can I use my existing Ranco to control a 5.5 kW CAMCO element?

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twd000

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I am planning a simple two-vessel build. Trying to save money and reuse some of the equipment I already have
http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc111000000-digital-temperature-controller-p-86.html

The heating element will be used to heat mash and sparge water, and boil the wort (at separate times, of course)

Will the Ranco give me the control I need, or should I get an SSR and controller for the element, and use the Ranco for the March pump?
 
The ranco is rated for 16 amps I believe. So it cant directly control a 5500kw element. It would work through an SSR but you would be much better off using a PID that has much more precise control and a manual mode for boiling.
 
OK, I will use the Ranco to control the March pump instead. Any recommendation for a PID and SSR combo for the element?
 
ChuckO said:
Why don't you use a simple switch to control the March pump? Pumps don't need temperature control.
Click to expand...

well, my system will be setup as a HERMS, with the wort circulating through an immersion chiller in the HLT. So the idea is to run the pump when the mash temp needs to be adjusted. That's why I would use the Ranco to control the pump.
 
its bad design practice to put a pump on temperature control. leave the pump on for the entire mash, and turn the heater on when you need to add heat.

what happens when the thermostat turns the pump off, it looses prime, and then when the pump and heater go back on you fry your RIMS element because there is no flow?

or what happens to the residual heat in your RIMS tube when you all of a sudden kill the flow? it overheats your wort and denatures the protiens, possibly scorches what is in the tube. then when the pump goes back on, it pumps scorched wort into the main mash and dillutes the active enzymes...
 
audger said:
its bad design practice to put a pump on temperature control. leave the pump on for the entire mash, and turn the heater on when you need to add heat.

what happens when the thermostat turns the pump off, it looses prime, and then when the pump and heater go back on you fry your RIMS element because there is no flow?

or what happens to the residual heat in your RIMS tube when you all of a sudden kill the flow? it overheats your wort and denatures the protiens, possibly scorches what is in the tube. then when the pump goes back on, it pumps scorched wort into the main mash and dillutes the active enzymes...
Click to expand...

sorry I should have described my system better. Vessel #1 is HLT/BK, with an immersion chiller submerged in hot water. Vessel #2 is an igloo cooler mash tun. The pump connects the two vessels and will be below the waterline so priming shouldn't be a problem. Heating element is in the HLT/BK; no heat is applied directly to the mash. Temperature probe controlling the pump will be inserted in the mash tun, and recirculate the mash through the heated coil when necessary.
 
I think the comment was, why not continuously circulate with the pump always on, and then just control the heat in the BK/HLT to exactly what you want your mash to be.
 
Where will you monitor the temperature if you are controlling the pump? You will need continuous wort flow past the probe to get a useable reading. At the same time, how will you limit the heat input to the HLT/BK so as to not get a violent boil in the HLT while mashing?


aquenne said:
I think the comment was, why not continuously circulate with the pump always on, and then just control the heat in the BK/HLT to exactly what you want your mash to be.
Click to expand...

This sounds like a much better idea. At least using this approach you can properly monitor and control the temperature of the HLT.
 
aquenne said:
I think the comment was, why not continuously circulate with the pump always on, and then just control the heat in the BK/HLT to exactly what you want your mash to be.
Click to expand...

exactly. if you constantly recirculate, then you dont worry about stratification, or wonder if the wort around the temperature probe is an accurate representation of the entire mash temperature.

even with the water level above the pump, there have been instances where ive had pumps loose prime. when the pump is off, any small air bubbles, which would normally pass thru a pump without a problem, collect in the lines and form large bubbles, which cause large problems.

my point is, though- if you are trying to control heat, control the heater, not the pump. even if you are trying to control flow rate, its better to control a valve than to cycle the pump on and off. im not trying to say that your particular implimentation specifically wouldnt work; just in general its bad practice to try and control one process variable (temperature) with an unrelated piece of equipment. you should instead control (temperature) by controling (the heater), which has direct control over the temperature.
 
audger said:
exactly. if you constantly recirculate, then you dont worry about stratification, or wonder if the wort around the temperature probe is an accurate representation of the entire mash temperature.

even with the water level above the pump, there have been instances where ive had pumps loose prime. when the pump is off, any small air bubbles, which would normally pass thru a pump without a problem, collect in the lines and form large bubbles, which cause large problems.

my point is, though- if you are trying to control heat, control the heater, not the pump. even if you are trying to control flow rate, its better to control a valve than to cycle the pump on and off. im not trying to say that your particular implimentation specifically wouldnt work; just in general its bad practice to try and control one process variable (temperature) with an unrelated piece of equipment. you should instead control (temperature) by controling (the heater), which has direct control over the temperature.
Click to expand...

I see the benefits of constantly recirculating the mash. The only hangup is the temperature probes. During the mash, I want to measure the mash tun and use that logic to control the HLT element. During the boil I want to measure the HLT/BK and use that to control the element. Is is possible to wire two RTDs into a single Auberins controller, and select which one has control at any given time?
 

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