15amp vs 20amp for Foundry 240v Upgrade

[Brushwood Brewing]

After a couple years of use, I'm finally going to upgrade my Anvil Foundry to 240v. I will "cut the plug" on the Foundry and re-wire a new plug on it, as well as install a new, dedicated GFCI-protected 240v circuit. The manual says to use either a NEMA 6-15P or NEMA 6-20P plug. If I understand that correctly, that also means I can either use a 15 amp circuit or a 20 amp circuit. If the circuit is dedicated only to the Foundry, is there any advantage using a two-pole 20 amp breaker instead of a two-pole 15 amp breaker? Would it actually give more power to the Foundry? Or would it just be an unnecessary added cost?

If I go with the two-pole 20 amp breaker, I plan to use 12/3 copper wire, NEMA 6-20P plug, and NEMA 6-20R outlet. If I go with the two-pole 15 amp breaker, I plan to use 14/3 copper wire, NEMA 6-15P plug, and NEMA 6-15R outlet. Please correct me if any of that sounds wrong.

I'm comfortable performing the work myself, but just need help choosing what to buy.

Cheers.

 

[Willy]

After a couple years of use, I'm finally going to upgrade my Anvil Foundry to 240v. I will "cut the plug" on the Foundry and re-wire a new plug on it, as well as install a new, dedicated GFCI-protected 240v circuit. The manual says to use either a NEMA 6-15P or NEMA 6-20P plug. If I understand that correctly, that also means I can either use a 15 amp circuit or a 20 amp circuit. If the circuit is dedicated only to the Foundry, is there any advantage using a two-pole 20 amp breaker instead of a two-pole 15 amp breaker? Would it actually give more power to the Foundry? Or would it just be an unnecessary added cost?

If I go with the two-pole 20 amp breaker, I plan to use 12/3 copper wire, NEMA 6-20P plug, and NEMA 6-20R outlet. If I go with the two-pole 15 amp breaker, I plan to use 14/3 copper wire, NEMA 6-15P plug, and NEMA 6-15R outlet. Please correct me if any of that sounds wrong.

I'm comfortable performing the work myself, but just need help choosing what to buy.

Cheers.

I would always suggest 20 amps vs 15. In this case the headroom is good for you and won't hurt a bit . I doubt it heats any faster but you are much less likely to blow a fuse (when the pump gets clogged and starts overheating or some Boogeyman )

 

[Broken Crow]

Some questions: Is this in a dedicated brewing area and is this Anvil your "Forever System" (meaning you'll never wanna change out for a 5500W system)?
or: Is this in an area you may wish at some point to use other types of equipment, plasma cutter maybe?
The main difference is in the cost of parts. If that's no big deal and in event you may ever want something beefier in the area, why not just go with 30A, or in the event you ever need an electric vehicle charger that may benefit from its location, 50A?
I'll admit I'm heavily biased, as for my own part, 240V/30A is my absolute minimum for a work area.
More current than needed is never a big deal, but the opposite is.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Some questions:

This is a dedicated brew area in my basement. My work shop (with tables saws etc.) is in the garage, so no I do not expect this outlet/circuit to ever be used by larger appliances. Although I'm guessing I won't be using this exact Foundry 30 years from now, I do not expect to ever upgrade to a more powerful system; I tend to brew 3 gallon smaller batches.

Since my original post, I watched several youtube videos of 240v installs, and most are using xx/2 wires instead of xx/3 wires. Should I do the same? I've done a fair amount of 120v wiring in the past and always used 12 gauge for 20amp and 14 gauge for 15 amp circuits. Would the same apply here, or do I need to use a thicker gauge because it's 240v?

 

[Broken Crow]

3 wires gives you 2 hots, a neutral and the un-numbered ground. 2 wire gives you 2 hots and a ground. Some types of gear have use for both 110V and 240V internally, thus require a '3' wire connection. Units that exclusively consume 240V can use '2' wire. I'm not familiar with the Anvil, but if the manual says you can just swap the plug, then clearly the current 110V plug using 1-hot, 1-neutral and 1-ground can be safely switched out for 2-hots and 1 ground.

