Recent content by freddyb

Here's the drawing that was on the first page.

The heating element is shaped like a rod and is pictured in the first post. Rod-shaped heating elements are easy to find in low to medium wattages. Check ebay for 'watlow firerod' and there are a ton of them available in all sorts of sizes. These RIMS tubes come from surplus medical devices.

Gone.

Good point! Grounding the element/kettle to the house wiring is essential. I'll need to update the diagram. And yes, DPDT switch should only be ON when you want the element to be ON. This is manual control.

Here's a diagram I made. I tried to keep it simple. Hopefully it's enough to get you going. It's easier to understand once you get your hands on this stuff and start piecing it together.

Correct.

Did you get the polarity right when you soldered the capacitor in place? Polarity matters with electrolytic capacitors.

If you want to do a 5 gallon batch instead of a 10 in an eKeggle for example. Or, if you want to "over power" the system to get a faster boil and then dial it back for a nice rolling boil. If you fly sparge (like I do) you'd probably want to turn on the element as soon as it is covered by wort...

The frequency of this part is listed as 100Hz. The frequency adjust kit which is purchased separately let's you adjust between 100Hz and 15KHz. We want ~1Hz, so it's not what we need. I have been really happy with the $8 unit from Bakatronics. Since I ordered it as a kit and had to build...

Correct.

Buy this: http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=383 Replace C1 with a 2.2uF capacitor to lower the frequency. Use a 12V wall wart as a power supply to the PWM board. Connect the output of the PWM board to a SSR to control your boil. This is how I did it and I'm very happy...

I have a few extra RIMS heater tubes that are looking for a home. $45 shipped (Continental US) each. If you want more than one we can work out a deal, otherwise the price is firm. Paypal or cash (located in SE Michigan.) Details: - Made by Watlow - 1300W, 120VAC - Stainless element and...

I use a 2.2uF cap and it works great, around 1 second cycle time. I recall finding an error (or typo) with the calculations provided with the kit but I don't recall exactly what it was. I've done quite a few batches using this system and I absolutely love it. Very "responsive" with my 5.5kW...

A guy in my local club is an experience spruce beer brewer. He always uses the spruce tips in the mash, not the boil. I've tried two of his spruce beers and enjoyed them both. One was a brown and the other a stout. Some reference links...

A while back I made this recipe with a few minor substitutions for ingredients available on-hand. Fermented with S-04 dry yeast. It was the best beer I've ever made. Split a 10 gallon batch with a friend and I wish I had kept the whole 10 for myself. It was gone in a hurry.