Spine
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone, Just wanted to share photos of my latest project. Much of my inspiration came from "The Pol" on his quest to go fully electric.
(all prices canadian dollars unless otherwise noted and do not include tax)
Parts:
- 4500W 240VAC water heater element (home depot) $24ish
- about 6-7m of 10/3 SJOOW cable (2 hot, 1 ground) (Home Depot) $23.88
- Dryer repair cord (Home Depot) $20.89
- Junction box 6x6x4" (Home Depot) $18
- Ring Terminals (Home Depot) $1.58
- Spade Terminals (Home Depot) $1.58
- Marettes (Home Depot) $1.12
- 3/4" Wire Strain Reliefs x 4
- 3/4" stainless conduit threaded L-B (can use pvc and glue socket-thread adapters if needed)
- stainless nut and bolt to fasten ground to keggle
- 1" to 1 1/2" stainless adapter NPS (used to hold attach element)
- 40A SSR (E-Bay) $20USD
- Misc Circuit Components to build 555 PWM timer circuit.
Todo:
- Add Control power switch to control panel
- Add LED to control panel indicating when SSR is active
- EPOXY coupler to heater element connections
- add weldless fitting to keggle for easy draining and cleaning
Notable Tools Used:
- knockout set to put holes in control panel and keggle 3/4" and 1" sets.
Lessons Learned:
- Do not use silicone to "pott" the electrical connections. It seems to need air to cure properly and the middle will stay liquid! I found out the hard way. Use an epoxy or something that does not require air to cure.
Notes:
- I modified the timer circuits found here:
CD's New Electric Wort Boiler
AND The Controller . I didn't think a PID control would be necessary and I found the 555 PWM timer circuit works really well and if you have some soldering skills and a little electronics knowledge it is very easy and cheap to make. I built mine similar to Ron's in the fact that he has controls for TWO SSRS on his controller but interlocks them so that both SSRS cannot be on at the same time, allowing him to run TWO elements (one for HLT and one for kettle) "at the same time" without needing to use a bigger electrical service. I wanted to use my dryer outlet already there so 30A was my limit. At the moment I only have my keggle electrified but soon I will also have my HLT!
I am also not sure if my element will cause scorching yet. It didn't say on the package if it was a low density or not but it looks similar to what other people are using. I don't do many beers over 1.050 so I don't think it will be a problem but if it is I will have to upgrade to one of those fancy RIPP elements.
Pics:
(all prices canadian dollars unless otherwise noted and do not include tax)
Parts:
- 4500W 240VAC water heater element (home depot) $24ish
- about 6-7m of 10/3 SJOOW cable (2 hot, 1 ground) (Home Depot) $23.88
- Dryer repair cord (Home Depot) $20.89
- Junction box 6x6x4" (Home Depot) $18
- Ring Terminals (Home Depot) $1.58
- Spade Terminals (Home Depot) $1.58
- Marettes (Home Depot) $1.12
- 3/4" Wire Strain Reliefs x 4
- 3/4" stainless conduit threaded L-B (can use pvc and glue socket-thread adapters if needed)
- stainless nut and bolt to fasten ground to keggle
- 1" to 1 1/2" stainless adapter NPS (used to hold attach element)
- 40A SSR (E-Bay) $20USD
- Misc Circuit Components to build 555 PWM timer circuit.
Todo:
- Add Control power switch to control panel
- Add LED to control panel indicating when SSR is active
- EPOXY coupler to heater element connections
- add weldless fitting to keggle for easy draining and cleaning
Notable Tools Used:
- knockout set to put holes in control panel and keggle 3/4" and 1" sets.
Lessons Learned:
- Do not use silicone to "pott" the electrical connections. It seems to need air to cure properly and the middle will stay liquid! I found out the hard way. Use an epoxy or something that does not require air to cure.
Notes:
- I modified the timer circuits found here:
CD's New Electric Wort Boiler
AND The Controller . I didn't think a PID control would be necessary and I found the 555 PWM timer circuit works really well and if you have some soldering skills and a little electronics knowledge it is very easy and cheap to make. I built mine similar to Ron's in the fact that he has controls for TWO SSRS on his controller but interlocks them so that both SSRS cannot be on at the same time, allowing him to run TWO elements (one for HLT and one for kettle) "at the same time" without needing to use a bigger electrical service. I wanted to use my dryer outlet already there so 30A was my limit. At the moment I only have my keggle electrified but soon I will also have my HLT!
I am also not sure if my element will cause scorching yet. It didn't say on the package if it was a low density or not but it looks similar to what other people are using. I don't do many beers over 1.050 so I don't think it will be a problem but if it is I will have to upgrade to one of those fancy RIPP elements.
Pics: