2000 Watt Pot with lo/med/hi

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MikeinCT

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I have been looking for a while and don't see this option. I see PID controls which I think offer some setablity with temp feedback. And of course you can use a switch to turn an element on/off.

But how about low/med/hi or maybe intermediate settings. I don't see anybody doing this but it maybe the best choice.

With this I could heat and boil water very much like I do on my stove.
 
Why not. I was think that to maintain a temperature you might want an in between setting. But for the most part on/off might be just the thing.

Is this popular?

thanks, Mike
 
To give you the kind of control you are talking about here, you will need to look into a pulse width modulator (PWM).

You can build a PWM controller for a kettle for under $40 and it will let you dial up and down the power.
 
I think that if I could find a used variac it might be an easy way to make a simple heat element adjustable. There are also light dimmer circuits but I don't know if any of these could handle 20 amps!
 
I think that if I could find a used variac it might be an easy way to make a simple heat element adjustable. There are also light dimmer circuits but I don't know if any of these could handle 20 amps!

There is no dimmer out there that will do what you need.

Well... there might be one... but it'll be prohibitively expensive.

same with the variac... it'll probably cost you several hundred dollars.
 
25A is more commonly available, but you can get them on ebay for like $10 or $11 (with a heatsink and free shipping).
 
yup. That would probably do it. You might have to tweak the PWM circuit a little to get a more reasonable frequency on it if it's unsuitable as-is, but that would be as simple as probably just swapping out one of the capacitors on the board.

You will also want a switch in there so that you can manually shut the element off, but you should be able to get such a switch at the hardware store for (guessing) $5.
 
I need to do this for my heat stick. The full 2k watts splashes wort like crazy while boiling 7.5 gallons. Thanks for the info Walker.
 
I have a wide/shallow kettle, so it tends to splash a lot since all of the heat is coming from a concentrated area. Using the stove burner on hi can barely maintain a boil. I need something in between. It's crazy that a 3500 watt stove burner is so much less efficient than a 2000 watt submerged element.
 
Do either of you guys recommend a 25A ssr and 2KW heater. I am getting interested enough to order some parts. I already have the 10 gallon brew pot and frankly it is a bit much for my stove.

I like the idea of continous (albeit manual) solid state control.
 
So Walker, if I were to buy that PWM with the status LED on it, I could use it to control a 5500w element?
 
AdamCanFly said:
So Walker, if I were to buy that PWM with the status LED on it, I could use it to control a 5500w element?

You can control whatever you want with it. It just genrates a low voltage DC signal that you connect to an SSR. If the SSR is able to handle a 5500W element, you are good to go.
 
AdamCanFly said:
Do you know what size SSR would be best to use? I'm looking at http://www.auberins.com

power / voltage = amps

5500 / 240 = 22.9 amps

A 25a SSR is technically sufficient. 40a would give you lots of headroom.

On ebay, a 25a and a 40a SSR are about the same price. Less than $15 with a heatsink.
 
Crap, maybe I should just stick with propane. The rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper.

No rabbit hole...the OP wants to build a controller for 2000w to eliminate splashing out of a shallow kettle. IMO for 5 gallon batches in a ten gallon kettle w/ 2000w, a controller is an option, not a requirement by any means.
 
Heater element choice - this looks like a useful choice. I think I need a gasket and nut for inside pot.

1
http://cgi.ebay.com/CHROMALOX-WATER-HEATER-ELEMENT-SCREW-2000-WATT-120-V-/350466562069?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51996f5815

You can probably get it cheaper by just walking into home depot or lowes. It should be less than $20.

The weldless mounting kits can be gotten from one of these two places:

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=95

http://weldlessfittings.com/kettlefittings.html (bottom of the page)
 
remember when you are running a SSR up near its rated capacity it will heat up. a lot. if you have a 20Amp load, its much easier on the SSR to get one rated for 30 or 40 amps. it gives you headroom to upgrade and is more electrically efficient (less wasted electricity as heat).

check out lightobject.com
it is a strait-from-china type of site, but they have a large selection of everything you need for cheap. ive ordered from them 3 times so far and not had a problem yet. the only thing i would stay away from would be their thermocouples. they are cheap, but the quality of them is pretty aweful. their temp controllers and SSRs are good deals and are rather high quality, though.

grab a PT100 thermocouple from grainger.com for $14 and you are good to go.
 
remember when you are running a SSR up near its rated capacity it will heat up. a lot.

They will heat up even if not run anywhere near their capacity. 23A through a 40A SSR will get hot as f*ck.

check out lightobject.com
it is a strait-from-china type of site, but they have a large selection of everything you need for cheap. ive ordered from them 3 times so far and not had a problem yet. the only thing i would stay away from would be their thermocouples. they are cheap, but the quality of them is pretty aweful. their temp controllers and SSRs are good deals and are rather high quality, though.

I have the same PID that lightobject sells (TET 612). I didn't get it from lightobject, but it's the same one. Works just fine for temp control.
 
I am sure there is a 1 or 2 volt drop across the ssr. If it has 20 amps through it then that 40 to 80 watts. Hence the humungas heat sink. Yikes.

The heat disapation makes a good case for a toggle switch.
 
I am sure there is a 1 or 2 volt drop across the ssr. If it has 20 amps through it then that 40 to 80 watts. Hence the humungas heat sink. Yikes.

The heat disapation makes a good case for a toggle switch.

and the arcing you will get from a toggle switch makes a good case for the SSR. :D
 
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