Recent content by 2bluewagons

I’m a primary parent for a 3.5 and 1.5 year old, my wife works full time, I watch the kids full time and work part time. So YMMV, but another vote here for going electric, if you’re open/able to invest a bit in automation. If I had to start over I guess I’d go with an AIO, but I was already...

Fruit is pretty much water, yeah? So a pound per pint is probably as close as you're going to get.

It's the temperature of the wort that really matters. Also, that 3-5 degree range is pretty rough, so you can't count on it just being a differential of 4. The best thing would be to get a thermowell and place it in the liquid to use as feedback for your chamber controller. But those are...

Yes. In the context of this thread, LME is much less shelf-stable than DME, and the sugars tend to oxidize moreso than DME. So over time, the fermentability will decrease from its already low (relative to all grain mash at around 150-152 deg. F) level of fermentability. So the "1.020 effect"...

Agree with all of these except Jar Jar, let him rest in peace. Although I enjoyed the movie, there are so many things that bother me about it. First is this "resistance." Why is a "resistance" necessary when there has been a New Republic established (for like 30 years?) that is naturally...

Of all the shiniest shiny...count me in also.

So like a true meat-head, I chose not to accept the majority opinion and sandwiched the top of the enclosure in between the SSR and heatsink. I posted some pictures here if you are interested. I had intended on following the advice and cutting a hole but I ran out of time before moving and...

As promised and just to toot my own horn a bit, here are some pictures of the completed build in action during my first brew with it yesterday. No pictures of the internal wiring because A) it looks like a rat's nest and B) with the connections I soldered and way the enclosure goes together it...

I think what you are trying to build is what BobbyM recommended to me in this thread here, using multiple SSRs in series. I didn't end up taking his advice, and stuck with my intent for switching between the PID and DSPR1 controlling both of my elements. I just finished my controller but have...

Best (only) way to know what's going on is to check the SG. Looks like less than a gallon? Notty would chew that up in a few days with the right temps. There's a butt-load of yeast cake, so there was certainly a successful reproduction phase. If you're worried about losing beer to the SG...

I'd like to offer a counterpoint to this. When I switched from the aquarium pump to the oxygen setup shown in this thread (red can, regulator, wand, stone) most of my beers took on more of an pronounced alcohol flavor, and sometimes would give a bit of a headache during the first half-pint or...

Only hijacking a bit here, but have a question related to this. For a 15a system, are contactors really necessary? There are plenty of switch options for 15a and even 20a. Why add the complication of a contactor?

You don't think so? :D Thanks for the catch. Just one pump, I've fixed the diagram. 1A should be fine to protect both control units though correct?

Thanks for all the suggestions folks, it really helped steer my build in the direction of what I want, or at least what I think I want having never brewed electric before! Here's my final schematic and I'm halfway done placing all the components in the enclosure and expect to wire it up soon...

Are you saying that neither SSR should count on the enclosure alone for heat dissipation? The bottom part of the enclosure alone has over 4 times the surface area of a heatsink I found that is rated for 40A, and over 10 times its mass. The combination of fluid and solid thermodynamics makes my...