120v 5 gal questions

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movet22

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Hey guys, Long time lurker, new to joining the conversation.

I have been brewing extract batches for ~4 years now (my first batch was in my nasty college apartment sophomore year lol), and have recently decided to make the AG plunge. I have been doing considerable amounts of research and have decided that I will be building my setup a little at a time, but that I wanted to go electric from the beginning. For the time being, I do not have access to a 240v outlet, and don't imagine I will for quite some time. My plan is to do 5 gal full volume batches, and I wanted to know if I would be able to use a 120v element to do so. (I have no aspirations of ever going to 10 gal). As it stands, I have a 10 gal rubbermaid cooler as my MLT, and am looking to pick up a 10 gal ss pot for my HLT/BK (I will get 2 so I can dedicate the two, but that is for a while later).

Back to the original question: can I do 5 gal AG batches with a 120v element, and what would I need? I imagine that I would need a ranco controller of sorts to be able to monitor the temps, but all that is useless if I can't boil with a 120v element. I essentially want to do electric batches with as little change to my electrical situation as possible.

I apologize for the long winded post, but am trying to be as specific as possible. Thanks for all your help guys!!

Prost! :mug:
 
If you have a 20Amp outlet go with a 2000watt element, You might want a 1500watt heatstick also to reduce your time to boil (plugged into a 2nd circuit). For your kettle look at the Bayou classic 36qt w/spigot (& basket if you want to BIAB). Good price & a solid kettle. you can remove the spigot & install the element with no mods.
 
A 2000w with an insulated kettle will work. I run that on my HLT.

I use 2 x 1500w heat sticks without insulating in the BK and they boil perfectly when both at full power so no need for a temp controller.
 
I used to have 2x 1500w elements in a keggle, and it was okay (not what I would call a strong boil). I moved them to a different pot, and the boil is just horrible. I suspect its because larger diameter of the new pot.
 
I also use two 1500w heat sticks plugged into two separate 20A outlets. I reach boil temps pretty quickly and get a really vigorous boil. No controller is required.
 
How will I know what my outlets are rated at? I will be brewing in the basement near the breaker, so hopefully I will be able to get the access I would need. Would I be able to use a 2000w stick in a BK and get a boil? My only concern there is that I don't know if I will be able to get the outlet access for two 1500w sticks.

My ideal (abbreviated) brew day would be to heat the water to strike in the 10gal pot, mash in the cooler, drain into bottling buckets, batch sparge, drain again and then pour all my wort into the aforementioned 10 gal pot and do my boil in there, chill, drain into my carboy, ect.

Is this an implausible goal?

Thanks!!
 
check the circuit breakers on the circuits you will be using for the size of the breakers.

If the breaker box has room adding a 220v line shouldn't be that expensive and opens up what you can do. Unfortunately it sounds like you are in a rental. are your circuits equipped with a gfci? do you have ventilation where you will be boiling?
 
I'm not in a rental, worse-- I live with my folks. The italian don't-touch-anything-in-the-house kind of folks. hahaha. I could talk to them about adding a 240v, but I hope to be moving out in a few months and would like to take my gear with me.

I do have ventilation, but no idea what gfci is. hahaha, will it say it near my breaker? (i'm going to check it out when I get home tonight and will post what I see.

Thanks!
 
If you are brewing near the panel, and the panel is inside, it would be super easy to add another circuit and it could be whatever voltage or amperage you want it to be. However, I'm all for getting information together for a 110v system. I would love to use my stove to help get the wort to a boil and then use an element with controller tocontrol the boil. Also to maintain mash temperatures for biab.
 
Ok, so lets go hypothetical...

say, by the grace of god, I am allowed to add a 240v breaker-- Is that easy for someone who is moderately handy (def competent, but electricity makes my head swim sometimes), how much is it going to effect my power bill, can I run a 3000w HLT (((AND))) a 3000w BK at the same time, on the same line?
 
Depending on where the panel is located and where you want the outlet, could be very easy. 6000W/240V = 25amps, So if you get at least a 30 amp breaker, you should be able to run both. But, you could add a 40 amp and be more than okay
 
I recently built a 2000W boil kettle for my 5 gallon batches, even without insulation it held a boil just fine. I have it plugged into a 20 amp GFCI outlet (20 amp outlet one of the sides is actually T shaped, GFCI is the kind with the buttons in the middle).
I am in a similar situation (hoping to relocate soon) this solution seemed best to me, with a plan to retrofit when i get a more permanent solution.
 
