I should have said tri clamp. I took a picture and added some notes. I haven't had my buddy (clearwaterbrewer/mike) help me weld the ferrule to the kettle yet. Mike got these for me and I love them - thanks Mike! Can't wait to put them to use.
The bad things about e-brewing
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I should have said tri clamp. I took a picture and added some notes. I haven't had my buddy (clearwaterbrewer/mike) help me weld the ferrule to the kettle yet. Mike got these for me and I love them - thanks Mike! Can't wait to put them to use.
BradleyBrew
Well-Known Member
Ash tray beer... it ain't good and wouldn't score high as a "specialty beer" in a competition.
I e-brewed for about a year. After HD, LWD, & ULWD elements I said forget it. Went to propane and I'm a happy camper. My e-keggle is a great HLT!
I e-brewed for about a year. After HD, LWD, & ULWD elements I said forget it. Went to propane and I'm a happy camper. My e-keggle is a great HLT!
I don't doubt your experience at all, and I don't blame you for changing back to gas. But do you think that is the experience of all other electric brewers?
I vaguely recall a thread in which someone (you?) brought this up. I wonder how many others have had this experience?
BradleyBrew
Well-Known Member
I'm just giving MY experience. I'm not trying to push anyone away from their "dreams" but it is a possibility of having limited success.
junkyard brewer
Well-Known Member
Thanks all for sharing.
I have yet to read anything that would sway me away from going electric.
I have yet to read anything that would sway me away from going electric.
No more or less limited that LP or NG...
GotPushrods
Well-Known Member
Be honest, you were at least a little freaked out for a couple of minutes that you blacked out the whole grid.
I know I'd be thinking to myself ... "Oh $(@*.... OH $(#@*.... OK it wasn't me.... no way.... be reasonable.... it's a coincidence... "
Yeah, I did.
And my first response was a very Evil Villain sort of laugh... the SWMBO thought I'd lost my mind.. lol
And my first response was a very Evil Villain sort of laugh... the SWMBO thought I'd lost my mind.. lol
BradleyBrew
Well-Known Member
Disagree
Of course you do, and that's your right.
Heat is heat, regardless of the source.
Heat is heat, regardless of the source.
BradleyBrew
Well-Known Member
I just think that the heat from direct heating (element directly in the wort) is not the same from in-direct heating (Burner heating the kettle, heating the wort) and has a higher degree of difficulty to get right equaling a increased chance of scorched wort. The surface area of the bottom of your kettle is much greater than the surface area of a element.
I did the calculation once. The total surface area of the ripple elements is about 1/3 of the bottom of a keggle. So, another way of looking at that is the heat per square inch is about 3x what it would be if the same energy was coming into the keggle from the bottom.
So, you're right, it's not the same.
Those who use propane, though, do have similar problems. You might be surprised to learn how many extract brewers have burnt the extract because they didn't stir enough and it caramelized on the bottom of their pot using .
BradleyBrew
Well-Known Member
Yes, I can see where LME directly sitting on the bottom of a kettle would scorch.
One thing I do consider is if one component (Relay, Transformer, SSR, PID) then the entire system is shut down until it is replaced.
ReuFroman
Well-Known Member
Begin2Brew said:
That really depends on your set up. You could do a biab set up if you had to. I think most of the plans I have seen are set up to work independently. You have to get creative but it could work out.
If your PID goes out you can always work it where one PID controls the system, it would be crazy but could work.
junkyard brewer
Well-Known Member
One of these Marines are not like the other. Gee...there is one in every crowd.
One negative comment out of the hundreds posted across the net. Seems to make me wonder...though, that is exactly what I was HOPING to find. There had to be someone out there who didn't like it. I thought more than one person would chime in though! That is great news!
Semper Fi
One negative comment out of the hundreds posted across the net. Seems to make me wonder...though, that is exactly what I was HOPING to find. There had to be someone out there who didn't like it. I thought more than one person would chime in though! That is great news!
Semper Fi
LandoLincoln
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I definitely thought about that. I purchased a backup SSR, because it seems like those components are most likely to wear out. If one of my PID's went haywire, then I could use the other one for the rest of the brew day by swapping plugs. It might be a good idea to invest in a backup contactor as well.
Nothing is 100% On Amazon they have book reviews. No matter how good you think a book is, there are always people who didn't like it. Always. Those people aren't wrong though.
Semper Fi!
cpl-america
Well-Known Member
whatever, that book sucked no matter who you are!
HUA
HUA
ScubaSteve
Well-Known Member
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- May 21, 2007
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Price is a big downside....possibility of electrocution increases as well....but there are risks with any method.
In the end, you have to do a little ORM.
Semper Fi
In the end, you have to do a little ORM.
Semper Fi
cpl-america
Well-Known Member
holy crap... i didn't think there were this many jarheads that could read!
Did they make you Recite the alphabet at the top of your lungs while you ate in squares?
To be fair, i miss the smell of grunts, right now i'm surrounded by desk pilots.
Airborne.
HUA
Did they make you Recite the alphabet at the top of your lungs while you ate in squares?
To be fair, i miss the smell of grunts, right now i'm surrounded by desk pilots.
Airborne.
