Magnetic stirplates are awesome. I integrated one in my portable DIY-Lab. After upgrading the magnets three times, it now even works on 90%+ VG liquids like a charm. Turn on, relax 20 minutes and come back to a beautifully homegenized liquid.
I uploaded a few pictures of my portable-lab because I thought you might like it: http://imgur.com/a/7Kscj
Wtf, using a stir plate. Genius! I hadn't even thought of this! I homebrew beer and use one of these for yeast starters (making a tiny beer to accelerate healthy yeast growth to use for fermenting your larger batch). Http://www.stirstarters.com
Pick up a couple erlenmeyer flasks and you're good to go!
All that's needed to make it happen on the cheap is a computer fan and some rare earth magnets. I dug around in my garage and found an old power supply with closely matching voltage, then wired it and the fan together. Just plug it in to turn it on, no bother with a switch. Next up you find some place to mount the fan, in this case I robbed an old CD storage container from the computer room. Finally, take a handful of the rare earth magnets and tape them as close to center as possible on the fan. Now drop the other half of the magnets (or in my case I invested in some ptfe coated spinbars) into your mixing container after all the ingredients are added, set it on top of your new gizmo and let it fly!
Took about 45 minutes of tinkering to get it acting right, and total cost for me was actually zero since I already had the parts laying around. I'd venture a guess that this whole thing could easily come in under 40 bucks.
I'm drunk but I THINK I got this. Tape neodynium magnets to each blad of a fan, power it with a PSU and then put a stir-bar in the batch to be stirred?
Not the blades, brohym. Tape the magnets to the middle hub of the fan. No need for a psu, just any old electronics plug with at least 12 volts dc. The sort of AC to DC conversion plug that would come with something like a small household electronic gadget. I think mine is from an old humidifier. I have a bit of a compulsion for saving every electronics plug I've ever owned, so it was just a matter of digging through the Rubbermaid tub for me to find the right one.
This is pretty cool. I just use a cheapy milk foamer like this one http://www.amazon.com/MatchaDNA-Milk-Frother-Silver-Handheld/dp/B00MJFH9KS/ref=lp_14042381_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1438310884&sr=1-4
If you manipulate it right you can introduce a bunch of bubbles before you steep. It is part of my super secret steeping process.
I tried the computer fan mixer as well, but settled on a frother wand in my cordless drill. Less work, and it works reliably.
I find the main advantage my magnetic fan thingy has over your frothy drill wand thingy is that I can set mine to mixing and then walk away for 20 minutes. You have to stay there and mix, I'm free to leave. Other than that, both still work better than carpal tunnel!
I need one that can do 2 liters of 80% VG at a time lol any suggestions?
I was going to make a joke at first, but after brief deliberation I believe it might actually be plausible to do something similar with a household box fan from Walmart. I would say cut the blades off and utilize much larger magnets, but other than that the main principle remains the same. Just don't get the unclear instructions mixed up or you'll end with your pecker caught in a box fan.
I use one of these. Haven't gone up to 2L but it should do the trick.
What's the most ? 1L will do but two would be optimal
But I want a heated one with a PID ;D
I made one of these not to long ago.. but couldn't do nothing in 100% vg.. I first tested it in water and it was amazing thought I had something but then when I used 100% vg that was the end of it.. any ideas?
I had to change my magnets three times until they were strong enough to stir VG... Also lowering the voltage or getting a slower fan helps.