I'm in the market for one and I'm noticing that the ones that are sold on Northern Brewer and other sites are not terribly well reviewed by users and are essentially computer fans with magnets glued onto them. I'm not afraid to pay for quality but if I do I expect it to last for a good long time. Any personal experiences (good or bad) would be appreciated.
The stirstarter is essentially a computer fan with a magnet glued to it, but it works well and has a lifetime warranty. I've been happy with it and don't see a reason to buy something more expensive.
I been using one monthly for 2-3 years. No problems. Gets 4500mL spinning adequately to get the job done.
It will come down to how well the magnets are balanced. If that is inconsistent, the model will be inconsistent or just consistently bad. Poorly balanced magnets will have a greater tendency to throw the stir bar. The stir bars get thrown off even on good units, especially when propagating flocculent strains. Get a good rare earth magnet to drag it back to the center.
+1 on stir starter. I got mine in 2010 and has worked well for me...on top of basic starter solutions, I'll use it to stir pbw or oxyclean into solution and a few other random tasks from time to time as well.
As an alternative you can pick up some deals on eBay. Corning PC 410 old lab stock. I just picked one up through the "best offer" method way below ask. 75 bucks shipped...
I have a used Sybron Thermoline Nuova stirplate. The thing's built like a tank! They can be had on eBay for $35-60. Paste this into the search field: thermolyne nuova (stir plate,stirplate,stirrer)
I'd say stir plates are necessary if you want to use the least amount of wort to target a given cell count, in the shortest time possible. But if someone is not concerned with those particular efficiencies, then they are not necessary.