HUA
Airborne = Marine with hair
SleepyCreekBrews
Well-Known Member
I guess I'm with the rest of the e-brewers , I cant think of a single drawback .
I'll echo the importance of ensuring all the vessels are grounded every time you use the system. ....And an auxiliary ground never hurt anybody.
I'll echo the importance of ensuring all the vessels are grounded every time you use the system. ....And an auxiliary ground never hurt anybody.
cpl-america
Well-Known Member
Muscles
Are
Required
Intelligence
Not
Essential.
Lol. Jk. I've got plenty of marine friends. As a gag we took each others pt tests. I blew the run a way, but I'm used to doing full sit ups, instead of the crunches marines do, so I fell short there. Likewise James didn't sit up enough for any of his to count. But he did pretty well on push ups.
Sorry about being off topic.
The only way I could see a downside to brewing electric, is if you didn't own your home and moved around a lot. Because for those of us who do, the dryer outlet, or stove, is typically our only source for 220v. So you have to change plug ends upon moving. However I enjoy little projects like that.
Airborne
Are
Required
Intelligence
Not
Essential.
Lol. Jk. I've got plenty of marine friends. As a gag we took each others pt tests. I blew the run a way, but I'm used to doing full sit ups, instead of the crunches marines do, so I fell short there. Likewise James didn't sit up enough for any of his to count. But he did pretty well on push ups.
Sorry about being off topic.
The only way I could see a downside to brewing electric, is if you didn't own your home and moved around a lot. Because for those of us who do, the dryer outlet, or stove, is typically our only source for 220v. So you have to change plug ends upon moving. However I enjoy little projects like that.
Airborne
ReuFroman
Well-Known Member
When you watch 80s movies and they have circuit pop up you catch all the imperfections and wrong wiring. Then you try to explain to your kids why your laughing and they give you the same blank stare your wife usually gives you every time you start talking about brewing.
juic
Well-Known Member
I should have said tri clamp. I took a picture and added some notes. I haven't had my buddy (clearwaterbrewer/mike) help me weld the ferrule to the kettle yet. Mike got these for me and I love them - thanks Mike! Can't wait to put them to use.
Can you tell me where you got the parts for your heating element. That rocks
we could tell ya, but then we'd have to kill ya! ok, well maybe not...
Element guard kit - $36
http://www.stilldragon.com/element-guard-kit-and-adapters.html
2" regular length ferrule - $3.50
http://www.stilldragon.com/ferrules1.html
2" Gasket - $0.35
http://www.stilldragon.com/gaskets--seals.html
2" clamp - $7.50
http://www.stilldragon.com/clamps.html
(warning, the above link may or may not show them in stock, send them an email via the link on the home page if they say not in stock, and ALL orders have to get shipping added, once you order, he will send you an invoice that includes shipping... or you can send a request of what you want to the email... you can blame paypal not being able to handle shipping very well...
FYI - It comes with a plastic cord grip, copper crimp on wire ends, and heat shrink, the stainless cord grip shown in the pics from passedpawn are an upgrade:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00843ULCM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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FYI, I will never go back to gas...I have welded in 20+ ferrules for people like passedpawn, a spare element is like a spare tank of gas... you should have it... if you have a circuit breaker with a lower rating than your SSR and have a proper heatsink with some ventilation, you will 99% never blow an SSR...
biggest advantage, you can have a relaxed conversation about homebrew while boiling wort...
biggest advantage, you can have a relaxed conversation about homebrew while boiling wort...
Hamaki
Well-Known Member
I'll second the scorched wort thing. First two batches I did electric I used a 4500W element I had on hand. Definitely not ULWD. Not exactly ash tray but not really pleasant either. Son says grassy taste, I say liquid smoke flavored. Got a 5500W Camco ripple & no problems since.
Wiring a 240V, 50A circuit in the basement was a bit of a challenge (for me at least) and cleaning up is much more of a chore. I do like it a lot more than my old propane setup, though. Call me naïve but I actually feel somewhat safer with my new home-made electric rig than I did with the propane setup.
Wiring a 240V, 50A circuit in the basement was a bit of a challenge (for me at least) and cleaning up is much more of a chore. I do like it a lot more than my old propane setup, though. Call me naïve but I actually feel somewhat safer with my new home-made electric rig than I did with the propane setup.
orangehero
Well-Known Member
Why would you spend another $5 to get a stainless cord grip? Does it even fit 10/3 SOOW? I had to grind the plastic one out to fit my 10/3 SOOW.
heckels
Well-Known Member
orangehero said:
I had to do the same thing with my Still Dragon element guard. The one it came with is NOT made for 10/3 SOOW.
I got some aluminum ones from Grainger that are made to fit 10/3. They were $8 a piece.
Mike, that gland you have a link to there isn't big enough for 10/3. Here's the one I ended up with. It's a PG21, just perfect for the SJO 10/3. $6 ea. I had to open the hole a bit in the Still Dragon plate, but it came together beautifully.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230940883620?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
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ReuFroman
Well-Known Member
Back on topic
When you go to the hardware store not only will every object in plumbing interest you but also electrical.
"I wonder how these yard lights will look next to my mlt?"
When you go to the hardware store not only will every object in plumbing interest you but also electrical.
"I wonder how these yard lights will look next to my mlt?"
