Can someone check my Diagram?

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magnj

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Well I took a crack at this, not sure how I did, also don't like electrocution. Would someone mind helping me out here? Don't mind my drawing, I can only do so much with mspaint and a laptop track pad.

Is my understanding of the SPST switches correct? 2 terminals, one in one out? Is there a ground? Should I be switching both Live and Neutral with a DPST?

If I am in fact on track, what gauge wiring do I need inside, 12?
Also this is intended to be run on a 15A GFCI circuit powering a march 809 and a 1500W element in a RIMS tube.

Thanks!

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Ok, any tips on the pump/element out and the main power in outlets? Should I just go to HD and get regular old outlets? I see people on here with some fancy looking ones...
 
Ok, any tips on the pump/element out and the main power in outlets? Should I just go to HD and get regular old outlets? I see people on here with some fancy looking ones...

Regular old outlets will work fine, especially at the loads you are using.

Get an outlet rated for 20A, and you're good to go.

For power into the box, I personally don't use an inlet. I just have a power cord attached permanently to the box.
 
lol I saw the email alert but was unsure why the site did not reflect the post. 1500W LWD, hoping it will be enough to maintain my temps for 10 gallon batches in a 15 gallon aluminum stock pot.
 
lol I saw the email alert but was unsure why the site did not reflect the post. 1500W LWD, hoping it will be enough to maintain my temps for 10 gallon batches in a 15 gallon aluminum stock pot.

Yeah, sorry. I had focused on the picture and asked my question before I read the damn text above it. So I deleted the post. :D

I would think that 1500W should be able to maintain a mash temp just fine. You'll probably want to do the big heating with some other source and gets mashed in, but after than, I think the little element can maintain things for you.
 
Ok, for the in side I want a male outlet, will I find one at a big box outlet? For that matter should I just use regular light switches instead of ordering from digikey? My only issue is my box is only 10inx6x3...kinda tight, somehow have to get a heatsink in there too.
 
Yea I'll be direct firing the HLT and BK with propane, maybe the MLT with low heat for step mashes but that's rare for me.
 
and other answers:

Yes, you understand SPST switches. One in, one out, only connected with the switch in on position.

And 12 gauge wiring is fine to use for the wiring.
 
Ok, for the in side I want a male outlet, will I find one at a big box outlet? For that matter should I just use regular light switches instead of ordering from digikey? My only issue is my box is only 10inx6x3...kinda tight, somehow have to get a heatsink in there too.

I don't recall seeing the recessed male power inlets at Lowe's or HomeDepot.

Regular light switches will work, but they take up a lot of space. For the small number of switches you need, I would just go to RadioShack and get them and save the shipping charges.

Lowe's and HomeDepot will also sell toggle switches. Guess it depends on if you care what the final product looks like. Illuminated switches, while cool looking, don't change the functionality. :D

As for the SSR's heatsink, you don't have to put it inside. In fact, you might want to put it outside the box and have a hole cut so that the SSR can still make contact with it.

But, 10x6x3 isn't going to be too small.

I have a 10x12x5, and only use 10x6x5 of it, and I have a lot more stuff in there than you are planning. One whole half of my panel is empty in case I want to expand later.
 
awesome, great info! I guess I'll be making some trips to HD and Radio Shack this wknd. Stay Tuned I'm sure I'll have more questions :). Still have to full assemble the RIMS tube and figure out how to pot and ground the element.
 
Another tip....

I bought switches similar to the ones you have in your picture. Little rectangular switches.

Worst mistake I ever made.

My enclosure is 14 gauge steel, and cutting those little rectangles was a real PITA.

Switches that install through round holes would have been a much better solution for me, because drilling a hole in the steel was easy. Cutting rectangles was not.

If your enclosure is plastic, then the rectangles will be a hell of a lot easier that it was for me.
 
plastic case, but circles would still be easier, noted. I don't care if it looks like a million bucks but I don't want it to look like ****. I'll have to balance the two with my budget
 
Got an outlet and some round spst toggle switches but I was overwhelmed by the choice of wire. I saw some 14-2 which looked like I could remove the outer sleeve and have individual wires for the inside, is this the kind of stuff you guys are using? Also I'm unsure what to do about power in, are there male outlets available or should I just hardwire it?
 
I am pretty much doing the same thing for my RIMS setup. I ended up buying a Husky "Tool Replacement Cord" that I am using for my main power in. I also bought another one for using on the RIMS tube. The cord was 9ft long and I cut the one for the RIMS in half and ended up pulling the outer sleeve off to use those wires for the inside of the box. I went with a 6"x6"x6" plastic enclosure box from Home Depot along with the small toggle switches with round holes. Looks like everything will fit fine, just need to finish cutting holes and get it painted and wired up. I'll post pictures when I finish next weekend (getting underway on a ship for a week).
 
Good stuff! So did you hard wire the cord into the box or did you find a male outlet at HD? Do you know what the gauge of the cord is that you purchased?
 
Good stuff! So did you hard wire the cord into the box or did you find a male outlet at HD? Do you know what the gauge of the cord is that you purchased?

I hard wired it in through a 1/2" 90 degree gang box elbow. I am planning on using heat shrink to seal it up and make it look nice and on the inside of the box there is a ziptie/mounting base. The wire itself is 14 gauge. It was 9 bucks so I couldn't pass it up. It would have cost more to manufacture one out of 14/3 and a male plug.
 
