120v Electric 5 gal Brewery

After a year or so of scheming and one perfectly good sanke ruined by a bad welder, I finally have my 2 circuit 120v keggle up and running. It has 1 1500w and 1 2000w element currently, however I may just be going with 2x 2000w elements, as i need to rebuild them anyways. It took about 20 minutes to get 7.75 gallons to strike and 35 mins to boil w/o using a lid (need to build a nice solid insulated lid to speed things up)

Pics Here

I also will be using a 10 gallon Igloo mash tun, and 2 LG pumps. I still need to iron out how I'm going to chill with this setup. I want to get a chiller that I can also use as a herms coil any suggestions?

Copper tubing, make your own. You can use it as a heat exchange for anything. I have one with two coils. Inner coil, champagne bottle formed, out 5gal planter. I use to chill wort, not by immersing in poilpot, but by immersing in water and running wort through it and a reverse flow. I can then use the coil in HLT with pump, temp sensor to keep MT at proper temp.

wh4tig0t said:

35 mins to boil w/o using a lid (need to build a nice solid insulated lid to speed things up)

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Isn't there a rule about using a lid during the boil? Something about off flavors...

SweetSounds said:

Isn't there a rule about using a lid during the boil? Something about off flavors...

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well just to get it up towards boiling temperature

wh4tig0t - Are those illuminated switches? Do you have a wiring diagram of how you setup it all up? This looks pretty similar to what I plan on doing.

theschick said:

wh4tig0t - Are those illuminated switches? Do you have a wiring diagram of how you setup it all up? This looks pretty similar to what I plan on doing.

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Yes they are the illuminated switches form automation direct available HERE. I have yet to actually wire up the illuminated part of the switches yet, however i was thinking of wiring up the element switches to only light when the SSR's are on, and then using the pump switches as temperature alarms form the PID.

And no I don't have a wiring diagram I just sort of did it off the top of my head after looking over a lot of the wiring diagrams on here. It does split the two separate 120v circuits up as follows:

1. PID, 2 Pumps, 1500w element
2. 2000w element

I used terminal blocks so if i want to take one pump off circuit #1 and put it on circuit #2 it would take about 5 mins, maybe. Both elements are controlled by their own SSR which are controlled by the PID.

Can you post an inside shot of the control box?

This looks well done and well thought out. Have you thought about skipping the HERMS coil and using the BK as a pseudo-RIMS? Pump out of the bottom of your MLT (slowly), into the BK, and then back into the top of the MLT to maintain temperature; it is incredibly easy and doesnt require additional piping or equipment.

Have you figured out how you are going to chill yet? I am an IC guy, but the plate systems also work.

Also, beautiful dog, looks really similar to my black lab mix. Is yours a pure bred or a mix?

jfkriege said:

Can you post an inside shot of the control box?

This looks well done and well thought out. Have you thought about skipping the HERMS coil and using the BK as a pseudo-RIMS? Pump out of the bottom of your MLT (slowly), into the BK, and then back into the top of the MLT to maintain temperature; it is incredibly easy and doesnt require additional piping or equipment.

Have you figured out how you are going to chill yet? I am an IC guy, but the plate systems also work.

Also, beautiful dog, looks really similar to my black lab mix. Is yours a pure bred or a mix?

Click to expand...

I'll have to hold off on an inside shot until after the holidays. I used double sided tape to stick everything into the box, and the heat from the first test session, and sitting in the garage for a few months undid all the tape. I will probably cut some slots in the sides of the toolbox for the heat sinks to stick out and get some better air flow. Then I'm going to put a piece of particle board down in the bottom and screw all the terminal strips down. Using 40 amp SSR's instead of the 25 amp ones that I used might have cut down on the heat a little better.

That dog came from the pound complete with parvo and kennel cough, but no papers. We think she is pure bred, but we really have no idea. She has pretty much all the lab traits and looks, so shes good enough for us.

I am interested in learning more about moving to Electric as it certainly would be more user friendly in the winter for Brewing... What all will you use the electric Keggle for, Strike water for the Mash, that much I understand. Do you plan on Brewing in that also with a false bottom?
I am trying to wrap what few brain cells I have left from sucking C0 fumes around this process. Thanks for helping...

Good looking kettle there, cant wait to see pics inside the box. Have you had any trouble brewing straight on the floor?

Flickr page updated with pic of full setup in a test configuration (read: not a permanent stand, and hose mess.) Once I un-rats nest the control box I'll post a pic, which should be in the next week.

Right on. I am gonna go this route for mine. Nice work!

I wanted to see how the progress was going on seeing the inside of the control box. This wiring was exactly what I had planned, I just didnt know how to do it.

Sorry no updates on the wiring. Probably gonna be awhile as I'm gonna be out of town for about 3-4 months. I will be upgrading to a more sturdy enclosure, with a safer screwed down lid. Also gonna add the ability to control a 230v element as sort of an add on while still being portable.