anybody use a magnetic stir plate?

[danno]

I've been doing a bit of searching on ebay for stir plates, wondering if they're worth the investment. I would assume that they'd be much more necessary if you're culturing your own yeasts from agar plates. Anyone actually doing this? Comments?

[brewmonkey]

Like you pointed out they are great when propping up from a slant, but once you get past that they really are not much use.

[toneyc]

St. Pat's has this to say:

Stirrers keep starters in suspension and optimize oxygen uptake, thus increasing cell counts. Keep starter stirring during the entire time.

I've seen this mentioned on other web pages as well, and have been curious to try it but could not justify the cost. One of the things I thought it would come in handy for was stirring a batch of mead or wort for aeration before pitching.

BYO mentiones them in this article, some ways down the page:
http://byo.com/mrwizard/737.html

There seems to be a lot of positive comments about them and the only reason I haven't gotten one yet is that they're so danged expensive.

:)
Toney.

[brewmonkey]

If you are going to purchase a magentic stirrer look at the models that also double as hotplaste so you can keep your flasks at optimum temp during the prop.

[Fast_Eddy]

One other use is if you're trying to determine the maximum fermentability of a brand of malt extract.