I just finished my Kal clone. It's an almost exact copy of Kal's build, using his layout and all. I wish my cable management skills were up to what Spike Innovations puts out, but oh well. I must say this was one of the funnest projects I have taken on in my brewing career. I'm excited that it's done but at the same time I'm sad because I enjoyed the project so much. I'm going to have one of the engineers at the office give it a once over before I plug it in just in case I wired something up incorrectly. Can't wait to give it a try. This panel is even better looking in person than in Kal's pictures. Everyone I have showed it to has been genuinely impressed (you can always tell when you are being humored and when they are really impressed).
I printed a 20 pixel by 20 pixel grid in Excel and used that to align everything.
I center punched based on marks made on the grid and used that to cut the openings.
Cable management isn't my strong suit
Standard Kal layout
I did a "back to back" build so I have two element switches instead of a single 3 way switch.
I have a lot more pictures of the process if anyone is interested in seeing them. I also have the templates I made to place everything just so. It was a LOT of work. The price Kal/Spike Innovations charges for completed panels is a friggin bargain! Seriously, do not even think twice about buying a pre-built panel if you were thinking you could do it cheaper yourself. The tools alone will end up costing you what they charge in labor if you don't already have most of it. If I didn't work for a place that built industrial panels it would have cost me a lot more to build mine. I was able to borrow everything I didn't already have to complete this build. On the other hand it is a hell of a lot of fun to do the build yourself if you are up for it. There is a pride that comes from building it yourself, even if it was a kit. I received prompt responses back from Kal and Spike Innovations whenever I had questions during the order process and after the sale. I ended up ordering the finished power cable, temp sensors, and elements from them to speed the process along and the additional orders were easy. I highly recommend this kit if you are in the market, I don't think you can go wrong here.
I printed a 20 pixel by 20 pixel grid in Excel and used that to align everything.
I center punched based on marks made on the grid and used that to cut the openings.
Cable management isn't my strong suit
Standard Kal layout
I did a "back to back" build so I have two element switches instead of a single 3 way switch.
I have a lot more pictures of the process if anyone is interested in seeing them. I also have the templates I made to place everything just so. It was a LOT of work. The price Kal/Spike Innovations charges for completed panels is a friggin bargain! Seriously, do not even think twice about buying a pre-built panel if you were thinking you could do it cheaper yourself. The tools alone will end up costing you what they charge in labor if you don't already have most of it. If I didn't work for a place that built industrial panels it would have cost me a lot more to build mine. I was able to borrow everything I didn't already have to complete this build. On the other hand it is a hell of a lot of fun to do the build yourself if you are up for it. There is a pride that comes from building it yourself, even if it was a kit. I received prompt responses back from Kal and Spike Innovations whenever I had questions during the order process and after the sale. I ended up ordering the finished power cable, temp sensors, and elements from them to speed the process along and the additional orders were easy. I highly recommend this kit if you are in the market, I don't think you can go wrong here.
