DIY 5 gallon bucket "vortex" brewer

Hammerhead · Mar 21, 2013

oh I dont put it into the water.. I use a 5x7 Tea bag. I mix my own recipes with Bountea then put them into these bags.. When im ready for that recipe I tie the bag to the Handel while it brews after about 8 hrs I give the tea bag a good squeeze

.. I keep doing this until its all mixed in and Im ready to use it. Theres only the rocks and large crap left in the bag. I toss that in the trash..

Coba · Mar 23, 2013

I gotta make one of these! great thread!

Hammerhead · Mar 24, 2013

New pump is on working like a champ now

....So you will need a min of 40w air pump to get this to work right.

Grow4Flow · Mar 26, 2013

I may have missed this, don't know, but can someone explain how the tea gets pumped back to the top? i don't see a pump, any pics?

Hammerhead · Mar 26, 2013

it's air venturi driven. We use air pumps. There is a 5 way in the bottom. The mix is pulled through with the air pump making a venturi vortex ...Im sure someone knows the right way to put thta lol..

When I make the large 15g version I will do the single riser like MM's design...

ziggestardust · Apr 9, 2013

Microbeman, you said that the vortex didn't make a noticeable difference in DO2. My theory is that the airlift makes the DO2 levels approach saturation, which makes the vortex ineffective. Have you tried a vortex brewer with a water pump instead of an airlift?

From what I've read on aquarium forums, surface ripple is the most effective way to increase DO2, the vortex both affects the surface area of the water and circulates the water so that all of it comes in contact with the surface rapidly.

I've built a small vortex brewer without the air lift out of scrap parts today (an old ceramic 1/2 gal pot and an aquarium pump) but I have no DO2 meter to make any credible assessment. Neither do I have a microscope to evaluate a test brew.

MileHighGuy · Apr 9, 2013

Love this thread. Here is my version based on MicrobeMans recommendations. Removing the Brass tapered nozzle on the air pump helped alot. I spilled tea everywhere once.... never again. Now it's all dialed in.

stihgnobevoli · Apr 22, 2013

hey weird jimmy, nice design, i followed your instructions a little i modified it for my ... availability of parts. i only used a 3 way since they didn't have any 5 way tees at casa de pot. no spout to pour i'll just scoop, no grommets on the holes, just cut em to fit and used gorilla glue. only 2 risers instead of 4. i'm not sure of how many lpm my pump has but obviously not enough. the most i can manage is a gurgling sound and some spurts of water in between, no steady flow and certainly no vortex. what's the minimum airflow lpm? anyone know the rating on a whisper 10-30? for now imma throw an airstone in there and use it as a regular brewer.

MileHighGuy · Apr 22, 2013

stihgnobevoli said:
hey weird jimmy, nice design, i followed your instructions a little i modified it for my ... availability of parts. i only used a 3 way since they didn't have any 5 way tees at casa de pot. no spout to pour i'll just scoop, no grommets on the holes, just cut em to fit and used gorilla glue. only 2 risers instead of 4. i'm not sure of how many lpm my pump has but obviously not enough. the most i can manage is a gurgling sound and some spurts of water in between, no steady flow and certainly no vortex. what's the minimum airflow lpm? anyone know the rating on a whisper 10-30? for now imma throw an airstone in there and use it as a regular brewer.

You cannot use the whisper 10-30

Here is some information that will help as per Microbemans information... microbeorganics dot com

First of all I’d like to make it clear that most aquarium air pumps don’t produce enough air to use in a container larger than 1 gallon when considering making an aerated brewer. So don’t even try the 5 gallon pail with the aquarium pump idea everybody is passing around. You need a minimum 0.05 CFM (cubic feet per minute), open flow of air and an optimum 0.08 CFM per gallon (US) or higher to make aerated compost tea (ACT). ACT should have the DO2 sustained at or above 6 PPM. Generally, aquarium pumps produce around 0.02 to 0.16 CFM. Another generality is that 25 watts of power usually produces 0.75 to 1.0 CFM in diaphragm air pumps. The wattage is usually marked on the pump which will help you figure out the approximate output. I’ll cover more on air pumps later.

