What to ask an electrcian for?

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Prymal

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Hey All,

I am having an electrician out to add a 240 line for a ductless mini split hvac system. I wanted to ask him to run a second "plug" "line" for the future possibility of moving to electric. What do I want to ask them for. I would think i would run an electric brewery with 2x 5500w elements 1 in the HLT the other in the boil keetle with a herms coil and pumps.

From what I understand the 240v line I need for the hvac only requires a 15 amp breaker. I have 3 open slots on my beaker box.

With that, what do I need to ask an electrician to do?
 
You'll want a 50 amp GFCI breaker installed in the box and then you'll want him to run the line to a 4-prong outlet wherever you want it at. The 50 amp GFCI breaker may be more expensive than having him install a Spa panel.

So basically whatever is better in your electricians opinion. What you will need is 50 amps that is GFCI protected at your outlet.
 
You probably would want a 50 amp outlet. You could then run 2 4500w elements at the same time. Or if you only plan on using one element at a time you can get a 30amp.
 
Hey All,

I am having an electrician out to add a 240 line for a ductless mini split hvac system. I wanted to ask him to run a second "plug" "line" for the future possibility of moving to electric. What do I want to ask them for. I would think i would run an electric brewery with 2x 5500w elements 1 in the HLT the other in the boil keetle with a herms coil and pumps.

From what I understand the 240v line I need for the hvac only requires a 15 amp breaker. I have 3 open slots on my beaker box.

With that, what do I need to ask an electrician to do?

Could you do your ebrewery near to where the hvac system is being powered?

If so you could ask him to set a subpanel, use a larger breaker in your main eg 80a or 100a, and have 2 separate lines out of the subpanel, 1 x 15a for your hvac and 1 x 50A for brewing

Though if your panel is full (save for 3spots) you might want to do a load calculation to see what kind of overhead you have available
 
The hvac system and ebrewery could easily be on opposite sides of the same wall. Hvac on the outside ebrewery in the garage.
 
You could also have him wire in only one supply to that area, and provide some form of transfer switch inside. Then you'd use the same breaker (50a) in the panel, and with the switch you'd control whether the power goes to your HVAC unit or your outlet for the brewery. You wouldn't be able to run both at the same time, but it would cut down on total equipment and wiring, and reduce your potential total load at the main.

Edit - I just saw you're in Phoenix. No AC for a few hours could be death.
 
hey everyone,

I finally got the electrician in to add the extra circuit. I hope I did this right. Here is a fuzzy picture of the panel. It's a 240v 30amp circuit. My plan is to run 5500w for the boil kettle and there is a 120v GFCI outlet on the same wall I can run a smaller 1500w element on for the HLT.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And the Outlet



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
I have no idea what that means.

Based upon the receptacle, it appears that you have two hots and a ground and you do not have a neutral. You can use that to power a control panel at 240v, but without a neutral your panel will not be able to support 120v devices.

There could really be 4 wires from the panel to the receptacle, but then it would have made more sense to use a receptacle with 3 poles and a ground, rather than 2 poles and a ground.

The first reply to your post recommended running to a 4-prong outlet.
 
That is fine. I am not really planning on a control panel. I was just gonna plug the 5500w element directly into the wall to start the boil and plug one of those bucket wand heaters into a 120v plug for the HLT. I am not super technical when it comes to electrical stuff so I want to go as plug and play / simple as possible.
 
That is fine. I am not really planning on a control panel. I was just gonna plug the 5500w element directly into the wall to start the boil and plug one of those bucket wand heaters into a 120v plug for the HLT. I am not super technical when it comes to electrical stuff so I want to go as plug and play / simple as possible.

Admirable goal. You will likely need something like a PID or PWM to moderate the heat output, unless your element is perfectly sized for the boil kettle and water volume.
 
I run my converted boiling keg w/ 14 gal boil with a 3800 watt 240v element. No control...just a circuit breaker and a hose for control. Once the boil starts and maintains, via the cold water shower on the edge if needed, she boils for an hour without any further attention.

I went from on/off control with LP and have converted to electric with the same principle in mind. 3800w boil kettle/ 5500w MLT and HERMS with only a circuit breaker for control...
 
I was just gonna plug the 5500w element directly into the wall to start the boil ...
You really shouldn't do that. A wall plug is not a switch. It's not meant to be used as a switch. It's not safe.

There is a ton of current flowing through there and as you push it in and pull it out only a small portion of the blades will be making contact causing all the current to go through a small spot which will cause elevated heat, and possible arcing/scorching.

Just like any other high current device you use around the house, the device should be turned off before it's plugged or unplugged.

You may be able to use the circuit breaker as a switch. The general concerns with this are:

- The breaker may not be in a suitable place near the appliance.
- The breaker might not disconnect both (or all) conductors so would not function as an isolator.
- The breaker may not be designed to be used frequently.

See part #1 here: http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NEC-HTML/HTML/ElectricalCircuitBreakers~20020419.htm

My 2 cents.

(This is in addition to being able to modulate/control the amount of power as jeffmeh mentioned above. 5500W may be too much power).

Kal
 
You really shouldn't do that. A wall plug is not a switch. It's not meant to be used as a switch. It's not safe.

There is a ton of current flowing through there and as you push it in and pull it out only a small portion of the blades will be making contact causing all the current to go through a small spot which will cause elevated heat, and possible arcing/scorching.

Just like any other high current device you use around the house, the device should be turned off before it's plugged or unplugged.

You may be able to use the circuit breaker as a switch. The general concerns with this are:

- The breaker may not be in a suitable place near the appliance.
- The breaker might not disconnect both (or all) conductors so would not function as an isolator.
- The breaker may not be designed to be used frequently.

My 2 cents.

(This is in addition to being able to modulate/control the amount of power as jeffmeh mentioned above. 5500W may be too much power).

Kal

I'll add that a 2 pole 30A switch is cheap from HD/Lowes ($11), I have a couple that I use for lathe/etc
 
So you are saying make a pid control box for the boil kettle, what about the 120v heater wand for my HLT is that ok to run straight out of a gfci plug.
 
I wouldn't use a plug as means to turn on or off anything that draws any amount of current, including a 120V heater wand which may draw up to 15A.

Kal
 
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