Ole_Smoky
Well-Known Member
Man thats a sweet build. How did you wire the control panel to only have the 2 alarm switches? I looking to build something very similar, just got everything ordered to start wiring my pane, waiting for it to arrive!!!
Rebuilding My Brutus Hybrid Into a Kal Clone
- Thread starter jcav
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
kal
Well-Known Member
OP
OP
Thanks Ole_Smoky, that box was the box I built for my propane gas system and two Honeywell valves. I liked Kal's box so much that I copied his style and made my own version of what I wanted. I never was able to get it wired and it's only partially done on the inside. I put the whole project on hold and then I decided to go electric. Now I am in the middle of converting this system to electric and I thought I'd post what I started with and how I am changing it to electric, like taking off the Honeywell valves, adding the electric water heater elements, etc. I ordered Kal's electronic control box from his website completely assembled and wired, and it is being fabricated now and hopefully should be shipped to me by the end of November. I will end up selling my control box that you saw in this thread after I get my new one. Good luck with your build!
John
OP
OP
Hey Kal, they are basically new custom Sabco kegs that I bought four years ago for my propane rig I was building. I did hit them in some spots with some very very fine sand paper and then used Bar Keeper's Friend and they still look pretty much like brand new kegs. So much has happened since I started this build in 2010 (I can't believe it's been five years when I first started this thing) and things held up the build and I had to put the project on hold. The good thing is the more it was on hold the more and more I kept visiting your website and drooling over your electric brewery.
One day I decided that if that is what I really wanted then why not just convert this one over to electric and do it. I knew I could assemble the items, I knew I could fabricate the control box (I already made one similar), I just didn't trust myself to wire it and feel that I did it correctly and safely (I'm funny like that and I know my limitations). So one day the wife said "Why don't you just buy the right control box from the person who designed it?" Am I a lucky man or what!
So that's what I did and here we are in the middle of a dream build for me! Thanks again Kal for inspiring us all and for the awesome documentation on your website! Pretty soon I'll be living the dream so to speak!
John
OP
OP
Some parts for the electric 30amp/240volt power line.
My covered back lanai/porch where I will be brewing and will have the dryer outlet installed.
Electrician came and ran the wire and wired up the dryer outlet.
I bought the wrong cover originally so I got this one and installed it.
Here is the finished product I will paint the house this winter and paint the conduit to match the new house color. The other box you see is for the pool light that was installed years ago.
Here is my panel in the garage you can see the new 30amp GFCI breaker in the top left corner, sorry the photo is sideways.
My covered back lanai/porch where I will be brewing and will have the dryer outlet installed.
Electrician came and ran the wire and wired up the dryer outlet.
I bought the wrong cover originally so I got this one and installed it.
Here is the finished product I will paint the house this winter and paint the conduit to match the new house color. The other box you see is for the pool light that was installed years ago.
Here is my panel in the garage you can see the new 30amp GFCI breaker in the top left corner, sorry the photo is sideways.
Last edited by a moderator:
iijakii
Well-Known Member
Damn that's an awesome patio!
OP
OP
One more of the breaker.......
OP
OP
better call the electrician back, that receptacle is upside down
OP
OP
better call the electrician back, that receptacle is upside down
No kidding, wow that sucks..... I'll get on that right away!
OP
OP
better call the electrician back, that receptacle is upside down
No kidding, wow that sucks..... I'll get on that right away! Thanks for pointing that out. I don't have my power cord yet so I didn't try and align the plug to the outlet after he left. You think he would have gotten that right to begin with though......
OP
OP
I guess I could just rewire that outlet myself. I still can't believe he did that though. I am still gonna call him and tell him.
John
i would call him and have him fix it. yeah, it isn't that hard but you paid for his services, he should get it right.
OP
OP
Exactly!
OP
OP
Ok, I got ahold of the electrician and he is coming back tomorrow to correct it!
it is the right thing to do. i had a plumber make the final water connections in my basement bathroom and a couple days later, i noticed a small leak from one of the sink shutoff valves. i started grabbing my tools but then said to myself 'you know, i paid a grand for this dude to take care of this entire bathroom, nothing should be leaking'. called him up, he was there the next morning and ten minutes later, all was well.
