KPR121's 220v HERMS eBrewery Build

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kpr121

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First of all I want to say thanks to everyone on here who has helped me gain the knowledge to feel comfortable with taking this sort of project on. I'm no electrician, and feel just comfortable enough around electricity to be dangerous, so I have been reading as much as I can to make sure I dont make any mistakes. Its hard to believe that its only been about 2 years since I was brewing extract kits on my wife's (then fiancee) 3 gallon pot on our stove in a little apartment, and now I am planning on a full blown system that will hopefully let me do 10-12 gallon batches consistently. Like just about everyone else on this forum, I am hooked for life.

Anyways, I've been picking up parts for my eBrewery over the past month or so, and have finally gotten enough of the honey-do list tasks completed that I can start getting some progress done on the manly project.

Up until now, I have been brewing with a 2000 watt 110v 5 gallon eHLT, 10 gallon rubbermaid MLT and turkey fryer fired keggle BK. The 5 gallon HLT has definitely been the limiting factor when trying to do 10 gallon batches which meant temporary heating of strike/sparge water in the BK or other pots, dumping, storing, reheating, and was overall a pain in the butt.

So I picked up a second sanke the other day to be used as a bigger eHLT.

Heres where I have been brewing and my basic equipment. I currently have been using a three tier gravity system. Water comes in from above via a pex line and under sink filter mounted to the wall. You can see the old eHLT on the shelf in the top right corner, that drained to the MLT on the workbench, then drained to the BK that sat on stands on the floor. The plan is to remove the workbench, and rebuild a wooden structure that is more utilized for brewing (needs to be lower, somewhat leak resistant, adequate storage, have places to store parts and hang hoses, etc).

IMG_20120310_075350.jpg


Discussions have been made on possibly adding a two-bowl utility sink as well, but I don't know if I want to get into the whole hassle of plumping/draining. I may leave room for it and use it as a big container, draining into a bucket for now. Havent fully decided how in depth I want to go with that.

Heres the pile of parts/wiring that I've accumulated.

IMG_20120310_075400.jpg


I didnt bother to organize it yet, so better pictures are to come. But the general plan will be:

1. New 50 amp breaker in the sub panel adjacent to the garage. 6/4 aluminum wiring to a new garage outlet mounted in the ceiling adjacent to the brew area.

2. 50 amp Plug from 50 amp GFCI SPA Panel, with 4 prong, 50 amp outlet mounted in the Panel

3. Auberins control panel enclosure, with Auberins PID, SSR, and RTD temp sensor.

4. Two 220 outlets for each 5500 watt element. One in eHERMs HLT, one in the BK. Original plans were to wire up a DPDT switch so that only one element were running at a time, but I may need to think about picking up another SSR and heatsink so that I can fire both at the same time. Thoughts are welcome.

5. One outlet for a pump (yet to be purchased). I am planning on using one pump so far (waiting on a discount or special that may never come). I am open to discussion on what type of pump I should be getting, please give me suggestions!

6. All connections will be made with aluminum camlocks from proflow dynamics, male on kettles/pumps/HEX, and female on three lengths of hoses. I went with aluminum because it was so much cheaper than SS, and I am not going to be winning any awards for the aesthetics of my brewery. I figured on buying some extras in case I ding one (or four) up so bad it doesn't seal. I will need three hoses for the case where I am draining from the mash tun to pump, pump to HEX in, and HEX out back to mash tun. Thanks to dan6310 for pointing that out to me about 15 minutes before I submitted my last order from bargainfittings.

7. eHERMs HEX coil will be removable so that I can move the coil to the BK as an immersion chiller if need be (I can still be persuaded otherwise if everyone thinks its a better idea to mount the HEX, and add ice water and pump my wort through the mounted HEX in HLT).

8. 10 gallon Rubbermaid MLT, with simple stainless braid draining device.

Well thats about all for now. I will be trying to update this thread as much as possible as I complete different tasks. I am usually all over the place in terms of the order with which things need to be worked on/completed so I may be jumping around a bit.

Please feel free to ask questions/ add comments/ tell me I'm an idiot and am going to kill myself.
 
Congrats on the build. It sounds like we are at about the same point and skill level with electricity at this point! I'll be following your thread closely! Best of luck to you!
 
