Good deal? GFCI SPA Box

I just got home with one of these:



On clearance for $34.99 at Home Depot.

Deal or no deal?

Got the stuff I need to convert my 10 gallon SS pot into a self contained kettle so I can cook in the basement or outside (my dryer plug is right by the window in the basement).

I suppose I could buy the rest at my Home Depot and throw them up on Flea Bay for $40 each starting bid and see what happens!

Im not an electrical expert, but i have never heard of connecticut electric except for seeing those spa panels.

Its just one man's opinion, but you usually get what you pay for. When it comes to something that is going to save my life, i prefer to pay for something that i know is quality.

I myself got a Square D QO spa panel. Square D QO is supposedly the best in breakers money can buy. Again, this is just my opinion based on what i have read, and talking to the EE engineers i work with.

When i have to make decisions like this i ask myself, If i die, will my GF wish that i spent an extra 50 dollars on a Square D box..... the answer was yes for me.

Again, just my opinion, but i debated getting that box, so i figured i'd chime in.

cant go wrong with Square D, everything they make is good. of course GE and Murry make good boxes as well. dont know anything about that one, but if its decent quality you got a good price.

Also, a 60 amp panel will require 4 gauge wire, which they do not sell at my HD or Lowes. you could always put the spa panel behind a 50 amp breaker in your box. 50 breaker handles overcurrent, spa panel handles ground faults

My plan was, brew in the basement where my dryer is, and put this box in FRONT of the dryer and then just unplug the dryer and plug up the kettle when I want to brew. Also the dryer outlet is right by the window so I could easily brew outside if I wanted to as well. When done brewing, plug dryer back in.

I believe the dryer is a 30 or 50A breaker already, and a single 5500W element is 23A right? So either way 30 or 50 I should be ok?

Now I just have to buy and assemble the pid/ssr so I can regulate heat creation. Unless there's a simpler (and perhaps cheaper) way to simply regulate how hot the element makes the water?

I bought that box and ended up returning it because I needed 50 amps... by the time I got a 50 amp breaker and ran a cord to the spa disconnect, it was not that much more to buy a 50amp gfci breaker for my panel.

Unless they sell that box with different combination, it has Siemens breaker in it, which is a good breaker.

That is a GREAT deal if you NEED 60 amps, but if you do, get ready to pay through the nose for SO cord, receptacle, and plug.

It's a good deal, and you can use it on a 20A circuit if you wanted to. As long as there is an appropriate sized breaker up stream from it (dryer would have a 30A). This way if you over draw the service the breaker in the main would pop. Not ideal but it will work. The breaker you have will still provide GFCI protection. Now if you plan on using the dryer service for part of your 110 it MUST have a Neutral and ground (4 prong) Otherwise you will be limited to 240V.

If the box is to be permanently mounted then a good size note needs to be put in there saying it only provides a 30A service. In case some one in the future wants to use it for a Spa..

As for quality, I dunno.

I only "need" 23 amps for this element so this box should be overkill. And my dryer's 30 AMP breaker should be fine too as long as I don't try to run both at once (kinda hard with only one outlet).

Now I just need an easier solution to regulating the element than say, turning the GFCI off and on as I need more heat to brew grains!

what kind of breakers does it have in it? i just bought one from home depo that was $49, it was a company names midwest, but had a 50 amp GE 50 amp gfci. If they sell it for spas, don;t see why it would be safe for brewing, you aren't sitting in the kettle are you?

I haven't actually opened it up yet, giving all the experts time to tell me why it absolutely won't work before I crack it open

You mean I shouldn't sit on my kettle? Damn that means a cold ass next brew day!

bf514921 said:

what kind of breakers does it have in it? i just bought one from home depo that was $49, it was a company names midwest, but had a 50 amp GE 50 amp gfci. If they sell it for spas, don;t see why it would be safe for brewing, you aren't sitting in the kettle are you?

Click to expand...

Ohio-Ed said:

Unless they sell that box with different combination, it has Siemens breaker in it, which is a good breaker.

Click to expand...

You should have read post #6 above.

Look at a PID for controlling your element. This will let you start at full duty cycle to achieve boil then cut it back to 60-70% to maintain. ThePol has a lot of information in his build threads. You may want to check their if you're unsure about anything. 5500W is 22.91 Amps on a 240V line. That's about the max you'd want to pull. You want to stick to 80% or below of a circuits capacity. You'd have enough left to run a PID for control of course, but no other big items.

I also purchased the $49 Midwest box with GE breaker. It was origanally $89, so I guess you got a good deal. It'll work just wire it appropriately as others have pointed out.

IrregularPulse said:

Look at a PID for controlling your element. This will let you start at full duty cycle to achieve boil then cut it back to 60-70% to maintain. ThePol has a lot of information in his build threads. You may want to check their if you're unsure about anything. 5500W is 22.91 Amps on a 240V line. That's about the max you'd want to pull. You want to stick to 80% or below of a circuits capacity. You'd have enough left to run a PID for control of course, but no other big items.

Click to expand...

Phooey!

80% load rule only applies to continuous load circuits (4 hours+). 5500W is 75%.

I wouldn't push it more than 6kW (83%) simultaneous element load, This will leave 4 amps per leg for pumps and solenoids (PIDs are negligible). 6.5KW if it is dedicated for elements.

You can have more than 6.5kW worth of elements but you shouldn't run more than that at one time.

The primer in my sig may help you understand, there are a few control circuits in there as well.

BF514921, you're scaring me.