Roadie
Well-Known Member
Awesome lanai; my wife wants to put a pool in here but the word budget isn't in her vocabulary. Man that panel is full, lucky you had 2 spots left! Funny about the receptacle because even I knew to wire it with the ground plug at the top. Of course I'm still not done with my final connections yet so you beat me to it. Looking good!
OP
OP
The electrician came out today and rewired the outlet correctly and right side up this time 
It took him all of five minutes but I am glad I had him come back. I know what you mean about your wife and the word budget. This kitchen remodel is killing me!! It's coming out great though. Matter of fact the same electrician came and installed all the can lighting, cut the holes in the ceiling, mounted them, wired them up on a dimmer switch, cut a hole and mounted and wired a pedestal light over the sink, etc. and he did a fantastic job. When he quoted me the price to wire the kitchen, I hit him with running the brewery line for me on the lanai, and he basically only charged me another $125 because I had the wire, outlet, and breaker already, so I couldn't pass that up. Your right I did get lucky, only had two spots left on the panel for the breaker. Otherwise I would have had to get a spa panel and get that installed what a pain that would have been, and an expense too!
It took him all of five minutes but I am glad I had him come back. I know what you mean about your wife and the word budget. This kitchen remodel is killing me!! It's coming out great though. Matter of fact the same electrician came and installed all the can lighting, cut the holes in the ceiling, mounted them, wired them up on a dimmer switch, cut a hole and mounted and wired a pedestal light over the sink, etc. and he did a fantastic job. When he quoted me the price to wire the kitchen, I hit him with running the brewery line for me on the lanai, and he basically only charged me another $125 because I had the wire, outlet, and breaker already, so I couldn't pass that up. Your right I did get lucky, only had two spots left on the panel for the breaker. Otherwise I would have had to get a spa panel and get that installed what a pain that would have been, and an expense too!
OP
OP
Took advantage of the last long day before the time change. I had some free time today so I set up my rig on the back porch. I don't have Kal's box yet but that's ok. I made all the silicone hoses and I used 3/4 inch tri clover hose barbs which fit over the 1/2 inch tubing fine with a little effort. I then tested the hoses and all the connections and ran the pumps and tested everything for leaks. I had a slight leak in my herms coil, which was leaking water into my HLT so I tightened the compression fittings on the top and bottom of the herms coil and ran the pump for a half and hour. The sight glass held the fluid level in the HLT and it didn't even budge so the leak in the coil was fixed. I also drained the HLT and just ran water through the herms coil and no water leaked into the HLT this way either. I didn't have a leak anywhere else. The loctite 55 sealed both pump head fittings and the herms coil ball valves with ease! Great stuff! I am very happy with the way the build is turning out and I will hook up the chiller tomorrow and put on all the fittings for that and see how it works. By the time Kal's control box gets here I'll be ready to brew!
John
John
OP
OP
Making the hoses......
My wife's Cutco scissors worked great cutting the silicone tubing cleanly.
I used the stainless steel hose clamps with the rounded edges from McMaster Carr
My wife's Cutco scissors worked great cutting the silicone tubing cleanly.
I used the stainless steel hose clamps with the rounded edges from McMaster Carr
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
OP
Testing everything for leaks.
I got these sampling valves from Brewer's Hardware. I put them on top of the pump ball valves and they work great at purging the air in the lines. I had no problem at all with priming the pumps.
Just open the valve until water or wort comes out and all the air is purged from the line and pump.
You can put on a piece of silicone tubing also if you want. Great for taking gravity readings.
I also got this compact sight glass and I am really happy with it. Small footprint doesn't overwhelm my setup compared to some other larger ones I have seen and very easy to take apart and clean.
I got these sampling valves from Brewer's Hardware. I put them on top of the pump ball valves and they work great at purging the air in the lines. I had no problem at all with priming the pumps.
Just open the valve until water or wort comes out and all the air is purged from the line and pump.
