Aeration of wort??? O2 or spoon?

[Dara]

Haven't really thought too hard about this and just wondering what are the pros/cons of aerating with pure oxygen.  So far I've been letting my wort drop into the bucket then, give it a lash with a spoon until I get fed up and pitch the yeast.  Is there a clear advantage of using pure O2?  My gravities are now creeping up so where's the cut-off for when you should take aerating your wort seriously?   O2 is something I'd be slow to use just because it's another bottle and bits and bobs that I don't feel the need to worry about (+ some bad experience with fire in the past). As an alternative/comprimise could you sterile filter air and pump it through the wort? Now, I know this is only around 19% O2 but, would it give the same effect if you were to aerate for, for example 5 x times longer with air as opposed to O2? 

Dara

[mr hoppy]

You can use an aquarium pump and airstone without an oxygen tank as well.

[RichC]

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-aeration-gadget-68218/
I use one of these and it has served me well. Highest gravity beer I've aerated was about 1.070 but it came out extremely well, scored 43 in recent comp. I usually make a starter as well

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[Ciderhead]

start going above 1080's and pure O2 makes all the difference.

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Here's a link to some notes on wort aeration plus details of the Esau & Hueber Turbo air unit
http://www.brilliantbeer.com/gcb2013/workbook/section4.3.pdf
http://www.esau-hueber.de/dl/Englisch/Flyer/BGT/Turbo_Air_Flyer.pdf?PHPSESSID=1211336f027bcd10c40c1d2cdd82007e
http://www.esau-hueber.de/dl/Englisch/Flyer/BGT/Micro_Air_Flyer.pdf

[Stitch]

Sorry for hijacking but where would you get a bottle of oxygen?

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[Ciderhead]

There have been 2 group buys in members area.

[Stitch]

Wow CH that was totally helpful thanks

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[Ciderhead]

Welding gas supplies west Dublin will sort u out.

[Dr Horrible]

I've been thinking about improving my aeration as well as I'm looking to move up to higher gravity beers but am also a bit nervous about using pure O2, and would prefer to use an aquarium pump and airstone if possible. I know it's mentioned in the article above that the max O2 conc you can get by aeration is 8 or 9ppm which isn't enough for higher gravity beers but I remember an interview with John Palmer where he mentioned that he always aerates his high gravity beers again twelve hours into the fermentation. Would doing this get round the need for pure O2 or does it cause additional problems you need to watch out for?

[johnrm]

Oxygenation before Yeast, never after, thats what I work with.
Where does Palmer say this?

[Dr Horrible]

It was in a 'Brew Strong' podcast on high gravity beers.  The reasoning behind it was that at that stage early in the fermentation all that would be happening was yeast growth which uses up a lot of oxygen, so topping up the oxygen levels at this stage would help growth without having any major impact on off-flavours. Sounded reasonable enough, but I'm not sure whether to risk a batch to try it out or not, or just go and get the O2 setup.

[Dr Jacoby]

I wrote a full article on this topic that is languishing somewhere in wordpress. Maybe a mod could dig it out and put it up on the wiki?

[Ciderhead]

On very high gravity beers a squirt of pure O2 before High Krausen, so 12-24 hours after initial pitch is very common amongst US homebrewers of BW.

[Dr Horrible]

On very high gravity beers a squirt of pure O2 before High Krausen, so 12-24 hours after initial pitch is very common amongst US homebrewers of BW.

Nice one - so I didn't imagine it!  The principle must be sound so I suppose what I'm wondering is if an extra squirt of pure O2 at 12-24hours works for very high gravity beers, would doing the same thing with air and an aquarium pump work for a 'normal' high gravity (1.070-1.090) beer.
I think I might give it a go for a batch just to see how it goes and if it doesn't work (stuck fermentation or infection, I would guess) upgrade to pure O2. 
Dr Jacoby - if your article doesn't appear would you mind summarising it?