Which 240v receptacle???

Good grief, I didn't realize there was 10 choices. 3 wire, 4 wire( I assume I want one of these?), 30amp, 50amp, endless choices! I do want one that will go into a box(recessed in wall), I don't want a giant tumor hanging off the wall. And my shopping choices are limited to Lowe's, unless there's an online source.

What say you, electric brew genies?

4 wire 50 amp drier style,, even if your only going to 3 wires its cheaper than a 3 wire 50 amp welding socket and plug,, and you can put a common in it for a 240 gfi

Henrythe9th said:

4 wire 50 amp drier style,, even if your only going to 3 wires its cheaper than a 3 wire 50 amp welding socket and plug,, and you can put a common in it for a 240 gfi

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There is no such thing as a 50 amp dryer style. Dryers are 30 amps, ranges and welders are 50 amps. I'd suggest a 50 amp range (4 wire) plug and receptacle. And its not a common, its a neutral or grounded conductor.

Sorry if that sounded *****ebaggish, I was just trying to clarify...

You need to figure how much current you'll need and if you need 110v included. What are the components you'll be powering? Specifically heating elements.
I have 2 twistloc 30amp 3 wire outlets that I don't need.

50 Amp 4-Wire plug mounted and ready for drywall (And the panel that feeds it...)



Left to right - Hot 1, Neutral, Hot 2, with the ground at the bottom in the middle...

It's not wired to the panel yet. I'm waiting until next weekend after I have the main feed trenched over from the house

The panel:

SweetSounds said:

50 Amp 4-Wire plug mounted and ready for drywall (And the panel that feeds it...)

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If you take the receptacle back out, and replace the raised cover with a 2 gang mud ring before you drywall, you can mount it flush with a regular plate and it will look much cleaner...

Stickshaker said:

If you take the receptacle back out, and replace the raised cover with a 2 gang mud ring before you drywall, you can mount it flush with a regular plate and it will look much cleaner...

Click to expand...

I'll have to find one of those

Thanks!

Budzu said:

You need to figure how much current you'll need and if you need 110v included. What are the components you'll be powering? Specifically heating elements.
I have 2 twistloc 30amp 3 wire outlets that I don't need.

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Ok, i'm confused. I have the capability of running two 30 amp circuits. Or a 40 and a 30 amp. Which ever. btw, i'm smashed. my badz

No worries, just wondering what your power needs are going to be. If you'll run electric element or elements and pump or pumps, what wattage etc. You'll probably want all of your components to run off a single gfci breaker.

wildwest450 said:

Ok, i'm confused. I have the capability of running two 30 amp circuits. Or a 40 and a 30 amp. Which ever. btw, i'm smashed. my badz

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Me too...

A 40 and a 30 is 70 amps...

That's plenty for a 50amp circuit right?

SweetSounds said:

Me too...

A 40 and a 30 is 70 amps...

That's plenty for a 50amp circuit right?

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Sorry, I was hitting the homebrew hard last night. I'm planning 2 different 240v circuits, is that over kill? I was thinking a 40 amp and a 30 amp, I (already have the wire). Would one 50 amp be better? Is one plug enough to run everything? I don't know my requirements, because I haven't decided which way to go on my system. I do know it will be all electric, and i'm only wiring it once, so I want to do it right.

wildwest450 said:

Sorry, I was hitting the homebrew hard last night. I'm planning 2 different 240v circuits, is that over kill? I was thinking a 40 amp and a 30 amp, I (already have the wire). Would one 50 amp be better? Is one plug enough to run everything? I don't know my requirements, because I haven't decided which way to go on my system. I do know it will be all electric, and i'm only wiring it once, so I want to do it right.

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I guess it depends on what you are using for elements. If you need more than 11000 watts, you'll need more than one 50 amp circuit. If it were my choice, and 11000 watts was enough, I'd use one circuit. It just seems easier

SweetSounds said:

I guess it depends on what you are using for elements. If you need more than 11000 watts, you'll need more than one 50 amp circuit. If it were my choice, and 11000 watts was enough, I'd use one circuit. It just seems easier

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I will most likely go with the standard 5500w in bk and hlt. I guess the part i'm not settled on is rims/herms. If you only ran 1 element at a time wouldn't 40 amps be plenty? I do want a control box with the ability to run a pump or two also.

Hey, I'm thread jacking my own thread.

My brewery also has a 100amp service like yours wildwest. Here's the setup I use:
For all my lighting, fridge, freezer, etc. I have 2 20amp circuits. Everything on my brewrig is wired together though. I have 11000 watt in elements, I went with a 60 amp gfci and plug. It was kind of hard to find. I didn't feel safe having my ceiling so close with a 50 amp because I like to run full power. 11000 by itself is around 43 amp or so, then with 2 pumps and other controls its too close to 50 amp for me.

With two circuits you can make it work just fine I would think. Probably will end up a little more expensive but not much, with gfci's. Just keep in mind if something goes wrong and that breaker trips, it will only shut down part of the system, not the other circuit.

Now you need to still pick a plug style. Would you have each of your circuits dedicated to an element each? Can you run your 110v stuff off of a separate 15amp circuit?
The point is the 4th wire is useful for wiring in non-240v components.

Budzu said:

With two circuits you can make it work just fine I would think. Probably will end up a little more expensive but not much, with gfci's. Just keep in mind if something goes wrong and that breaker trips, it will only shut down part of the system, not the other circuit.