You can put on a piece of silicone tubing also if you want. Great for taking gravity readings.
I also got this compact sight glass and I am really happy with it. Small footprint doesn't overwhelm my setup compared to some other larger ones I have seen and very easy to take apart and clean.
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
OP
Now to attach all the plumbing fittings for my chiller. I have a Therminator chiller, but I decided not to use Kal's hop stopper as it is going to be hard to get one made correctly. I don't think there is enough room for it with the tri clamp siphon in my boil kettle, along with my electric element mounted low and the whirlpool arm, so I decided to use a large hop spider from Stainless Brewing to help contain the hops. Since my groundwater fluctuates from 70 to 80 something degrees in the summer I have to use ice and recirculate. If the hops do not clog the Therminator I know the cold break will after reading all the posts with people complaining about it clogging up. If I only had to use one pass through it and then into the fermentor it would be ok, but not here in Florida. So I bought a convoluted chiller and will probably sell my Therminator.
I added a "Y" fitting on the water in and water out side of the chiller. The hose connections are for the ground water. The tri clover fittings are for when I run ice water in my HLT or cleaned out Mash Tun and use the pump to get to pitching temps. The other two tri clamp fittings are for the wort in and wort out side of the chiller. Here I am testing the hose fittings for leaks. All is well.
I took the thermometer off the boil kettle (you can see the cap where it used to be) as it will not be needed. I will have a temp probe there instead going to the control box. So I used the thermometer in a tee on the chiller so I can see the temp of the wort coming out of the chiller.
Even though it was November 1st you can see the ground water is 82 degrees!
Testing out the whirlpool arm in the boil kettle.
I added a "Y" fitting on the water in and water out side of the chiller. The hose connections are for the ground water. The tri clover fittings are for when I run ice water in my HLT or cleaned out Mash Tun and use the pump to get to pitching temps. The other two tri clamp fittings are for the wort in and wort out side of the chiller. Here I am testing the hose fittings for leaks. All is well.
I took the thermometer off the boil kettle (you can see the cap where it used to be) as it will not be needed. I will have a temp probe there instead going to the control box. So I used the thermometer in a tee on the chiller so I can see the temp of the wort coming out of the chiller.
Even though it was November 1st you can see the ground water is 82 degrees!
Testing out the whirlpool arm in the boil kettle.
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
OP
Question, so I really wish my pumps came with longer plug cords. Six feet is just ok and my control box is going to be on a stainless steel stand with casters, so it will be moveable to wherever I want it. The electric heating elements in my kettles have ten foot cords, and my temp probes are going to have eight foot cords, so six foot pump cords is going to limit me on where I put the control box in relation to the brew stand. How hard is it to splice an extension cord to the existing pump cord? I have to put on the twist lock plug anyway so it can go into Kal's control box. Should I just plug the existing cords into a small extension cord and put the twist lock plug on that, and use that for the control box, or should I splice some extension cord wire to the pump cord. If I splice the wire is this practice acceptable and sound or is it dangerous? Will the connection be strong enough? I would need some advice on how to do this correctly. Or should I just live with the six foot length, or plug it into a small extension cord?
kal
Well-Known Member
If you splice on a longer cord by soldering correctly and using heat shrink tubing (or similar) it would be fine. It will be as strong as the wire itself.
If you put on an expendable sleeving after too (per my instructions) you won't even see it.
Kal
If you put on an expendable sleeving after too (per my instructions) you won't even see it.
Kal
Roadie
Well-Known Member
Go to hardware store and buy right size wire extension cord as long as you need. Cut end off and wire in twist plug. If you cut the pump cord to splice you may void the warranty.
OP
OP
Thanks Kal, that is good to know it is acceptable to do this and it will be strong enough. I have the Weller soldering station you recommend already, as I used it awhile ago to make my temp probes for my propane setup that I was building. If I go this route and splice the wires I will use heat shrink and expandable sleeving. I just wish the pumps came with 8 to 10 foot cords on them already. Thanks for getting back to me.
