Shore Power Cord?

I saw in one of the other thread people talking about using a shore power cord as an extension power cord for an electric 240v rig. I'm piecing my parts together and see if people think this would work.

Goal is a Brutus 20 electric with a RIMS (thanks to RIMS for Dummies). I'm thinking 7500watts in the BK and 1500 in the RIMS.

30amp 30ft shore power cord on Craigslist for $60. It's been there awhile so I think I can get it cheaper.

[email protected]

Any Advice? I'm learning electricy very slowly so I don't kill my self, and will rely on my electrical engineer neighbor as insurance. Thanks.

Your 7500W BK is going to pull more than 30A.

Amps = Watts/Volts. 7500/240 = 31.25, plus your pump will pull a couple of amps.

You're going to need a more manly power cord.

If you want to use that cord, you'll have to probably drop down to 5500W in the BK (23A) plus a couple amps from the pump.

If you want to check it out, I found good prices and lots of options for poertable power cords from this place:

http://www.stayonline.com/power-bulk-cord.aspx

I personally bought this stuff for $2.20 a foot. It's a monster, though (2000V/65A and 1" in diameter)
http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=6314

Now that's what I'm talking about! I don't think I really need a 30ft extension cord anyway so 20ft of that would be plenty, or less. I'm not playing around with this type of high voltage. I don't want there to be any question about what the system can handle.

I picked 7500watts because it seems like 5500 is working well for folks but 7500 really knocks down the times and gives you some fast response for boils and strike water.

Thanks for the links.

Mose said:

Now that's what I'm talking about! I don't think I really need a 30ft extension cord anyway so 20ft of that would be plenty, or less. I'm not playing around with this type of high voltage. I don't want there to be any question about what the system can handle.

Click to expand...

I hear ya..... I decided to go overkill on ratings wherever I could. This particular cable, though, was not only overkill but also cheaper than something that came "close" to what I actually needed.

I don't know how you are building your system, but that cord I linked to is what I use as my PRIMARY feed from the wall into the control box. I used much smaller cable for getting from the control box to my element, because the element doesn't need that much power (http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=6285).

believe me, that 65A cable is no picnic to deal with. It's huge and heavy.

Mose said:

I picked 7500watts because it seems like 5500 is working well for folks but 7500 really knocks down the times and gives you some fast response for boils and strike water.

Thanks for the links.

Click to expand...

Have you scoped out heater elements yet? A 7500W element looks like it's pretty pricey.

I haven't checked the elements yet. I've been reading threads over and over trying to learn what I need and the info on this site is amazingly informative and overwhelming. I don't have it at my finger tips right now but couldn't remember if 5500watts was enough to really kick in a boil in a short amount of time for a 10gal batch.

I typically do 5gal batches but want to make sure I can do 10 with ease for those more poplular styles, mostly summer ales when everyone is hanging around outside.

I will likely model my system off of Jkarps countertop with a little of the Pol and Willynilly thrown in but a lot less bling. Keggles, two pumps, RIMS for Dummies, IC, two PID's, RTD's, proflow dynamic QD's. SS 1/2in ball valves, bobby-m sightglass. Try to silver solder the couplings instead of weldless.

I have a shorter dryer cord I pulled off my old dryer, 4wire, to use from kettle to CP, I was looking for a main power source as well. I'll be wiring in 220 in the basement and maybe the garage while I'm at it. The electrical engineer neighbor is willing to help and just so happens to like well crafted beer.

Mose said:

I have a shorter dryer cord I pulled off my old dryer, 4wire, to use from kettle to CP, I was looking for a main power source as well. I'll be wiring in 220 in the basement and maybe the garage while I'm at it. The electrical engineer neighbor is willing to help and just so happens to like well crafted beer.

Click to expand...

Check the rating on that dryer cord. Electric range cords are usually 50A, but dryers are typically only 30A.

edit: be careful with your electrical engineer neighbor. I'm an EE myself, but didn't know jack-**** about which wire gauge to use because it has a LOT to do with the type of insulation on the wire and that's something an EE doesn't generaly deal with. I was also completely ignorant about building codes and whatnot when I started researching. In my EE opinion, an electrician is much more valuable here than an EE for this kind of stuff.

I checked with all of my local vendors, and ended up getting 50ft of 8/4 SO for $1.29 a foot. I would skip the shore cord and just buy the correct cable and ends.

Walker said:

Check the rating on that dryer cord. Electric range cords are usually 50A, but dryers are typically only 30A.

Click to expand...

Will do, thanks for the heads up. Obviously there is a lot of planning and checking yet to do.

Just found som Low Density 6000 watt elements for $23. I'll keep looking around and review the other threads I've read with heating charts and time expectations before I pull the trigger. I may end up dropping it down a notch and waiting a little longer on the occasional big batch, probably not the end of the world.