Used Stainless Panel 20x16x8 barter for Expertise

It looks like I will be able to get my hands on a few used 20" x 16" x 8" stainless NEMA 4 (Stainless may make them 4x) enclosures. I am planning an electric brewery build but am not as controls savvy as I would like to be. I also don't have the tools to punch the panel.

Would anyone be interested (particularly if you're in the Denver area) in helping out or putting together a panel in exchange for one or two of the stainless enclosures?

I'm not quite sure on the timeframe for my build but thought I would gauge whether there was any interest now.

-Kevin

Hey Kevin, look for a local shop that does laser or water jet cutting. The square holes are especially difficult. The price for the cuts should be under $150. Another option would be to cut the majority of the door away and use a Front Panel Express face. Like this:

Thanks OneHoppyGuy.

Here are a few pics of one of the panels.

Hmmm... those are nice panels. I am also about to embark on a build project and one of those sure would be sweet.

Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of expertise to trade for one. And I'm in Chicago.

How many do you have?

I have 5 of them.

I think I have almost the same panel. I couldn't get her to polish, though, so I painted it. The stainless had too much grain for polishing, but it actually looks great painted.

You can do the cut outs with a greenlee KO punch for the switches and a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade and some cutting oil. It wasn't fun, but it's not incredibly challenging. The PIDS and switches overlap the holes so there's a bit of a margin for error.

Here's mine, done with the Knockouts and jig saw.


Here it is before I painted it, while trying and failing at polishing it.

A step bit does just fine.

Also, a jigsaw/dremel and patience will produce a perfectly fine square cut for PIDs. Dont waste your money on a waterjet.

Thanks guys. I'll probably check on waterjet cutting to see the price but will likely just go the manual route.

I'd like to bounce another couple ideas off of you guys for a HERMS setup. Initially I will use my existing equipment for a 10 gallon Brewery. I am planning to expand to a 1-1.5 barrel in the future. I want to build a panel that will allow for two elements in both the HLT and kettle for the larger volume. Here's my thought:

1 5,500-W element in HLT and 1 5,500-W element in BK with selector switch for HLT / OFF / BK for automatic control through BCS
1 4,500-W element in HLT and 1 4,500-W element in BK with selector switch for HLT / OFF / BK for manual control only. This will allow the 2nd element to be used to ramp up temps but wouldn't be used to maintain temp or boil.

I think this would work to never allow more than 1 5,500-W and 1 4,500-W element to operate at the same time so a 50A panel should work. This would also allow me to hold off on the 2nd element with my current setup do to space limitations for multiple elements in the HLT with a HERMS coil.

The other thing I'm considering is a 2-tier system with the mash tun at ground level on wheels. I have 2 reasons for this: 1) A mobile 55-gallon mash tun could be rolled away from the stand to shovel/dump grain, and 2) if I put the HERMs coil inlet on the top of the HLT and the outlet on the bottom, the coil will drain into the MT by gravity when the pump shuts off. In all of my searching, I have never seen anyone put the mash tun on the lowest tier of any 2 or 3 tier system and am assuming there's a good reason for this. Anyone have some reason this is crazy?

Kevin

i actually like that idea- in the kettle have one element controlled via PID; set it to 210*, and the other on manual mode. they would both be on to ramp up but the PID would turn one off just as it got to boiling...

the reason the mash tun is usually above the boil kettle is just to use gravity for draining. as long as you pump is at or below the liquid level in the mash tun, you can put the mash tun as low as you want. ive even ran the pump above the liquid level without too many problems. as long as you get it to prime and it doesnt loose it its fine.

A dremel can help finish up some corners and deburr the cuts. You could even cut the whole PID opening if you are careful and patient. Plus they are very handy to have around. I'd probably forego the waterjet and spend that money on a tool.

+1 on a step bit.

Sounds like you have an idea not too different from mine.

DENBrewer said:

I'd like to bounce another couple ideas off of you guys for a HERMS setup. Initially I will use my existing equipment for a 10 gallon Brewery. I am planning to expand to a 1-1.5 barrel in the future. I want to build a panel that will allow for two elements in both the HLT and kettle for the larger volume. Here's my thought:

1 5,500-W element in HLT and 1 5,500-W element in BK with selector switch for HLT / OFF / BK for automatic control through BCS
1 4,500-W element in HLT and 1 4,500-W element in BK with selector switch for HLT / OFF / BK for manual control only. This will allow the 2nd element to be used to ramp up temps but wouldn't be used to maintain temp or boil.

I think this would work to never allow more than 1 5,500-W and 1 4,500-W element to operate at the same time so a 50A panel should work. This would also allow me to hold off on the 2nd element with my current setup do to space limitations for multiple elements in the HLT with a HERMS coil.

Click to expand...

Ultimately I will have a 1 bbl + system as well. In fact, I already have the vessels. My idea was to design the control system so that I could start with 30 amps, running 1 element only, and do maybe 15 gallon batches (I think the smallest that makes sense with my vessels). Then as I get more into it I would add power and re-configure to run 2 elements at the same time, so I can get full 1 bbl batches. Even further in the misty future, I really want the power available to run all 4 elements at once for back-to-back batches.

The point is that just thinking through how I would build my system, and reading about what others have done, it seems that what you are proposing is perfectly feasible as far as construction/wiring goes.

Brian