My Electric Brew Pot

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

IndyRob

Active Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Location
Indiana
Here are a few pics of my electric brewing setup.

The HLT/BK:
aibzpF


It is an aluminum turkey fryer fitted with a 3800 Watt, 240VAC heating element. I use it to both heat the mash water and boil wort. It takes about twenty minutes to raise 6.5 gallons of 72-degree water to 164-degrees and about another 20 minutes to raise 6.5 gallons of 164-degree wort to boiling.

The Connections:
6101654915


A three-wire cord is connected to the element and ground.

The thermocouple connection:
6101655181


Using a compression fitting and a J-type thermocouple.

Looking down into the pot:
6102204308


I mounted the thermocouple slightly below the element. I believe this was a mistake on my part. In order to get temp readings real-time I have to stir the pot for the controller to read properly (it's usually about ten degrees off until near-boil temps due to the circulation of water). However, when I set my temp on the controller and drain the water into the mash tun all is well.

The pot boiling:
6101655259


The insides of the control box:
6101655397


You may notice something missing - the recommended SSR.

I am using a 30 Amp relay and the system draws about 18 Amps. So, I can deal with the clunking sound. After about a dozen uses the relay is still in great shape.

The controller is a REXC-100 which was given to me by my father after extracting it from one of the rubber molding presses from his company.

I am very happy with the system so far. It is great because I can place the pot on a counter-top with just a towel underneath to keep from scorching the counter surface. In addition, it has reduced wait times for liquids to heat up, propane tank refill costs, carrying hot liquids around (in the winter) and has just overall made brewing so much more relaxing.
 
Fixed those for ya! Looks good, but I would recommend using an SSR. That relay will fail eventually...

Here are a few pics of my electric brewing setup.

The HLT/BK:
6101654849_1f3552f1cc_b.jpg


It is an aluminum turkey fryer fitted with a 3800 Watt, 240VAC heating element. I use it to both heat the mash water and boil wort. It takes about twenty minutes to raise 6.5 gallons of 72-degree water to 164-degrees and about another 20 minutes to raise 6.5 gallons of 164-degree wort to boiling.

The Connections:
6101654915_8c5d23b6b2_b.jpg


A three-wire cord is connected to the element and ground.

The thermocouple connection:
6101655181_897fc2fb55_b.jpg


Using a compression fitting and a J-type thermocouple.

Looking down into the pot:
6102204308_4a789b7948_b.jpg


I mounted the thermocouple slightly below the element. I believe this was a mistake on my part. In order to get temp readings real-time I have to stir the pot for the controller to read properly (it's usually about ten degrees off until near-boil temps due to the circulation of water). However, when I set my temp on the controller and drain the water into the mash tun all is well.

The pot boiling:
6101655259_21845983ba_b.jpg


The insides of the control box:
6101655397_31796c784b_b.jpg


You may notice something missing - the recommended SSR.

I am using a 30 Amp relay and the system draws about 18 Amps. So, I can deal with the clunking sound. After about a dozen uses the relay is still in great shape.

The controller is a REXC-100 which was given to me by my father after extracting it from one of the rubber molding presses from his company.

I am very happy with the system so far. It is great because I can place the pot on a counter-top with just a towel underneath to keep from scorching the counter surface. In addition, it has reduced wait times for liquids to heat up, propane tank refill costs, carrying hot liquids around (in the winter) and has just overall made brewing so much more relaxing.
 
I like it a lot.

I need your help though. I have my control panel constructed and will be ordering element parts soon. I am stuck on how I want to mount the element. I would be interested in knowing more about that.
 
I like it a lot.

I need your help though. I have my control panel constructed and will be ordering element parts soon. I am stuck on how I want to mount the element. I would be interested in knowing more about that.

I haven't built an electric system yet, but I think most people copy Kal at the Electric Brewery. I think he has a good method for mounting elements.

http://theelectricbrewery.com/heating-elements
 
I haven't built an electric system yet, but I think most people copy Kal at the Electric Brewery. I think he has a good method for mounting elements.

http://theelectricbrewery.com/heating-elements

I have many times contemplated Kal's setup but it looks like Indy did something different because the back of the box is not cut out. Kal uses JB weld and bolts to hold a cover on the back of the box. I don't like the drilled, jb welded, and bolted on cover where there shouldn't be a cover. I like how this one just uses a box but I figured the box plus the sidewall would be too thick for the element.
 
