McCuckerson

Recipes 

Anybody mount their damn spa panel right on their rig? Kinda like an in-line GFCI? I have a 240v outlet in my garage but its not GFI. I was thinking of putting the spa panel right on the rig with a dryer cord running to the non gfi outlet. No?

Or, could I mount the spa panel on the wall and put an outlet right in the spa panel box?

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"Real men drink their freakin' yeast starters...."

Sparky

Recipes 

McCuckerson,
Save yourself the hassle and just install the appropriate GFCI breaker in the panel. I assume it is a 30amp circuit (4-wire) since it is a dryer? Then use a plug and whip over to the panel. Or, are you sharing the circuit with your dryer when not brewing?

samc

Recipes 

A lot of people are using the 30 amp cord with a GFI built in. Really the same thing as doing the panel on the stand, gives you some flexibility to take it with you. I can brew with it in the basement or carry it up to the Laundry room if I needed to.

SOB

Recipes 

I mounted mine right on the rig. It gives me a way of killing power locally. I also don't plan on moving the rig anywhere so flexibility was not a concern.

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"So we were slammin' beers in the church parking lot..."

"I'm much too young to feel this damn old"

Ohio-Ed

Recipes 

Personally, I want the GFCI as far up stream as I can get it.
If a water line breaks and hoses down the panel (I know it "should" be water tight) your gfci protection would be flooded... right?

Ed

McCuckerson

Recipes 

Its a square D box, and it seems like those breakers are crazy expensive. List is like 3 bones, retail $128 and remanufactured is not much of a savings at all.

The 30amp circuit was put in the garage by my electrician friend/neighbor. We were talking one night over a few HBs about electric brewing, and I came home the next day to a new circuit in my garage. Only problem is its not GFI

I just figured if I needed a disconnect at the rig anyway, and the spa panels can be had pretty cheap, they would serve that purpose as well as protect the work envelope of the rig.

GFI cord is an option too, but same problem of not protecting as far upstream as possible. Darnit, why does safety have to cost so much!

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"Real men drink their freakin' yeast starters...."

McCuckerson

Recipes 

So if i'm hearing you correctly, you are advocating brewing wearing lineman's gloves?

Seriously, you make an excellent point. GFI breaker at the box is the safest option.

__________________
"Real men drink their freakin' yeast starters...."

Ohio-Ed

Recipes 

Yup... safety first

I had a SPA panel and started looking at the cost of a breaker in the main, cord & terminators from the breaker panel to the SPA box, cord & terminators from the SPA Box to my control panel and then ran into a deal in a GFCI Breaker, so that's how I went.

If you want to add distance between your rig and the GFCI, you could hang the SPA panel on the wall in your garage and use SO cord in and out of it.

Ed

McCuckerson

Recipes 

Do you think I could mount the outlet right in the spa panel? That would be pretty cool.

__________________
"Real men drink their freakin' yeast starters...."

Walker

Recipes 

That's what I am suggesting to a guy in Chapel Hill. He got a spa panel for $50 and the plan is to put an outlet right in the thing so that the brewery panel can plug into it.

Spa panel will be on a short cord and placed next to his non-GFI outlet. Brewery panel is on a long cord that plugs into the GFI box.

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Ground Fault Brewing Co.