funkhouserb

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I posted my electric BIAB brewery build at instructables.com. Check it out if you are interested.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-all-grain-electric-beer-brewery-BIAB/

grathan

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GFCI is optional on the controller? Is it just a switch and rheostat?

inhousebrew

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Looks good. I'm going the slightly more complicated method of building my own simplified eBIAB system. I'm excited about it and I hate messing with propane.

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I hate Walder Frey...

funkhouserb

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The controller from highgravity.com is also available in a 4 wire option. A GFCI circuit breaker is an obvious possible addition to the system. I think the controller uses pulse width modulation. I didn't want to do my own electronics so I paid highgravity to do it for me.

alien

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Nice write up. The controller looks pretty basic but I don't deny the safety and convenience of buying one off the shelf.

Personally I don't recommend this kind of thermometer. I have a similar one and it says "do not immerse" in the small print. The calibration went way off when I dunked it in a mash and it hasn't been the same since. The manual also recommends against continuous use.

http://fantes.com/manuals/polder-therm-307-instr.pdf

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Magic Smoke brewhouse and grill

Automatic Smoker - Cooler MLT - Counterflow Chiller - Folding Brew Table

Fizzycist

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I couldn't find a rheostat that would handle stand up to the large resistance of the element. Where did you find one?

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Fill with mingled cream and amber,
I will drain that glass again.
Such hilarious visions clamber
Through my chambers of my brain.
Quaintest thoughts - queerest fancies
Come to life and fade away;
What care I how time advances?
I am drinking ale today.
- Edgar Allan Poe

alien

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To make a controller like the one pictured in the first post, just put one of these in a box.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10000W-220v-Adjust-SCR-Voltage-Regulator-Motor-Speed-control-Dimmer-Thermostat-/181048405275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a2753 6d1b

__________________
Magic Smoke brewhouse and grill

Automatic Smoker - Cooler MLT - Counterflow Chiller - Folding Brew Table

Brando_i

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Wow, seems like an easy solution. Why doesn't everyone use one of these to control their boiler? I understand the precision of having a temperature controlled setup as well as the fun involved in building and operating a KAL style control panel, but it seems redundant to do so when you can do everything with a few simple switches and a knob... I don't know, does the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle not apply to home brewing?

jeffmeh

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I suspect that most use a PID to have precise control over mash temps, then just go with another one for the boil. Manual mode on the PID gives you the same control (with a digital interface rather than a mechanical dial), and you have the additional ability to set boil temp around 208F, walk away until the alarm sounds, then dial in the boil while attending for boilovers.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the simple approach you describe, though.

jCOSbrew

Recipes 

For a similar simple solution search for voltage resistance ssr on eBay. You can get this type of phase angle ssr for about $12.