I want to brew electric and not kill myself: please help

If you all have been reading the electrical forum section recently you have probably noticed me asking a bunch of really simple questions. Well, it's because I don't really know much about electronics but living here in MN the concept of electric brewing has really appealed to me after this last snowfall and freeze. After scouring this forum I know way more than I did two weeks ago and have started to think seriously about this. I'm getting the 2352 PID and a 4" RTD sensor from auberins.com for Christmas so I need to figure out what to do with them.

This thread has really inspired me because I like the regulating of temp by recirculating the mash and the simplicity/space efficiency of BIAB. I'm also limited to my kitchen outlets so 120v and like doing 2.5-3 gallon batches. This thread here has also been of a great help for detailing some of the wiring basics so I feel more confident about doing something like this. So thanks to aubiecat, jbr03, P-J and many others.

I've attached a rudimentary drawing (I tried using some design software and it was too hard) of what I'm thinking about. It's pretty simple (I think) and should work (I believe). I have some basic run of the mill light switches laying around and was thinking of incorporating them for the element and the pump because they are rated high enough to handle them.

Will this work? Do I need to ground the light switches: I know there's a screw for that? Other thoughts, questions, critiques? Of course, I'll have a buddy who is an electrician check everything before I fire it up but I'd like to do as much as I can to learn.

I stand corrected, those are 15A light switches I have.
Also, the more I think about it I think I might toss in a alarm buzzer and switch. Maybe...

At the local HD or lowes you will find a higher current 20-30 amp light switch. Use this type for the element and consider putting it at the 110v input to the SSR instead of the output.

I would add a 110v indicator light for Element ON and Pump ON. Maybe add a fuse for the pump power.

I am using a low power Topsflow solar pump (<1amp @ 110V). If you are using a higher power pump make sure the element + pump power does not exceed the circuit rating.

Make sure you are using a 20 amp GFCI outlet.

Alright, so move the switch from going out of the SSR to the element to the hot wire going into the SSR. The pump is a pretty small one so I'm not too worried about that.

Also make sure your power circuit is a 20 amp GFCI.

Well the first step is complete and the pump is wired up and working. Only a 12VDC power supply so not too worried about it sucking up a bunch of power. I caught this pump for ~$60 but it has gone up in price since then.

http://www.ussolarpumps.com/onlinestore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_22&products_id=32

So I'm slowly moving forward with all of this. Have some parts coming and a kettle picked out that I should be able to basically get for free via Midwest Supplies Rewards program. I was messing around on my fancy Microsoft Paint application and came up with this diagram. Anyone see any issues.

Make sure your internal wiring has the capacity to handle the amps.

stlbeer said:

Make sure your internal wiring has the capacity to handle the amps.

Click to expand...

12 gauge wire for the hot lines to the switches? The pid doesn't require as much power so I can use a higher gauge wire? What about the neutral and ground wires? What gauge should those be?

inhousebrew said:

12 gauge wire for the hot lines to the switches? The pid doesn't require as much power so I can use a higher gauge wire? What about the neutral and ground wires? What gauge should those be?

Click to expand...

12 gauge for any circuit carrying load for your element (hot, neutral, and ground).

16 gauge for powering the PID, though that's overkill.

16 or 20 gauge for the PID control circuits.

stlbeer said:

12 gauge for any circuit carrying load for your element (hot, neutral, and ground).

16 gauge for powering the PID, though that's overkill.

16 or 20 gauge for the PID control circuits.

Click to expand...

And this is why I made this thread. I knew I would need it for the hot and it's probably good to know I need it for ground and neutral!