Subscribed... Your build looks to be almost exactly what I plan to do except I'm not doing herms. Two converted snakes for HLT and BK and a converted cooler for MLT. I plan on doing a single tier system with one march pump for now, and just use the quick release camlocks to change which vessel is pumping to where. I'll also be brewing in my basement so I bought a high flow exhaust fan, and still have to set that up. I have yet to get the electrical supplies but have all the plumping parts and hope to be up and running by summer. Still using propane to get by until then. I've only been brewing for about 9 months and just made my first AG. My goal is a simple yet reliable set up that will last years, cause this will definitely be a lifetime hobby.
 
Thanks for the support! I didn’t get a chance to do as much as I wanted this weekend since it was really nice out and there was some yardwork that needed done. I did get a lot of the holes drilled mounted the items that I could. I now have intake ball valves on the HLT, MLT, and BK. For the mash tun I put the ball valve on the center of the lid as I didn’t feel very comfortable drilling a hole through the insulation.

The HLT’s element hole was drilled and leak tested (worked the best using the stock gasket on the outside of the kettle, and 1” locknut from bargainfittings on the inside) , but I still need to pot the connections and attach the waterproof housing. I am planning on jbwelding a faceplate to the element then attaching a plastic outdoor junction box. I haven’t decided if I want to fully encapsulate the wiring with JBWeld or not yet. It sounds nice to be able to replace elements easily if necessary but it’s really not all that much work to just cut the wire and repot if I need to. Does anyone have suggestions/previous experience?

This week’s goals:

• Receiving my camlocks early this week (maybe today!), and get those installed and leak tested on my rig and brew a batch this weekend using my old process (gravity fed) to get a feel for how they connect/run.
• Run the 6/4 aluminum wiring to the subpanel, install a new 50 amp breaker, and install the outlet box and connection in the garage ceiling above the brewery. Have at least my dad (who wired his entire house, including multiple 220 outlets in his garage/workshop) and possibly an electrician friend come take a look at my work before plugging in.
• Get the SPA Panel wired up with plug and outlet, so that maybe I can brew a batch with the elements manually (At least to be able to heat strike water with 4500 watts, that would be nice!).

I am on the lookout for a deal on a March or similar pump. If anyone has any links/ideas, please let me know!

I think that’s probably all I would be able to do this weekend if everything goes well. Any input is appreciated.
 
Good luck on you set-up.
On potting the elements, I havn't seen any threads about any complaints on how long an element will last so I take it as they will last a fair amount of time. I feel the same way on potting them. cut the cable, re-terminate and re-pot when needed.
Dan
 
Good luck on you set-up.
On potting the elements, I havn't seen any threads about any complaints on how long an element will last so I take it as they will last a fair amount of time. I feel the same way on potting them. cut the cable, re-terminate and re-pot when needed.
Dan

Thanks dan for the input. I feel more comfortable knowing that there will be no water contacting bare wire, than trying to save a couple bucks and a little bit of extra time if the element ever did go dead.
 
Also got the 4 prong outlet mounted in the spa panel. Man was that a pain with my dull hole saw. I think I am going to need to purchase a new one before I mount the outlets on the control panel.

I still need to wire it up also.

IMG_20120315_093015.jpg
 
This weeks status update. I am on my third beer so I think I need to be done doing electrical/mechanical work for the day!
This week’s goals:

• Receiving my camlocks early this week (maybe today!), and get those installed and leak tested on my rig and brew a batch this weekend using my old process (gravity fed) to get a feel for how they connect/run.
I did install all the camlocks, and leak tested. But I didnt get a change to brew a test batch. I dont think I am going to brew until I get the entire setup up and running
• Run the 6/4 aluminum wiring to the subpanel, install a new 50 amp breaker, and install the outlet box and connection in the garage ceiling above the brewery. Have at least my dad (who wired his entire house, including multiple 220 outlets in his garage/workshop) and possibly an electrician friend come take a look at my work before plugging in.
Got the wiring ran and the outlet connected and mounted (see first pic below). But I did not have a chance to pick up a new breaker and tie-in at the subpanel.
• Get the SPA Panel wired up with plug and outlet, so that maybe I can brew a batch with the elements manually (At least to be able to heat strike water with 4500 watts, that would be nice!).
Got the spa panel wired and ready (see second pic below), but did not pot and install the elements yet. It would have been tough to run a brew manually without the control panel setup because the plugs are different (4 wire from the spa panel to control panel, 3 wire from control to elements).

IMG_20120318_164106.jpg


IMG_20120318_135937.jpg
 
I may be away for work all week, so I wont have any time for progress. But I am getting really antsy to be able to brew my first batch on the system! Im hoping that by my birthday (Mar 28) I will be up and running. Fingers crossed!
 
