Electric Brewery Build with Coolers.

Haha! I had a feeling, I had read a build on The Powers Brewery website, and he said hat he used a bathroom fan motor without any more details on it that I could find. So I just searched that on Amazon and came up with that motor and thought it might work. I'm glad I asked! Thanks again!!

Sean

P-J,

I am not sure if this is a crazy request or not but it would be really nice to have the diagram that I am using to reflect my build. Currently I am using several to piece it together, which is fine, but not ideal of course. I would love for the key switch w/ indicator light and contactor to be added, along with the internal breakers and thermometer probe switch instead of PID switch.

I feel really bad requesting this because I know everyone here asks so much from you but I thought it doesn't hurt to ask.

If not up to it, I totally understand!

Thanks,
Sean

Instead of churning the HLT with a mechanical motor, how about bubbling in air using an aquarium pump? It might be an easier way to agitate the water.

Alien, thanks for the suggestion! I actually might end up going in that direction.


Last week I brought my parts over to my dads to start building this thing and we got a few holes completed before I had to leave. All week he has been working on it on his own and wow, he is kicking butt!

More progress photos! He ended up using truck bed liner paint! It turned out really nice.

Looking good man! Keep us posted on the progress.

Thanks Corey!


My Dad has been having trouble with the wiring but I think he figured it out! He is on a mission!

Hey Sean,

Have you installed the element yet? If so, are you having any issues getting your element to seal in the side of the cooler? I worked on it for about 90 minutes last night trying to get it to seal the kal/blichman way and it definitely leaks. How did you/are you planning to set-up your locknut, washer, o-ring?

Thanks,
Corey

Hey Corey,


I have no yet tried to mount the elements yet but was planning on using this site as a guide.

http://e-brewing.tumblr.com/post/28954471438/short-simple-electric-hlt-build-instructions

http://billbufkin.com/mill_&_hlt.htm

Sorry, I am not much help but will let you know when we get to it. I assume you will have it figured out by then.


Sean

Thanks for the response. I just got it figured out. I ended up getting it to work the same way kal does on his site with a washer around the silicone o-ring. I'm not sure what i was doing wrong yesterday but it kept leaking. To be safe I really plastered the silicone all around the inside of the conduit box. I'll let it sit overnight with 10 gallons of water in it and look for any signs of leaking. If all is well i'll try my luck with the wiring before the superbowl.

http://theelectricbrewery.com/heating-elements?page=7

Corey

smittygouv30 said:

Thanks for the response. I just got it figured out. I ended up getting it to work the same way kal does on his site with a washer around the silicone o-ring. I'm not sure what i was doing wrong yesterday but it kept leaking. To be safe I really plastered the silicone all around the inside of the conduit box. I'll let it sit overnight with 10 gallons of water in it and look for any signs of leaking. If all is well i'll try my luck with the wiring before the superbowl.

http://theelectricbrewery.com/heating-elements?page=7

Corey

Click to expand...

If you leave water around your element that long, you might start to get some rust forming on the plated base that the heater cool is attached to.

cupido76 said:

If you leave water around your element that long, you might start to get some rust forming on the plated base that the heater cool is attached to.

Click to expand...

Ohhhh, thanks for the heads up. Maybe me not being patient is actually a good thing is come cases. The most I could wait was about 2-3 hours. There was no signs of leaking at that point so I dumped the water and went ahead with the silicone and wiring last night.

Good looking out though, I didn't realize this. It's certainly a good tip for the future.

Corey

Almost done. A couple of the labels are wrong but most likely will be ordering new ones from a professional label company. I don't quite like the way these turned out. My dad did all of this so I don't have any place to complain. He is the man! Still waiting on the breaker for my house panel and we will be almost ready to brew!

Can I borrow your dad for a couple days? Its looking good man. You are definitely going to finish before me! Keep us posted on your maiden voyage.

I used http://www.signsbannerstags.ca/ it's the same site that kal used in his build. George was great and got my tags done quickly. It was $33.50 for 21 custom tags. Definitely worth every penny.

What do you think of the switchcraft plug/receptacles? What pumps are you using?

-Corey

Here is a shot of some of the tags I'm using just in case you wanted proof that the tags are decent. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Corey

Well, I am getting really close to finishing this thing. For some reason one of the simplest things I cant figure out, my temp probe switch and wiring is not working. Would you guys be able to enlighten me on how I should be wiring the selector switch that changes from each of the temp probes (HLT and BK, both K type).

I will post some pics soon!

Thanks!
Sean

I'm wondering since I'm not getting any responses, that it might not be possible. If anybody can confirm or deny, I would really appreciate it! I have hit a wall.

Thanks!

Some pics of the panel with tags.

I haven't chimed in because I'm not really 100% sure, but here's my thought. A K-Type is a thermocouple. It has two distinct types of metal that, when heated or cooled, alter the resistance in the thermocouple. They work because you calibrate them to your system based on a set length, gauge, and type of cable. If you run them through a switch, now you're altering the type and length of cable between the thermocouples, which results in the system having no idea what it's measuring and the thermocouples not working. If you want to have a switch that will allow you to go from one temp probe to another, my suggestion would be to get 2 RTD probes and a switch with 3NO and 3NC terminal blocks. Run one RTD to the NOs, run the other to the NCs, and make sure you keep the wires in the same order from both RTDs. Then jumper the terminal blocks on the non-RTD side, and run 1 wire for each pair of blocks to your PID. Confusing the way I wrote it, I know, but it should allow you to switch between the two.

Or... save yourself the headache, get a plug end on the panel like most people on here use, and just physically switch out the RTDs when you want to swap temperatures.

Short story - probably won't work with K type... (or, I'm an idiot).

Thanks! That actually does make sense. I'll probably just hook one of my sockets directly to the PID and switch between the two probes by unplugging/plugging, as you suggested. That's a bummer since I already put in the switch. Maybe I can think of another use for it.


I really appreciate the input!

I will keep you guys updated, I am really close to finishing this thing. I sprung a leak in my HLT where the element is, so I ordered high temp silicone so I can seal it up for good.


Thanks!!
Sean

Looks good man. Sorry to hear about the temp probe switch. You should totally do something slick with the extra switch. I'm picturing a bright neon sign of your brewery name/logo logo thats mounted above your coolers. Have the switch power that on/off! ...Or maybe do something more practical like If you have an electric grain mill wire the switch to power that on/off.

Cheers,
Corey

Thanks Corey!

Those are two really good ideas!!

Sean