Now you need to still pick a plug style. Would you have each of your circuits dedicated to an element each? Can you run your 110v stuff off of a separate 15amp circuit?
The point is the 4th wire is useful for wiring in non-240v components.

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Actually one circuit would be better, I just wanted to be sure to have enough power if necessary. I suppose on large circuit is a better choice than 2 smaller ones. And definitely a 4 wire plug, now that you've explained it. Thanks.

No prob dude, I just know I beat myself over the head with so many configurations before settling on something. Now go check out some hardware stores, I managed to find a 60 amp gfci (and some 50 amps) spa panel that was on clearance for CHEAP at home depot. Might be the cheapest way for you to get a big breaker too.

Budzu said:

No prob dude, I just know I beat myself over the head with so many configurations before settling on something. Now go check out some hardware stores, I managed to find a 60 amp gfci (and some 50 amps) spa panel that was on clearance for CHEAP at home depot. Might be the cheapest way for you to get a big breaker too.

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Not to start a holy flame war, but is the gfci a necessity?


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wildwest450 said:

Not to start a holy flame war, but is the gfci a necessity?


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Strictly speaking, they are not necessary. But then again, neither are seat belts. Any time you combine liquids and electricity a gfci is a good idea. The gfci is the only thing that will save you if the juice is running through you instead of your brew equipment.

wildwest450 said:

Not to start a holy flame war, but is the gfci a necessity?


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Click to expand...

They aren't necessary to make electricity into heat in your brew kettle.
They might be if you want to be around to drink it

You know it's code now that every garage circuit has to be GFCI? i didn't know that till i started this project... All house circuits have to be AFCI too.
Huh...

Safety is expensive!

SweetSounds said:

Safety is expensive!

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No lie, $85 for a 50amp gfci! Lowe's only carries the murray brand, and my box is a square d, now what? Electric brewing may be cheaper than propane, but it's going to take 5 years to recoup the expense of wiring it. I just paid $50 for the 6/3 with ground.

Why are these breakers so hard to find? And why is it cheaper to buy a "spa pack" than just the breaker? I was thinking of getting this, I should be able to use that breaker in my box, correct?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQT1AS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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Square D makes a Homeline series (which that breaker is) and a QO series. Which do you have?

Stickshaker said:

Square D makes a Homeline series (which that breaker is) and a QO series. Which do you have?

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Homeline.


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wildwest450 said:

No lie, $85 for a 50amp gfci! Lowe's only carries the murray brand, and my box is a square d, now what? Electric brewing may be cheaper than propane, but it's going to take 5 years to recoup the expense of wiring it. I just paid $50 for the 6/3 with ground.

Why are these breakers so hard to find? And why is it cheaper to buy a "spa pack" than just the breaker? I was thinking of getting this, I should be able to use that breaker in my box, correct?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQT1AS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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Click to expand...

That's what I'm using... We have a 50 amp spa panel on the side of the house. I removed the 50 amp (SquareD QO FWIW) GFCI breaker, and extended the circuit into the garage through some conduit. Now the spa panel is just a junction box...
Then I installed the 50 GFCI in the new panel in the garage.

SweetSounds said:

That's what I'm using... We have a 50 amp spa panel on the side of the house. I removed the 50 amp (SquareD QO FWIW) GFCI breaker, and extended the circuit into the garage through some conduit. Now the spa panel is just a junction box...
Then I installed the 50 GFCI in the new panel in the garage.

Click to expand...

Good idea. All the breakers I found were actually more than the whole spa kit. I ordered one off of Amazon for $79, which is amazing considering just the Murray breaker was $85 at Lowes.


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Not sure if you ever got an answer to your original question... which receptacle?

I got a Camco, Powergrip plug like this one (mine came from an e-bay store):

http://service-replacement-plans-store.blogspot.com/2010/04/camco-55255-rv-50-amp-powergrip.html

I use this on the cord from my rigs power panel. I use twistlocs for my elements to the panel. What I like about the Powergrip, is that it is a standard 4-wire plug and the handle makes it super easy to use.

I have been through the same sticker shock you are dealing with... High current (if you consider 50 amps high current) = high dollar. Good news is; your head will start throbbing a bit less when you get to wiring pumps, controls, probes, etc...

Good luck.

Ohio-Ed said:

Not sure if you ever got an answer to your original question... which receptacle?

I got a Camco, Powergrip plug like this one (mine came from an e-bay store):

http://service-replacement-plans-store.blogspot.com/2010/04/camco-55255-rv-50-amp-powergrip.html

I use this on the cord from my rigs power panel. I use twistlocs for my elements to the panel. What I like about the Powergrip, is that it is a standard 4-wire plug and the handle makes it super easy to use.

I have been through the same sticker shock you are dealing with... High current (if you consider 50 amps high current) = high dollar. Good news is; your head will start throbbing a bit less when you get to wiring pumps, controls, probes, etc...

Good luck.

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Cooooolll!
Yet another idea I should have come up with
I'd be sippin homebrew on a beach somewhere!

Ohio-Ed said:

Not sure if you ever got an answer to your original question... which receptacle?

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Thanks! Since I decided to go 50 amp 4 wire, that limit's my choices to around one, I believe.. That's a cool plug, I'll definitely keep it in mind.


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