Just picked up a 30 amp breaker for the subpanel, plan to get that wired up this weekend. Additional weekend plans include potting and installing element boxes, and possibly beginning to wire up some of the control panel. I still need to pick up switches, indicators, etc. so I am not sure how much I can do, but I will at least fanangle around with it and figure out what I need and where everything goes.

Waiting for the chugger march madness sale to purchase my pump. If it is an awesome deal than I am just going to bite the bullet and pick up two!
 
Progress made today:

Mounted the elements in both HLT and BK. I went for 5500 watt camco elements because I dont want to be waiting around heating water. My control panel is going to be set up to only fire one element at a time so I might as well go big.

These are the elements: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPG4LI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

IMG_20120324_174937.jpg


For whatever reason I decided to try two different methods of wiring the elements.

The HLT I used a simple end cap with wire strain relief, potted the electrical connections with liquid electrical tape. Cap is sealed to the outside of the element with JB Weld.

IMG_20120324_174930.jpg


For the BK I decided to go with something a bit more structural, since it will be moved around quite often for cleaning and such. Used a plastic waterproof utility box, and JB Welded the box to the outside of the element. I will wire it up tomorrow when the JB Weld cures.

IMG_20120324_174945.jpg


Got the spa panel mounted to the wall, and main outlet finished:

IMG_20120324_175149.jpg


IMG_20120324_175206.jpg


Also got some of the controller features mounted (both element outlets, PID with switch/LED, fuse holders, etc.

IMG_20120324_175043.jpg


IMG_20120324_175105.jpg


IMG_20120324_175111.jpg
 
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Looks nice. I am following your build cause I am about to bet going on mine... Pretty much everything is ordered, just waiting on deliveries.

What are you using for wiring between the elements and the control panel? I went with the same elements. Can't wait to hear how quick they heat.
 
IrishBrewer74 said:
Looks nice. I am following your build cause I am about to bet going on mine... Pretty much everything is ordered, just waiting on deliveries.

What are you using for wiring between the elements and the control panel? I went with the same elements. Can't wait to hear how quick they heat.

30 amp Dryer cords from home depot. I can't wait either!
 
Not much to update this week yet, been super busy with work/life. Got the breaker hooked up at least. I did pick up my bulk grain, so I guess I can add another line item on the to-do list: Build/Buy shelving for storage, also sort out into individual buckets/containers.

IMG_20120331_101900.jpg



Hopefully today I can spare an hour or two to get down into the brewery. I've been having a really hard time trying to drill a hole in the keg skirt of my BK. I guess the steel has been hardened from all the propane firing heat? I havent tried the HLT yet, but I suspect it will be easier since it hasnt seen flames yet (or ever). Im going to try some better self tapping screws.
 
KPR121,
I ran into the same issue with drilling the holes for the ground. The steel does get hard from using a propane burner. Self tapping screws on that hard and thick material will give you problems. I decided to tap the hole and secure with a 8-32 SS screw. You could go this route or just drill the hole, put a screw, lockwasher and nut. What ever works to make a secure and reliable connection.
 
KPR121,
I ran into the same issue with drilling the holes for the ground. The steel does get hard from using a propane burner. Self tapping screws on that hard and thick material will give you problems. I decided to tap the hole and secure with a 8-32 SS screw. You could go this route or just drill the hole, put a screw, lockwasher and nut. What ever works to make a secure and reliable connection.

That’s the problem, I wasn’t even able to get the hole started, even with relatively new bits and cutting oil. If I could I would be fine with just using a stainless nut and bolt with a ring terminal.

I guess I need to get some better drill bits. The ones I have from Harbor Freight have never let me down until now.

Thanks for the heads up on the self tapping screws, I wont even try to go down that route.
 
So I just had to come up with a way to store that grain, it was looking too ugly in the corner of the garage. So I adjusted these shelves in my laundry room so that I could stack two buckets high on the floor, one high on the first shelf, and Rubbermaid containers for specialty grain on the second.

You cant see it very well but the second shelf extends about 8 feet to the left of the picture and holds up to 6 empty fermentors. Top shelf holds boxes of wine bottles, and there is room on the floor to the right of the picture to hold my 13 cases of empty bottles, separated between bombers, regular 12 oz and “stubby” 12 oz.


