After a couple of months of studying and planning, and then 2 weeks of build time, I am finally finished with my little system. I have to give thanks to Kal for taking the time to document the process so well that even us newbies can get into electric brewing. Also to P-J who provided lots of advice and invaluable schematics.
When I first started I thought this project was going be cheap, quick, and easy. I was wrong on all accounts. But to be fair, because of my ignorance and lack of patience I made it a lot more expensive, slower, and harder. With the lessons learned from this build I expect it to go a lot better next time. Now that I can get back to brewing again I am going to take my time and build a 3 kettle single controller system. AKA the Electric Brewery. I am probably just going to order the kit from Kal as chasing down all the parts was my least favorite part of the build.
And as I mentioned before, I think I may have set the record for the most expensive single kettle electric brew system ever. I tracked every penny I spent on this project except for gas (picking up parts) and my time. I spent a lot of extra money for the following reasons:
A) I bought locally because I didn't want to wait
B) I bought online from a single vendor because I was too lazy to place multiple orders
C) I bought the wrong parts
D) I bought to many items because I didn't know the correct quantity
E) I had to pay an electrician to install my sub-panel
F) I had almost none of the tools I needed
Here is a break down of my costs by category
Cost Description
$228.46 Tools
$97.84 Element Parts
$365.42 Controller Parts
$24.97 Tax
$47.00 Shipping & Handling
$560.00 Electrician
$1,323.69 Total
When I first started I thought this project was going be cheap, quick, and easy. I was wrong on all accounts. But to be fair, because of my ignorance and lack of patience I made it a lot more expensive, slower, and harder. With the lessons learned from this build I expect it to go a lot better next time. Now that I can get back to brewing again I am going to take my time and build a 3 kettle single controller system. AKA the Electric Brewery. I am probably just going to order the kit from Kal as chasing down all the parts was my least favorite part of the build.
And as I mentioned before, I think I may have set the record for the most expensive single kettle electric brew system ever. I tracked every penny I spent on this project except for gas (picking up parts) and my time. I spent a lot of extra money for the following reasons:
A) I bought locally because I didn't want to wait
B) I bought online from a single vendor because I was too lazy to place multiple orders
C) I bought the wrong parts
D) I bought to many items because I didn't know the correct quantity
E) I had to pay an electrician to install my sub-panel
F) I had almost none of the tools I needed
Here is a break down of my costs by category
Cost Description
$228.46 Tools
$97.84 Element Parts
$365.42 Controller Parts
$24.97 Tax
$47.00 Shipping & Handling
$560.00 Electrician
$1,323.69 Total
How much noise does that fan make? After a year and a half of brewing to the sound of a jet engine (99,000 btu propane burner) I am really looking forward to some nice quite brew days.