If you are going to buy a pump to run your aerated CT brewer, I can recommend the Eco Plus Commercial 5 (4 CFM max.) for up to 50 gallons and the Eco Plus Commercial 1 (1.75 CFM max.) for up to 10 gallons.

stihgnobevoli · Apr 22, 2013

thanks, i guess i better get one of those ecoplus.

dizzlekush · May 21, 2013

Microbeman said:
In my opinion the most effective tank shape for maintaining a higher dissolved oxygen rate is one with straight sides coming down to a mild slope (around 15 degrees) into the exit port, like the little water bottles. This is opposed to the typical funnel shaped induction tanks.

Could you explain why this is? I have a feeling that people are biased towards the induction tanks, mainly because it looks specialized and if people are planning on spending alot of money on something they want it to look specialized and fancy. But my first instinct would be that the funnel shape of the induction tank would allow for a faster flow rate, which would allow for a higher DO content. But I've found my first instinct is often wrong r.e. fluid dynamics.

Stoner Bob · May 21, 2013

I'm guessing it had to do with the exposed surface area of the water being greater in the one design over the other, as long as everything else was the same

howske · Jun 27, 2013

Nice milehigh im looking to try and put together a small brewer like yours with the single air lift .. I would buy microbes mans one but i live in australia postage would cost more than product and im only looking for a small tank 5-7 gal brewer .. Just wondering can you show a picture of the bottom of your tank and how you have set it up ??? Thanks bro im off to read your grow thread to kill some time all the best bro.

JayTrinity · Jun 25, 2014

can any one tell me how an air lift works?
It looks to me the air will just go out the top?
Are the tubes going down below the water line?

Why does it not just "Bubble" ?
But water comes out?

Any place to see whats in one of the tubes?

Bueno Time · Jun 30, 2014

JayTrinity said:
can any one tell me how an air lift works?
It looks to me the air will just go out the top?
Are the tubes going down below the water line?

Why does it not just "Bubble" ?
But water comes out?

Any place to see whats in one of the tubes?

The air line from the air pump goes down to the bottom of the PVC pipes that carry the water up to the top of the brewer. When you put a decent volume of air through a small diameter PVC pipe the air bubbles will push water up as they rise and the bubbles below them will also push the water up. The water starts to flow out the top since there is a constant upward movement of water caused by the constant bubbles.

BTW this thread is great that DIY brewer looks excellent, I was unaware you could make a 5 gallon bucket vortex brewer. I always thought the bottom had to be cone shaped for a vortex brewer but that looks like it works great and anyone should be able to make it with readily available parts locally. Other than the pump which some people might need to order.

DankDunk · Oct 26, 2016

I built one of these today. Vortex was going smooth however now it is just bubbling once I added some castings and whatnot. I don't think it is clogged or it wouldn't even bubble. Could this be from a lack of seal where the tubing enters the risers?

Greenthumber · May 21, 2019

Now that’s a legit diy! Already have all the stuff only in 3/4 inch and a 20 gallon garbage can I’ll be working on this weekend! Great read and detail!

Greenthumber · May 21, 2019

DankDunk said:
I built one of these today. Vortex was going smooth however now it is just bubbling once I added some castings and whatnot. I don't think it is clogged or it wouldn't even bubble. Could this be from a lack of seal where the tubing enters the risers?

I’m not an expert but I believe the pump you have is not strong enough! I’ve read a lot of people are using I believe and 18watt pump

Greenthumber · May 21, 2019

JayTrinity said:
can any one tell me how an air lift works?
It looks to me the air will just go out the top?
Are the tubes going down below the water line?

Why does it not just "Bubble" ?
But water comes out?

Any place to see whats in one of the tubes?

Yes the air lines go in the top of the elbow and all the way down to the bottom of the unit and sit inside the bottom of the pvc thus the air lifting the water and dumping into the bucket (air lift). You’ll need a strong enough pump

Microbeman · May 21, 2019

Talk about an old thread. Read the entire thing. Running air tubes down the risers is unnecessary and silly.

DIY 5 gallon bucket "vortex" brewer

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