EBIAB 120V vs 240V comparison.

Semi-continuation of this thread. At the suggestion of a psoter over there, I figured out parts for both a 120v build and a 240v build. I already have my kettle and am eager to start building. If anyone here has any suggestions for things I may be missing (other than tools) or ways I could improve the build, I would definitely be interested in what you have to say.

My parts list and price comparison can be found here. I have a lot of 10/3 and 12/3 lying around already, so I'm not too worried about wire prices.. I imagine the two builds to be similar in terms of wire prices, although the 120v might have the advantage here just because 10/3 costs more.

The 120V version is nice because it can work anywhere where there are two separate circuits and at least one of them is already GFCI. If there aren't any GFCI circuits available, it would probably cost an additional $25. (As a side question, has anyone used one of these at all? If those work, it would make the 120V build a little cheaper). This is particularly nice to me because I recently moved to a new apartment and have shared laundry, so there may be some days I won't be able to unplug the dryer to use the outlet. The downside to the 120v build is that I have to fit two elements in my kettle, which means I need to bend them which makes me a little nervous. The 120v also has slightly less power available, but offers a bit more flexibility which may be useful when less heat is needed. I will be drawing up wiring diagrams when I get home and posting them here.

If anyone has any suggestions for what I'm missing or ways I could improve the build, I would love to hear your input. Thanks!

 

Great spreadsheet!!! Thanks for that

 

Thanks! I figured it was the easiest way to keep everything organised =] Turned out to be a decent comparison. I will update it with my wiring diagrams when I get them drawn up.

 

If your only going to do 5 gallon batches I would think that 120 is the way to go.. My wife wouldnt let me have someone come in and run 10-4 Romex and put a 30A GFCI breaker in with a plug in my brew room.. so I had to improvise.

I did 2-120v circuits and I use that $12 GFCI plug you linked (bought mine at Lowes). I have pictures of it all somewhere. I can tell you the cost is much cheaper and the components are more readily available for 120.

Plus I can take it to my buddies house and brew. I put a couple images i could find below.. I replaced the old green box with the black on in the bottom picture. All of it I built on the cheap since I dont get much money for brewing.

 

Make sure that PID has manual mode/It looks like it might only read in C ,for a couple bucks more you can get the aubins 2352 that most use.Or the cheaper Mypin Td4.

I believe the PT100 temp probe is more accurate the the K type,most use PT100.
Get the largest heatsink you can can find,I got a used large one on Ebay and it still gets real hot.Dont forget the thermal paste .

 

Ahh.. interesting. I'll definitely look into those.. And I'm an EE, so I would never forget thermal paste =]. Thanks for the input.