John
OP
OP
Hey Roadie, that is great advice on the warranty. The problem is I already cut the cords before and I put on stainless sleeving and a new plug end for my box I was building at the time for my propane rig. The plug I put on is not a twist lock but it still is not the original one that came with it. The pumps are probably four years old already and out of warranty, especially with the cut cord ends. Oh well......
John
Roadie
Well-Known Member
I needed to extend my pump cords as well to put the twist lock ends on them and cut one pump plug off and extended it. Before I could do the other my son came in and asked me why I just didn't go the extension cord route and it was very clear to me once he said it that was the way to go so did that on for the second pump. Of course at that point my pumps hadn't even been plugged in the first time yet.
OP
OP
So I am on the fence and I am either going to splice the cord on the pumps to make them longer, solder the connection, use shrink wrap over the connection, put on the twist locking plug, and then use expandable sleeving over the cord to make it look uniform, or just get two short extension cords and cut them the length they need to be and put on the twist locking plug. My question is I need to buy the correct size extension cord to use in either case. Does anyone know what gauge is the cord that is on the March pump already? It looks like it is 14 gauge to me, but I want to be sure.
John
John
Pure artistry. I love reading this thread. The pictures alone almost describe the build. It's like flicking through some great book on electric homebrew setup. Just incredible. Sharp crisp clean images telling the story. Amazing!
kal
Well-Known Member
Given that the pumps only pull an amp or two when in use, I doubt it's 14 ga wire. More likely 16, 18. It should be written right on it.
Kal
Kal
iijakii
Well-Known Member
Have any PC power supply cables laying around? I used those for mine, not sure what length you need for your setup. But I grabbed some free from my IT buds.
OP
OP
Wow, I really appreciate your comments Gavin! I am glad your enjoying the thread, I am having a blast building it!
John
OP
OP
Your right Kal, mine are covered in stainless sleeving right now, which I might be taking off....I did some more searching and I found the info. The cords are 18 gauge. This is Walter at March pumps replying to another post about a similar question.
Originally Posted by mrjofus1959 View Post
Hello Walter - Can you tell me what wire gauge you're using for the power cords on the 815 pump? Also how hard would it be to break down the motor housing to install a new power cord, versus splicing on to the original cord to get the length I need for my setup?
Thanks, Kevin
Breaking down the motor to change the cord is about impossible for most people. If you were to pop the back cover off the motor you would see the lamination stacks inside....there are two dimples on the outside of the motor that hold that stack in plac....you would need to pop them out to be able just to remove that stack....then you will see the cord is crimped to the main coil wires....must people dont have any type of crimper to spice it the right way...and i'm not sure how well solder would work here.....then if you were actually able to get to this point you would need to insert the stack back into the housing and stake it again without distorting the assembly! Most people that call and ask about this i advise against trying it. Just extend the cord you have now and install a nice braided sleeve over the cord to hide the splice.
The wire gauge is 18.
__________________
-Walter
So there it is from Walter himself, 18 gauge wire comes on the March pumps in case anyone else is interested......
John
OP
OP
That's a good idea too. I will check around the house or go to Home Depot and get two cords. I will get this done this week .....(hopefully)!
John
OP
OP
Might as well post the thread I was referring to in case anyone wants to read it for themselves............It's the 7th post down from the top # 437.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210199&page=44
John
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210199&page=44
John
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1,719
- Reaction score
- 759
Haha, I have pitcher too! Of course that is about the only brewing equipment we have in common. You have a very impressive system.
OP
OP
That's great!! I love that pitcher, it's a one gallon size with graduated markings on it. Thanks Beernutz!
John
OP
OP
I just got an e-mail this afternoon from Spike Innovations and they are shipping my control box, temp probes, and power cord today! It should arrive on Wednesday 11/25/15 (the day before Thanksgiving). Looks like I'll be breaking in the new system and brewing that weekend!! Thanks Mike and Kal, it will be Christmas at my house a month early this year!
John
John
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
man brews beer on mothers day and lives to tell the tale- Latest: Clint Yeastwood
-
-
-
-
-
