5500 watt element

[Arbe0]

planning an electric home brew setup and will be getting 240v on a 30 amp breaker. Can I run m a 5500 watt element with a pump, or would a 5500 watt element be the only thing I should run on a 30 amp breaker?

 

[passedpawn]

You can run a pump and the 5500W element at the same time, no problem. I do.

 

[Arbe0]

great.. thank you passepawn. But that is about all I can run at the same time isn't it?

 

[Arbe0]

and would I have a problem with the 240v 30 amp breaker running a 5500 watt element and the control box, with a PID controller?

 

[bassmang4]

Most one element at a time panels are 30 amp. That’s with two pumps, PIDs...

 

[passedpawn]

^^ what he said. On 30A I run a panel and two PIDs and 2 pumps and a 5500W element. No problem since 2009

 

[Arbe0]

So why do some people use the 4500 watt elements instead of the 5500 watt?

 

[passedpawn]

So why do some people use the 4500 watt elements instead of the 5500 watt?

Don't know. Does Home Depot and Lowes carry 5500W? Maybe 4500 is largest available locally.

 

[jimmayhugh]

I'm currently building a Boiler using a 5500w 240vac element, and when I tested the unit it drew about 22 amps at full boil, so you should have some room left over for other devices. Just make sure that you use a large enough electrical cable (I use 10-3) so the cable doesn't overheat at full current draw.

 

[TexasWine]

great.. thank you passepawn. But that is about all I can run at the same time isn't it?

You might already know this, but here's the math behind it.

Volts x Amps = Watts

240 volts x 30 amps = 7200 watts
5500 watts / 240 volts = ~23 amps

As said above, you've got plenty of room running a single 5500 watt element, plus a bunch of other stuff, on a 30 amp service.

Another example of why someone might run a 4500 watt element in their boil kettle is so they can run a RIMs tube while simultaneously boiling. Comes in handy for back-to-back batches.

 

[cubalz]

I also run a panel, two PIDs and 2 pumps and a 5500W element on a 30A breaker. I have not had a problem yet.....

 

[Bobby_M]

People buy 4500 elements because they had the same unsubstantiated fear you have now. Headroom. Despite what you may read about some 80% "rule" that actually doesn't apply to this specific topic, you can run a full 30amps on a 30 amp circuit for a long time.