planning a scaled down version of jkarp's Brutus 20 countertop system and could use some advice for the controller.
I'm planning on doing 1 gallon micro batches in my finished basement using a 2 gal kettle, 2 gal cooler mash tun and a 1.5kW 120V element. The standard seems to be a PID controller for more than a few reasons.
I recently came across a blog post about a brewer using the STC 1000 for his e-kettle and automated herms system. After emailing him for some clarification he spoke about how the STC probe is accurate but the unit itself is not as responsive as a PID controller would be and he often overshoots his mash temps. One of the reasons he felt this occurred was the fact that he was using a small heat source (2kW element) for around 4-5 gal batches. He seemed to think that having such a small source hooked to such a large sink (HLT and MLT) cause the wild fluctuations.
My question is this: if using my scaled down setup with a 1.5kW element, would I be able to reduce these sort of fluctuations if I used an STC 1000? I ask because I already have one on hand and an SSR and heat sink would only cost $5 or so.
I'm planning on doing 1 gallon micro batches in my finished basement using a 2 gal kettle, 2 gal cooler mash tun and a 1.5kW 120V element. The standard seems to be a PID controller for more than a few reasons.
I recently came across a blog post about a brewer using the STC 1000 for his e-kettle and automated herms system. After emailing him for some clarification he spoke about how the STC probe is accurate but the unit itself is not as responsive as a PID controller would be and he often overshoots his mash temps. One of the reasons he felt this occurred was the fact that he was using a small heat source (2kW element) for around 4-5 gal batches. He seemed to think that having such a small source hooked to such a large sink (HLT and MLT) cause the wild fluctuations.
My question is this: if using my scaled down setup with a 1.5kW element, would I be able to reduce these sort of fluctuations if I used an STC 1000? I ask because I already have one on hand and an SSR and heat sink would only cost $5 or so.