two 110v elements, two circuits, one PID?

[mors03]

I am new to brewing and am looking into building a 3 vessel HERMS system in my apartment, which only has 120v/15a outlets. I am somewhat working off the Electric Brewery how to guide/design to figure this out. I think I need the HLT to be able to handle 10-12 gallons to end with 5 gallons, so I am planning on using two 110v elements in the HLT and two in the BK.

I am trying to figure out if there is a way to run two elements in the same vessel from one PID since they will both be set at the same temperature. I need to run each element on separate circuits because two will be too many amps. Is there a way to wire it so that power is running from two 120v outlets to a single PID/SSR?

 

[doug293cz]

I am new to brewing and am looking into building a 3 vessel HERMS system in my apartment, which only has 120v/15a outlets. I am somewhat working off the Electric Brewery how to guide/design to figure this out. I think I need the HLT to be able to handle 10-12 gallons to end with 5 gallons, so I am planning on using two 110v elements in the HLT and two in the BK.

I am trying to figure out if there is a way to run two elements in the same vessel from one PID since they will both be set at the same temperature. I need to run each element on separate circuits because two will be too many amps. Is there a way to wire it so that power is running from two 120v outlets to a single PID/SSR?

Yes, you can have 1 PID control two SSR's, one for each element. Wire the SSR control inputs in parallel.

Since you are living in a small space, have you considered doing single vessel brewing (BIAB)?

Brew on

 

[sicktght311]

Also chiming in. I run a 3v Herms system on single 1650watt elements. One in the HLT and one in the boil kettle. Heat up times take forever, but I have no problem making good beer. Can get it to boil with the lid cracked. Heck even boils vigorously if I don’t have it cracked enough. I’ve had a couple boilovers

 

[mors03]

Yes, you can have 1 PID control two SSR's, one for each element. Wire the SSR control inputs in parallel.

Since you are living in a small space, have you considered doing single vessel brewing (BIAB)?

Brew on

Thanks. That makes sense. I was thinking the power goes through the PID to the SSR, but it is actually going from the outlet through the SSR; the two circuits never converge. Seems so simple now.

Space is not really an issue. I do need to figure out ventilation though. When it is 100+ degrees out in the summer, I think I'll have to start brewing at 1am. I am most likely going to start with a single vessel BIAB and then expand on that.

Is there any reason not to use two heating elements? I'm planning on building the vessels myself, so the extra power seems worth the small price of additional elements.

 

[doug293cz]

Thanks. That makes sense. I was thinking the power goes through the PID to the SSR, but it is actually going from the outlet through the SSR; the two circuits never converge. Seems so simple now.

Space is not really an issue. I do need to figure out ventilation though. When it is 100+ degrees out in the summer, I think I'll have to start brewing at 1am. I am most likely going to start with a single vessel BIAB and then expand on that.

Is there any reason not to use two heating elements? I'm planning on building the vessels myself, so the extra power seems worth the small price of additional elements.

Using two elements is fine. You just need to make sure that they are fed from different circuits, not just different outlets.

Look into a steam condenser instead of ventilation.

Brew on

 

[Jayjay1976]

I run a system like this. Two 1600W elements powered by separate circuits run by one controller, it works really well and 40 batches later I still haven't seen any reason to change anything about my setup.

You can check it out at the thread below; the diagram may say untested but that is outdated. It has been working amazingly well for me.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/2x-120v-2000w-elements-on-one-controller.601237/

 

[mors03]

Using two elements is fine. You just need to make sure that they are fed from different circuits, not just different outlets.

Look into a steam condenser instead of ventilation.

Brew on

I actually have 4 different circuits near each other. I'm not sure if it is normal residential wiring, but the top plug of my outlets are on a different circuit from the bottom.

 

[Jayjay1976]

luc

I actually have 4 different circuits near each other. I'm not sure if it is normal residential wiring, but the top plug of my outlets are on a different circuit from the bottom.

Lucky you! I would love to plug both of my power cords into the same receptacle. As is is now I plug one in on my kitchen counter and the second I run off an outlet on the kitchen island. Wiring would be much cleaner with your setup.

 

[bstacy1974]

I ran 2-2000 watt elements from two separate 120v, 20 amp circuits for about two years. I recently installed a 30 amp, 240v circuit, mainly to drop the overall amp draw.
With the 120v setup, my lights would dim when the elements would fire. That went away with the 240v circuit.