New to Electric brewing - 5 gallon setup questions

I have been brewing on and off for the past 7 years and recently had to relocate to an apartment. With that I am not going to be able to use a propane burner to do brewing anymore. Since being here, I have tried to get a 5 gallon boil going on my stove and it will not get above a slow simmer.

I am now researching what I need to convert my system to electric... Most of the systems seem to be running a 240V element. I am looking to stay 120V. Any suggestions on an element?

Now..... Just to ask some questions about running a 240V element. Can I use a 5400watt 240V element on 120V? I read that it cuts the output to .25 of the output at 240V. If I used a 5400wall 240V element and run it on 120V, could that get 6-7 gallons to a boil? I am asking this because I have already started collecting sanke kegs to go up to larger batches, but that wont happen for 2 years when I get out of grad school. It would be nice to be able to just move the element to the sanke and jump up to 240V once I am ready to go up in batch sizes.

Any info, opinions, and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Jester

In my opinion it would be better to wait until you have the ability to use 240V/30A service. A 20A 120v circuit could be used I suppose but you'd really be maxing out the circuit and it would have to be dedicated anyway. You wouldn't be able to use a very big heating element on that type of service so it would likely take a long time to get stuff boiling and up to mash temps.

Your right that the 5400 will be cut to 1350 watts. This will probably bring your 6-7 gallons to a boil, but it will take a ridiculously long time. You will be better of with a 120v element rated at 2000w or so...

Jester,
Couple of questions for you.

Do you have a clothes dryer outlet available to you?
Your stove - is it an electric range?

If either one is a yes, there is a way for you to have a setup.

You could also build a heat-stick to supplement your stove. I use (2) 2000 watt heat sticks currently as my heat source and it produces a vigorous boil for my 5 gallon batches. You can use up to a 2000w 120V element in a 20A outlet. Search heat stick on the forum to see ideas on how to build them. You could also permanently install one in the kettle if you are inclined. Just get the 1" elemnt nut from bargainfittings.com. One should be more than enough for your needs when used in concert with the stove element. Good luck!

P-J said:

Jester,
Couple of questions for you.

Do you have a clothes dryer outlet available to you?
Your stove - is it an electric range?

If either one is a yes, there is a way for you to have a setup.

Click to expand...

That's very true, a dryer outlet is all you need and you're in business. A range outlet is typically a lot bigger than 30A, so I suppose that could somehow be used too, but I don't know the specifics.

I like electric range outlet or supplementing with heat sticks.

You could get an electrician to run and additional outlet from the stove to someplace close by your sink. Have him do a surface mount gfci outlet and do it in a way that can be removed easily when you move out.

I use a 1500W heatstick to assist my stove in the winter when I don't feel like freezing my nose off. It works great

P-J said:

Jester,
Couple of questions for you.

Do you have a clothes dryer outlet available to you?
Your stove - is it an electric range?

If either one is a yes, there is a way for you to have a setup.

Click to expand...

Sadly I do not have laundry or laundry hookup in my apartment and my range is an old 1970s electric range with push buttons (no knobs to control the temperature) and it is all built into the cabinets with no access to the electrical connection. I consider myself really handy and I cannot find a way to get to where this thing is plugged in or wired.

Hmm, well it sounds like a supplemental 1500-2000watt heatstick may be your only option unless you can convince your landlord to install a 30A outlet somewhere

BeantownD said:

You could also build a heat-stick to supplement your stove. I use (2) 2000 watt heat sticks currently as my heat source and it produces a vigorous boil for my 5 gallon batches. You can use up to a 2000w 120V element in a 20A outlet. Search heat stick on the forum to see ideas on how to build them. You could also permanently install one in the kettle if you are inclined. Just get the 1" element nut from bargainfittings.com. One should be more than enough for your needs when used in concert with the stove element. Good luck!

Click to expand...

I am leaning towards mounting in the kettle... I originally was leaning towards a heat stick for the portability, but then I got a little nervous and figured having it in the kettle would be safer.

I looked at my breaker panel and every breaker says "20" on them, so I would assume that they are 20amp.

The other option is to install two 120v elements and, using and extension cord, run the off of two separate outlets.

Or use to outlets on different legs of power and have one 20a 240v circuit available.

flatulentfox said:

Or use to outlets on different legs of power and have one 20a 240v circuit available.

Click to expand...

this would be against code and has potential to cause very bad problems, the wireing in those circits is not intended for that much wattage.

If you have a 20 amp 120v outlet, it appears others have had some success with this element
http://bostonheatingsupply.com/sp10868gl.aspx

Search the forum for 2000w and you should find a couple of threads.

flatulentfox said:

The other option is to install two 120v elements and, using and extension cord, run the off of two separate outlets.

Or use to outlets on different legs of power and have one 20a 240v circuit available.

Click to expand...

This has been discussed here and been determined to be a very bad idea.

I was in your situation. My solution: make smaller batches on the stovetop and brew more often. Figure out how much you can boil and go with that. Its likely you can do 3 gallon batches just fine which will give you a nice case of beer. Use the increased frequency of brewing to do experiments and try different recipes. I just tried to turn a crummy situation into a benefit.

I have 2 120v elements in my kettle (one 1500W, one 2000W). I use 2 separate outlets to power them. Works great.

I keep meaning to take photos and post a build thread ... hopefully in the next few weeks.

Palefire said:

I have 2 120v elements in my kettle (one 1500W, one 2000W). I use 2 separate outlets to power them. Works great.

I keep meaning to take photos and post a build thread ... hopefully in the next few weeks.

Click to expand...

How long does it take to get to a full boil? how many gallons?

Don't remember off of the top of my head, but I'm thinking about 20 min to get from mashout temps to full boil. That's for 6.75-7 gallons of wort. I keep everything at 100% for the boil and boil off about 1.25 gallons in an hour (I keep saying "about" because I've only brewed twice with this system). It's a big rolling boil.

I love electric. Can't see myself ever going back.

Everybody is curious about brewing beer. Find a buddy that will let you do a batch in his garage.