This kit combines a brass regulator (suitable for red disposable oxygen cylinders, not included), 3ft of tubing, and our economy diffusion stone wand.
Diffusion Stones are commonly used to aerate wort before fermentation, which helps ensure a healthy start to the fermentation process. This "Stone" is made of stainless steel, so it's durable, easy to clean, and won't crumble in your wort after a few uses like other materials! This 1/2 Micron stone produces very small bubbles, which are ideal for efficient absorption of the gas into your wort.
The stainless steel rod in this unit is 16" long and has a 3/16" OD. You can either use 3/16" ID kegging beverage tubing or any other 1/8 to 3/16 diameter tubing.
You can purchase the oxygen tanks at most hardware stores.
It's important to clean and sanitize diffusion stones thoroughly before each use. And it helps to clean the stone immediately after use as well. You can boil the stone and wand in water to sanitize, but we often just drop it into the boiling wort just prior to chilling. Avoid touching the porous surface of the stone to prevent any of the pores from becoming clogged.
USAGE: The biggest mistake people make with a system like this is flowing oxygen way too fast and wasting half a tank per batch. We recommend setting the flow rate via the regulator knob while the stone is submerged in water or sanitizer contained in see-through container such as a glass or jar. Only open the valve enough to see a very gentle stream of tiny bubbles emerging from the stone. This process can be done directly in the fermenter, but only if you can clearly see the stone through the side wall (such as in a PET plastic fermenter). At this very slow flow rate, simply stir the wort with the wand for 60 to 90 seconds, with the stone as deep in the wort as you can reach it, if not near the bottom of the fermenter.