if you believe in the benefits of O2 already, the book is still very much worth reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... ords=yeast[/quote]

Not that I surround my carboy in lit candles before I aerate my wort or anything but I’d rather not have it sitting around especially since I seem to be getting good aeration with just the mix stir.

I’ve never heard this one before. What’s your concern?

For those who think there’s no advantage to using O2, I suggest reading the book that Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff wrote on yeast. A more credible resource than a bunch of strangers on the Internet (including myself in that, of course). Heck, even if you believe in the benefits of O2 already, the book is still very much worth reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... ords=yeast[/quote]

Not that I surround my carboy in lit candles before I aerate my wort or anything but I’d rather not have it sitting around especially since I seem to be getting good aeration with just the mix stir.[/quote]

but your fine with propane just sitting around? Or your co2 tank or anything else compressed

According to Wyeast, shaking is the carboy for 45 seconds is suitable for most beers.

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=100941

The video mentions a 5 minute oxygen stone time is required, and then says 1 minute. A bit confusing.

I shake the carboy for over a minute and have had good results, quick fermentations, and good tasting beers…

For me, using a stone would require a bit more work and effort and increase the chance of contamination.

According to Wyeast, shaking is the carboy for 45 seconds is suitable for most beers.

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=100941

The video mentions a 5 minute oxygen stone time is required, and then says 1 minute. A bit confusing.

I shake the carboy for over a minute and have had good results, quick fermentations, and good tasting beers…

For me, using a stone would require a bit more work and effort and increase the chance of contamination.[/quote]

The 5 minute reference is with regard to use of an aquariam pump, 1 minute for O2.