IMG_20120401_150603.jpg
 
Don’t have pictures but I was able to get the grounding hole drilled and bolt secured. Ended up purchasing a brand new cobalt (not “Kobolt”) drill bit (I think it was 3/16”) and a stainless nut and bolt through the ring terminal of the ground wire into the keg skirt.

Also received this watertight Strain Relief Cord Connection which I will use to get the power leads into the junction box. A little expensive but I think the added safety of knowing it is watertight will be worth it. Wire will be run through the side of the junction box through a new hole cut with a step bit.

Another little project semi-milestone - I was able to splice into the PEX waterline upstream from the filter I was using. Installed a tee and new ball valve with a camlock male fitting. So now I can use non-filtered water for chilling/cleaning water. Boy are those sharkbite fittings (lowes brand is “gator-bite”) awesome, even if they are expensive.

I’ll try to get some pictures of this stuff up tonight.
 
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man, is your project an inspiration.
it looks like you are ahead of the curve but i wanted to point out an electrical reference book that a lot of people who are reading this thread could benefit from:
ISBN-13: 978-0971977969
Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm, Commercial & Industrial: Based on the 2011 National Electrical Code
 
HLRA said:
man, is your project an inspiration.
it looks like you are ahead of the curve but i wanted to point out an electrical reference book that a lot of people who are reading this thread could benefit from:
ISBN-13: 978-0971977969
Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm, Commercial & Industrial: Based on the 2011 National Electrical Code

Thanks hlra for the kind words and link. I don't have much wiring knowledge as it pertains to nec specifics so that would probably be a good one me to read too! My dad and I wired his entire new home construction a few yrs back with the oversight of a professional so I think I know just enough to keep me and my house safe, hopefully.

Going away until Sunday night so won't have any updates on the brewery till then. When I get back my sole focus will be on the control panel. No more side projects. I want to be brewing on this system this month!

I may have to temporarily forgo the herms and gravity drain into buckets and dump if that chugger pump sale never happens though.
 
Junction box wired up. Used some electric tape wrapping (yea very professional) to keep the ground wire close to the other two to minimize snagging. Waterproof faceplate goes on front.
IMG_20120405_070858.jpg


Here's what the BK looks like in place. Notice the junction box out of the way towards the back.
IMG_20120405_071609.jpg


Here's my plumbing job of the non filtered bypass.
IMG_20120405_071642.jpg
 
TrainSafe said:
That is freaking gorgeous! Nature's beauty is impressive.

It is quite amazing to think that much water is ALWAYS flowing over the falls!

Too bad there are basically NO good beer places in the direct area, a couple in Buffalo but we don't feel like driving in. Stopped at a brewery and vineyard on the way up which was awesome.
 
So I dont know why its taken this long, but heres the wiring diagram I am going with(thanks to p-j!):

Auberin-wiring1-a4-4500w-30c.jpg


Also I messed around with the control panel a little tonight, trying to figure out how I am going to cram everything in there:

IMG_20120409_202101.jpg


Got the element DPDT switch and indicators, and also the two pump switch mounted:

IMG_20120409_202116.jpg


Mock up of the closed box is next, I plan to put the E-stop and the outlets for the pumps on the top portion of the control panel. The E-stop will probably be on the top, and the outlets on the side. I wanted to put everything on the bottom portion but I just dont think it will all fit.

IMG_20120409_202156.jpg
 
Forgot to put a pic of how the brewstand was modified. I removed the drawers and lowered the surface of the platform about 8" lower than what it was. This allows me to reach into the kettle for ease of hops additions, cleaning, etc.

IMG_20120409_202229.jpg
 
It is quite amazing to think that much water is ALWAYS flowing over the falls!

that much water wasn't always going over the falls. It used to be DOUBLE! I think half the water is diverted to make power. It's hard to imaging more water but that must have been a sight.
 
Where did you get your terminal strips/bus bars? I found some at radio shack that are rated for 15 amps at 1100vrms. But not sure how that translates. They also carry neat 8 position jumpers that eliminate the need to make a bunch of jumpers by hand. I found heavier duty terminal strips at local home improvement stores but they are easily twice the cost.
 
Where did you get your terminal strips/bus bars? I found some at radio shack that are rated for 15 amps at 1100vrms. But not sure how that translates. They also carry neat 8 position jumpers that eliminate the need to make a bunch of jumpers by hand. I found heavier duty terminal strips at local home improvement stores but they are easily twice the cost.

These. 25 amp at 600V. $7 for two.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005I03WOI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


And yes I would have bought some of those jumpers if I did it again.
 
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