Where did you source the components and enclosure for the control box?
 
I have many times contemplated Kal's setup but it looks like Indy did something different because the back of the box is not cut out. Kal uses JB weld and bolts to hold a cover on the back of the box. I don't like the drilled, jb welded, and bolted on cover where there shouldn't be a cover. I like how this one just uses a box but I figured the box plus the sidewall would be too thick for the element.

I am sooo sorry for the long delay in replying.

First, I drilled a hole large enough in the junction box using the existing 3/4" hole and tapped it for the element thread. Next, I milled down the buildup of material around the original hole (on the inside of the junction box) so my element would go all the way through the junction box and the pot with a few turns of element thread available inside the pot. Next, on the edge of the junction box that mates to the pot I machined a groove around the hole that was was half the thickness of a high-temp o-ring I found at ace hardware. I 'screwed' the element into the junction box, installed the o-ring into it's groove and then put the element nut on from inside the pot. I added a little high temp food-grade rtv to the threads to be safe.

This thing works extraordinarily well.

ETA: I posted pics
 
Where did you source the components and enclosure for the control box?

It was very of-the-cuff.

The controller came from a scrounge session at my fathers house. He used to own a rubber product manufacturing biz and they were used on the presses.

The thermocouple connector and wire were purchased from Grainger.

The switches and lamps were purchased off of e-bay. They are 120V LED's and Switches.

The relay and enclosure were purchased off-the-shelf at Fry's Electronics.

The electrical wire, receptacles and terminal strips were purchased at Home Depot.

Hope that helps. If you want any more in-depth info let me know.

The best thing that I used for this project was a 'nibbling' tool. It made the square cut-out for the controller a breeze. I was also able to cut out the holes for the switches and lamps with it. I make other electronic panels and it is an awesome tool to have.

ETA:

Using a thermocouple receptacle and a small length of thermocouple wire from the receptacle to the controller input were important. I had erroneous readings without them.
 
Here are a couple of shots of the milling I was referring to:

6753170317_91a4776c31.jpg


Before

6753203547_b683004698.jpg


After. With about one turn of thread in there for the element to bite onto. It's not optimum but it works.

6753175067_6de29cb987.jpg


This is another shot of the innards. It's a very tight fit and I would definitely make my control box bigger if I had to do it all over again.
 
I realize this is an older thread but I have been scouring the threads in this forum. Something like this setup would be perfect for my situation. My problem is I live in an apartment and only have 1- 20 amp circuit (electric stove) available. Have a 10 gallon pot and was thinking about a 3000 watt element and to use this for a boil kettle / HLT. A control box like yours would be ideal. Do you think your setup would work on a 20 amp circuit?
 
I realize this is an older thread but I have been scouring the threads in this forum. Something like this setup would be perfect for my situation. My problem is I live in an apartment and only have 1- 20 amp circuit (electric stove) available. Have a 10 gallon pot and was thinking about a 3000 watt element and to use this for a boil kettle / HLT. A control box like yours would be ideal. Do you think your setup would work on a 20 amp circuit?

You can go to a 2000W element if you have a 20A/120V circuit available but no more than that. To jump to a 3000W element you will need 240V service, do you have a range outlet or a dryer outlet that is 240V?
 
You can go to a 2000W element if you have a 20A/120V circuit available but no more than that. To jump to a 3000W element you will need 240V service, do you have a range outlet or a dryer outlet that is 240V?

The range outlet is 240V. It is fed from a double pole 20 amp breaker.

Trying to determine:

1 Can I safely use a 3000W element with this outlet?
2 Will a 3000W element boil 7~8 gallons?
 
Yes you could. @3000W you are pulling 13A or so. And from experience you can certainly boil those volumes with a 3000W element.
 
Thank you for the quick responses. Time to start planning and plotting.
 
Back
Top