 

[doug293cz]

If the circuit is dedicated only to the Foundry, is there any advantage using a two-pole 20 amp breaker instead of a two-pole 15 amp breaker? Would it actually give more power to the Foundry?

The amount of power that the Foundry will use is determined by the supply voltage and the resistance of the heating element. The current used is given by: I = V / R, where I is current, V is voltage, and R is the element resistance. The pump and controls will also draw a small amount of current, but that power is also limited by the load characteristics, not the circuit capacity. Plugging the Foundry into a circuit with higher current capacity will not enable it to use more power.

That said, @Broken Crow 's comments about future flexibility should not be discounted.

Brew on

 

[Snuffy]

Just curious... you're doing small batches in a Foundry. Why would 120V not do the job?

 

[Bobby_M]

Just curious... you're doing small batches in a Foundry. Why would 120V not do the job?

Time savings. More power, more better.

 

[Bobby_M]

After a couple years of use, I'm finally going to upgrade my Anvil Foundry to 240v. I will "cut the plug" on the Foundry and re-wire a new plug on it, as well as install a new, dedicated GFCI-protected 240v circuit. The manual says to use either a NEMA 6-15P or NEMA 6-20P plug. If I understand that correctly, that also means I can either use a 15 amp circuit or a 20 amp circuit. If the circuit is dedicated only to the Foundry, is there any advantage using a two-pole 20 amp breaker instead of a two-pole 15 amp breaker? Would it actually give more power to the Foundry? Or would it just be an unnecessary added cost?

If I go with the two-pole 20 amp breaker, I plan to use 12/3 copper wire, NEMA 6-20P plug, and NEMA 6-20R outlet. If I go with the two-pole 15 amp breaker, I plan to use 14/3 copper wire, NEMA 6-15P plug, and NEMA 6-15R outlet. Please correct me if any of that sounds wrong.

I'm comfortable performing the work myself, but just need help choosing what to buy.

Cheers.

The Foundry makes 2800 watts on 240v. 2800w/240v=11.66 amps so it will run fine on 14 gauge wire and a 2 pole 15amp breaker. The wire cost difference between 14 and 12 really isn't that big of a deal but MAYBE the cost of the GFCI breaker is... Look for those prices before deciding.

If you DO use a 15amp breaker and 14 gauge wire, you must not put a 20amp receptacle in the box. You have to use a 15.

One nuance about number of conductors is that in the case of ROMEX aka Non-metallic sheathed wiring, 14/2 is actually two shielded conductors (black and white) and one bare copper ground. For pure 240v like what the foundry uses, you only need the 3.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Why would 120V not do the job?

Yes 120v does the job, certainly. That's why I haven't made the upgrade despite using it regularly for several years. That being said, I'm in the process of wiring the entire basement (not brewing related) and would be adding an outlet anyway, so I figured I might as well make the outlet 240v.

Time savings.

Yes. I have a newborn, a 1-year-old, and a 2-year-old. If I could even cut off 30 minutes from a brew day, that's huge.

it will run fine on 14 gauge wire and a 2 pole 15amp breaker. The wire cost difference between 14 and 12 really isn't that big of a deal but MAYBE the cost of the GFCI breaker is... Look for those prices before deciding.

Thank you. It sounds like I'll probably go with a 2-pole 15amp GFCI breaker and 14/2 wire, but I'll check the prices before making the decision.

 

[Bobby_M]

Incidentally, 240/15 can power up to 3500 watts so even if you wanted to go with the Foundry 18, it could handle it.

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Cripes….. go with the highest amps you can!! Certainly 30a covers a lot of ground for BIAB setup. 5500 watt elements are awesome.. I love my DIY BIAB with 5500w element, it’s really quick on the ramp up.