Switching to Electric - Max capacity of 240v 20a questions

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Spatula

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I'm learning the electrical aspect of this, but I'm not quite up to speed yet. I have a 240v 20a outlet in my kitchen for a wall mounted AC unit. I want to try an electric setup but from the reading I've done it seems that I will need it to be 30a minimum.

*lots of questions below*

I usually do a 20 gallon brew in a 30 gallon pot and 2 10 gallon batches in keggles. I really don't want to do less than a 10 gallon batch. Does my 20a line limit me to 5 gallon batches? Is a 3500 - 4500W element the max I should be running? I see most people are running 5500W elements, will that work for 10 gallon batches...or larger? I see lots of info about running a 5500W on 120v at reduced output, could I run reduced wattage 5500W on 240 until I run a new line to my kitchen or does that only apply to running it on 120v? Any help is appreciated, sorry for asking so many questions, just trying to do it right the first time.
 
If you are going to run a control panel which controls more than just elements (pumps, stirrers, exhaust fans) you will need more than 20 amps.
However technically you could run a 4500W element off a single 20amp line (however at max output at 240V you are going to be getting close to theoretical max load on that line. You also have to know what gauge thickness your 20amp outlet is. If a DIY homeowner put in a line and didn't upsize the line to the correct size gauge (12GA) you run the risk of overheating and causing a fire in your wall.

Its better if you run a dedicated line for these things and also so that you know all the variables other than just the amp rating of an outlet.

So in summary:
1. If possible run your own line
2. If you are going to use the 20a wall socket DO the following:
* Check thickness of wire. If its 12ga or lower you are good to go
* Check Breaker and you should convert that to a GFCI BREAKER
* 4500w element is the highest you can go. (I use a 4500 for my 10g batches)
* Only run the element off this outlet, nothing else.


Also lastly, don't just trust my input here. Wait for others to chime in with more knowledge than I. I'm winging it here and I'm certain there are others, potentially some electrical engineers and electricians, who know far more than I do in this regard.
 
you can run everything off of one 20a line if you use DC powered pumps such as the p38 24v dc pumps... This is what I do and even though I have 30amp power I have a real time amp/volt/watt meter and with all three of my pumps running with one 4500w element and my control panel im still below 20a draw.

A 4500w element is usually smaller than 4500w and they draw up to 18.4 amps I believe... mine draw less (like 17.2). The pids and timers and such in a control panel all draw less than 1 amp combined so...
if you have other 120v outlets in the room you can just use those for your pump power.

Also I normally do 10.5 gallon brews with my 4500w element which is really only 4036w in reality... I still never set my pid over 85% in manual pwm mode as the boil is too vigorous and the evaporation goes up over 1 gallon per hr.
5500w will get you up to a boil 10-15mins faster and the element is usually more common so cheaper but more expensive to wire up and operate (25a rated components/wiring needed vs 20a), beyond that there is no advantages

Good luck on your build!
 
Thanks for the input guys. The existing line is 12 gauge and my plan was to only power the element and a basic control panel with that. The pump and anything else that needed to be plugged in would use a 120v standard outlet.
 
Thanks for the input guys. The existing line is 12 gauge and my plan was to only power the element and a basic control panel with that. The pump and anything else that needed to be plugged in would use a 120v standard outlet.
you will be fine but you can add a $12 meter like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-80-260V-...420407?hash=item33bdaad077:g:qOUAAOSw0UdXuRfr to monitor and keep track of peak power draw if you want for piece of mind if you want... I have the same one and it works well. it also lets me know if anything is wrong since I can see the draw from the elements in my system.
 

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