Agreed, I'll look out for one. I'm somewhat hesitant about hard wiring it in, I'd rather hardwire the RIMS and pump really but oh well. I'm trying not to ship anything else if I don't have to.
 
So I'm wiring this bad boy up this weekend and I have a few more questions...My outlets for power out are not round, they are typical household outlets (well 1 double outlet). And my box is just a tad to small to install the cover. Tips? I'm thinking of just drilling round holes and using some sort of rubber as a gasket.

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Two things I can think of.

1. Return that stuff an get the rectangular receptacles. No plate needed.

2. Return the plates and get narrow ones. These are found in homedepot/lowes with the conduit and other "industrial" stuff and not with the pretty stuff meant for inside a house.
 
Both good ideas, still have to hit up the store tomorrow for the wiring so I'll look at those options, thanks! Also just remembered I need to dig up an old CPU heatsink for the ssr and figure out if mounting it inside will keep everything cool enough.

I'm scared to cut into this box :(
 
Yeah. Hard to make the first incision.

Plan. Plan. Plan.

Don't cut until you are damn sure you know where everything will go.
 
Yep, I plan on it. See below, that's not what I'll be cutting from but that's my basic layout I think. And a few more pictures of what I'm working with for reference.
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So I'm back from Home Depot with I think everything I need to get this guy built today.

Question. How should I be mounting thins like the SSR and the terminal buses. Screw head outside and then shaft up? Otherwise I'll just have crap sticking out the back of my box no?

Got a great deal on a medium duty 14 gauge extension cord. 50' for $20... Should be enough for everything, RIMS tube will be rather close to the box anyway.
 
A good source for recessed male 120v connectors is a scrap computer power supply. I'm sure that you can get one from a local computer shop and salvage the connector.
 
Ah, well I think I'm just going to hardwire it in at this point.

I've got a heatsink but I have no clue how to mount it and whether or not it will get too hot inside the box if I don't mount it outside...

I could cut a hole and kind of glue it in but I'd rather it be inside.
 
So, I got some work done today, not nearly as much as I imagined but I figured almost everything out. Except: how do I mount this heatsink? Here is the layout I decided on, need a few more screws and a drill bit for the switches and then I can play with it again. I'm thinking glue for the heatsink, and of course drilling holes in it to mount the SSR on it.

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Here is a setup I made similar to yours...
I have a separate box for the PID & RTD connection and the Power distribution.
I did it that way so I can use the smaller box as a digital thermometer.

I was willing to risk burning up a SSR to see if this would work. I used it a few times, but quickly progressed to a BCS controlled system.

I put a thermometer in the box and sealed it as best I could. Under 50% duty cycle running a 1680watt heatgun and a pump for 3 hours, the temp never exceeded 100f which is 37.8c. The operating range of the auber ssr is up to 70c.

There are NO fuses or over current protection in this build and the wiring is a rats nest.

I had no problems with it in probably 6-8 brews that it was used in. I still use the "Digital Thermometer" portion on occasion.


IMG_3546.jpg


IMG_3550.jpg


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I was willing to risk burning up a SSR to see if this would work. I used it a few times, but quickly progressed to a BCS controlled system.

I put a thermometer in the box and sealed it as best I could. Under 50% duty cycle running a 1680watt heatgun and a pump for 3 hours, the temp never exceeded 100f which is 37.8c. The operating range of the auber ssr is up to 70c.

There are NO fuses or over current protection in this build and the wiring is a rats nest.

I had no problems with it in probably 6-8 brews that it was used in. I still use the "Digital Thermometer" portion on occasion.

Ed, excellent observation. That is a very tight fit for the heat sink in that box, and it still did not heat up much. Thanks for sharing.
 
Well the heatsink pictured is not going to work, I'm going to order one of the Auber units and just drill it in even though I don't want to. I wanted to mount this case on a shelf and a screw head out the bottom will mess that up but oh well. Also there is no such thing as a high temp glue that bonds plastic and metal.
 
eh, wasn't meant to be. Auberins heatsink en route. Will get the terminal buses mounted today though, maybe some wiring.

Should I start a new build thread or does someone wanna change the thread title for me?>
 
Ok so I got the heatsink for the SSR. I mounted the rest of the terminal buses and the ssr. But I think I screwed up. In my head I assumed I could use a regular home outlet to control 2 separate devices independently. But I'm looking at the thing and despite being two set of terminals for hot an neutral they are bridged.

I wanted to be able to turn the pump and element on independently but it seems like that's not going to happen. I'm unsure what to do besides just plugging the pump into the wall and switching it manually when needed...

Thoughts? Why are there two of each terminal on these things? Maybe if you want to run power to the next one down the line on the wall?
 
There are little tabs of metal that bridge the two outlets together on the side. You can break these off (work it back and forth with pliers until it detaches). This separates the outlets.

You only need to do this on the hot side and then use both screws, one for element and one for pump. The neutral side can be left bridged with only one wire connected to it.
 
That is *specifically* what those tabs of metal are meant for and the reason there are two sets of screws, so yes... It's advisable. :)
 
Thanks Walker, upon further review I feel comfortable doing that :). I'm taking a quick beer and HBT break from wiring. So far I have 2 questions. On the switches is it safe to assume that of the 2 terminals available the one on the off side is the in terminal and the one near the on side is the out terminal? And same for the SSR. 1 & 2 are the 120V terminals, is 1 in and 2 out?

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