DIY Stir Plate

[BernardSmith]

I'm guessing you are going to cut the top of so you can put a backing nut and washer on the spigot?

Arghhhh!!! I never thought about how I was going to attach the washer and nut... Thank you for that intervention... Just saved me about $30 or thereabouts..

 

[Ants_Elixirs]

Arghhhh!!! I never thought about how I was going to attach the washer and nut... Thank you for that intervention... Just saved me about $30 or thereabouts..

Lol one of those V8 moments. Good luck!

 

[sour_grapes]

I assumed it was a Big-mouth Bubbler. That is still a possibility.

 

[BernardSmith]

Better Bottle... but it may be possible to insert a spigot although this will take some thinking. BB use a tube to insert their racking adapter (spigot) and although it is configured differently from a standard spigot - their spigot costs as much as the carboy - it may be possible to rig a contraption to locate the washer and nut against the drilled portal and to locate it in such a way that I can prevent it from spinning and so insert the spigot into the nut and washer rather than insert the washer and nut onto the spigot... If I can come up with some device that will hold the nut in a fixed position and which will allow me to guide that nut to the port... hmmmm... a plastic spring loaded "clamp" that I can attach to a rigid PVC tube might hold the nut enough to enable me to screw in the spigot and if I Jerry-rig a line attached to a small piece of wood that I can use to pull the nut and washer against the wall of the carboy then I may be able to screw the spigot in tightly enough to form a good seal..(the idea being to pull the washer nut onto the wall rather than push them) .. Will need to test this idea using a cheap plastic container before I start drilling a hole in my BB.
Won't be able to move forward on this project until Sunday night...
Apologies Ants Elixirs for hijacking your thread. Not my intention at all. I am very sorry.

 

[sour_grapes]

Better Bottle... but it may be possible to insert a spigot although this will take some thinking.

First check that the nut will fit through the neck of the carboy.

 

[Ants_Elixirs]

Good idea as well.

In the end, I'm thinking you'd be better off with a bucket instead carboy. I think getting a nut on and tightened through the neck is going to be much harder than you realize.

 

[HillPeople]

A step drill works very well.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-1-4-in-to-1-3-8-in-Step-Drill-Bit-59009SEN/100662408

 

[BernardSmith]

But at $64.00 for a step drill bit I could by a couple of ported BB carboys with the spigot already attached...

 

[Jimyson]

But yeast starters are typically used more in brewing than wine making, aren't they ? Brewers often use liquid yeasts and they may need to produce a larger culture before they pitch the yeast when they have five or six gallons of wort. Wine yeasts , I think, tend to be dry yeasts and there are enough active cells in any pack to inoculate 5 or 6 gallons of must, although there are certainly folk who choose liquid ale and lager yeasts to inoculate meads and ciders. Which is not to say that a stir plate will do any harm. It won't. And not to say that your plate certainly looks good. It does.

I have one for this exact purpose but since I am moving into juice buckets, I'll also be using it while testing for TA using the pH meter method. This will help ensure that things are mixed while adding the reagant.

 

[HillPeople]

But at $64.00 for a step drill bit I could by a couple of ported BB carboys with the spigot already attached...

I wasn't thinking single use
I've had a couple for over 30 years and use them a lot on any thin material I need to put a hole in. They get borrowed a lot as well.