Ah, LU, just the input I was looking for! so what do you do your boils in? keggle? stock pot (how many qts?)? What volume boils are you doing? Thanks for your help!!!
 
it looks like your breaker box is packed! are there any openings at the bottom? (places for breakers without anything except for the knockout in them)
 
Ah, LU, just the input I was looking for! so what do you do your boils in? keggle? stock pot (how many qts?)? What volume boils are you doing? Thanks for your help!!!

I use a converted keg, but any pot with adequate volume should be fine. I start at about 7.5 gallons above my valve and boil down to about 5 above the valve. I do have about 1 gallon below the valve which I dump. I do intend to insulate my kettle (to reduce time to boil) but what I have works for the time being.
 
@jtsims: yes, I have 3 rectangles without any breakers in them. Going 240v is a last option. I will try every which way to make 120v work.

@lu: great info! thanks for the input, I feel confident that I can get a 6.5-7.5 gal load boiling with a 2000w 120v element, which is super exciting!
 
Ok, so lets go hypothetical...

say, by the grace of god, I am allowed to add a 240v breaker-- Is that easy for someone who is moderately handy (def competent, but electricity makes my head swim sometimes), how much is it going to effect my power bill, can I run a 3000w HLT (((AND))) a 3000w BK at the same time, on the same line?

A 240vac wouldn't affect your bill any more than a 120 circuit will. A watt is a Watt, no matter what the voltage is.

That being said, i wouldn't recommend adding the outlet without someone to help. It's really pretty easy to do, but you have the potential (pun intended) to hurt yourself or cause major damage. If you want though, lots of us could walk you through it.
 
I am hoping to only go 240v as a last resort. I'm def going to give a 2000w element a shot on 120v first.
 
I do 5 gallon AG boils with a standard 1500 W water heater element. I mounted it in my brew pot. I wouldn't call it a violent boil like with gas, but it is a steady rolling boil that I think is fine. I have done about 20 batches with it and they have all turned out fine.
 
I'm not in a rental, worse-- I live with my folks. The italian don't-touch-anything-in-the-house kind of folks. hahaha. I could talk to them about adding a 240v, but I hope to be moving out in a few months and would like to take my gear with me.

I do have ventilation, but no idea what gfci is. hahaha, will it say it near my breaker? (i'm going to check it out when I get home tonight and will post what I see.

Thanks!

here's some info on gfci. If you look at the outlets in a bathroom you should see a test and reset button, those are ground fault circuit interrupter outlets. http://www.howstuffworks.com/question117.htm basically they monitor the current going out to current returning to make sure you are not getting electrocuted (i'm sure someone will be along with a more technical description, but that will give you an idea). Considered a must for electric brewing (there are also gfci breakers that do the job too.)

That is one stuffed circuit breaker box.
 
I recently built a 120v rims setup. I use two separate 15a loops of my house to power 2 1500w elements in the kettle, and then have a third 1500w element in the rims tube. I use a pid on one loop to control the rims tube or %age of power to one of the kettle elements and the other loop has an outlet for an element and one for the pump, each controlled with a wall switch. A possibility for your scenario, though really the point is that an electric kettle with 120v is certainly doable.
 
Do you have any links or more pictures of how you wired them up?
I am terrible at taking pics of my builds; when I photograph them things that I jinx it.

I did the JB Weld 'potting' method. Just bought 1" PVC couplers to fit the elements and then put a wrap of scotch tape to hold it to the element base during gluing. Wired up my cords, being careful to pull out the ground for later and keep the cord mostly centered in the base. Each cord got a full package (both tubes) of JB weld. I did not use acetone. Pour JB weld, use a toothpick to purge the air then let dry overnight.

I used the Harbor Freight knockout punch set to punch the keg holes. They make a hole that's actually a bit big, but with an extra set of silicone O rings, the weldless kit from bargainfittings made them leak free. Most will use a step bit or hole saw for this step.

Drilled holes on the skirt for the ground, added solderless connectors and used small SS screws/nuts to secure.

I was in a rush so did not add switches. I am actually thinking of building a timer box with outlets and heavy duty timers shortly. This way, dough-in water is at the right temp when I wake up.

Also a great idea is to connect your brew rig ONLY to GFCI protected outlets.
 
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