Merry xmas everyone. I'm wanting to build a 10 litre / 2.5 gallon electric brew kettle for doing 5 litre / 1.25 gallon batches. I haven't found any good blog posts outlining the process for a simple build like this but I think I have it figured out. I wonder if someone could sanity check my parts list / process and let me know if I'm missing anything?
What I'm looking for is an electric boil kettle that will bring a 5 litre batch to a boil quickly, then I manually adjust the heating power to maintain a rolling boil. It's important that I can adjust the power level
Kettle - basic 10 litre stock pot. 25cm diameter which limits what elements will fit inside.
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/liv...ass-lid-10l/R2073296.html#q=stock+pot&start=1
Element:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/AC-...32350262396.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
2000W 240v AC. In New Zealand our power is 240V and 10a circuits are standard. This shouldn't need any special wiring and should be well powered for approx 8 litres / 2 gallons pre-boil.
Step bit to drill the holes for the element...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIU...32711038407.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc...32663806352.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
SSR capable of 25 amps / 250v. I will be drawing 10a so hopefully this is big enough (allowing for the chines-parts exaggeration factor).
Heat sink for SSR
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SSR...32669579107.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
Kettle plug socket...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/5-P...32382178287.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
Power is supplied via 3 pin with the ground wired connected to the kettle.
Additionally, I will use an Arduino and potentiometer for controlling the SSR. I have plenty of experience programming Arduino so I'm feeling good about this side of the project. The Arduino (power set by the pot) will turn the element on / off in a 2 second cycle. So 60% power would mean 1.2 seconds on then 0.8 seconds off. My understanding is that a slower cycle is better than using PWM which would be switching many times per second.
Will also need a case for housing the plug on the side of the kettle, I will use a waterproof ABS project case or 3d print something custom in ABS or nylon.
Questions:
1. Does this parts list look ok? I'm not based in the USA so Aliexpress is my goto for this kind of stuff.
2. Does the controller need a fan or is a heatsink + some holes in the case going to be enough?
Any advice appreciated - basically this gear will take 4 weeks to arrive so I don't want to find that I ordered the wrong stuff and have to wait another 4 weeks.
What I'm looking for is an electric boil kettle that will bring a 5 litre batch to a boil quickly, then I manually adjust the heating power to maintain a rolling boil. It's important that I can adjust the power level
Kettle - basic 10 litre stock pot. 25cm diameter which limits what elements will fit inside.
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/liv...ass-lid-10l/R2073296.html#q=stock+pot&start=1
Element:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/AC-...32350262396.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
2000W 240v AC. In New Zealand our power is 240V and 10a circuits are standard. This shouldn't need any special wiring and should be well powered for approx 8 litres / 2 gallons pre-boil.
Step bit to drill the holes for the element...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIU...32711038407.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc...32663806352.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
SSR capable of 25 amps / 250v. I will be drawing 10a so hopefully this is big enough (allowing for the chines-parts exaggeration factor).
Heat sink for SSR
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SSR...32669579107.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
Kettle plug socket...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/5-P...32382178287.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.AG6bb4
Power is supplied via 3 pin with the ground wired connected to the kettle.
Additionally, I will use an Arduino and potentiometer for controlling the SSR. I have plenty of experience programming Arduino so I'm feeling good about this side of the project. The Arduino (power set by the pot) will turn the element on / off in a 2 second cycle. So 60% power would mean 1.2 seconds on then 0.8 seconds off. My understanding is that a slower cycle is better than using PWM which would be switching many times per second.
Will also need a case for housing the plug on the side of the kettle, I will use a waterproof ABS project case or 3d print something custom in ABS or nylon.
Questions:
1. Does this parts list look ok? I'm not based in the USA so Aliexpress is my goto for this kind of stuff.
2. Does the controller need a fan or is a heatsink + some holes in the case going to be enough?
Any advice appreciated - basically this gear will take 4 weeks to arrive so I don't want to find that I ordered the wrong stuff and have to wait another 4 weeks.