A little help please with setting up my boil kettle/HLT for electric brewing .

[iasquith]

Hi, I am being forced to do away with my propane set up and I'm looking into how I can set up my 6 gallon aluminium boil/hot strike water pot to work using an element and some type of boil control .I wont be needing to worry about mash temps or pump systems just a way to heat up my strike water until the desired temp. turn off Then finally maintain a rolling boil. This is the part I'm not sure about. Obviously an element- I was thinking around 5000w using the 220v voltage available at home. To maintain the wort boiling could I use the following dimmer with a cooler ? and would I need anything else ? ( Fuse or relays) I have to admit I'm a little confused with all the jargon
sorry the product site is in Portuguese

http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/...00w-220v-com-cooller-_JM#redirectedFromParent

Thanks in advance for any help with this cheers Ian

 

[bikerbred]

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/ or search more threads on here, seriously the info is endless.

 

[iasquith]

Ok. thanks bikerbred.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

I recently installed two 120v hot water tank elements into my 7.5 gallon pot. The elements are 1500w low density units which I run off of two separate circuits in my home (one circuit won't run both at the same time). I have only done one brew on this setup but I had no need for any sort of power control. The 3000w boiled my wort really nicely but not overly aggressively.

 

[augiedoggy]

I recently installed two 120v hot water tank elements into my 7.5 gallon pot. The elements are 1500w low density units which I run off of two separate circuits in my home (one circuit won't run both at the same time). I have only done one brew on this setup but I had no need for any sort of power control. The 3000w boiled my wort really nicely but not overly aggressively.

Tbe problem here is Your comparing 3000w which is barely enough at 100% to 5000w which will certainly be overkill. He will want some sort of control... I only have 4500w elements and I have mine set at about 65% for 7gallon boils

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

Tbe problem here is Your comparing 3000w which is barely enough at 100% to 5000w which will certainly be overkill. He will want some sort of control... I only have 4500w elements and I have mine set at about 65% for 7gallon boils

I made my post so the OP could see that there are different ways to go about it then just ramming a 5500w element in a 6 gal pot and then having to figure out a way of turning the 5500w element down to the output of my 3000w.

And my 3000w's was plenty. I had a great rolling boil going on, what more could I need?

 

[augiedoggy]

I made my post so the OP could see that there are different ways to go about it then just ramming a 5500w element in a 6 gal pot and then having to figure out a way of turning the 5500w element down to the output of my 3000w.

And my 3000w's was plenty. I had a great rolling boil going on, what more could I need?

Time for one thing... a 4500 or 5500w element will bring the liquid up to temp much faster than the 3000w elements. Less hassle with multiple elements to multiple outlets and the ability to do larger amounts like 10 gallons also the ability to set a temp and walk away and not worry about a boil over.
Your setup seems to work well for you but then again have you used a 4500w or 5000w setup for comparison?
What your doing is similar to putting a pot on two burners of a stove and turning it on full blast to reach a boil but having no control over adjusting the boil when its reached. whereas having a bit more power and the ability to fine tune it is always helpful.
Put it this way, would you rather drive a 3 cylinder ford fiesta or a sportscar for fun?

I'm sure this could be one of the reasons the Op wasn't still brewing on his kitchen stove and went to a more powerful propane setup?

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

I guess you're right, it will be faster. I brew for fun and to kill spare time, not really interested in a race. Also, in my opinion, boil overs have a lot more to do with the cook then the stove or the pot.

 

[iasquith]

Smokeymcbong and augidoggy, yes I can see the plus sides of both your suggestions .Having researched a little more I think an element of around 4000w would be best with a dimmer for better control and i wanted to avoid , making two many holes in my kettle, although for a future HLT set -up i may go that way .I was mainly concerned if I might need any further components ie.relays or such like or wether the dimmer in itself would be enough am I right in understanding that the heat created by this dimmer willl be dissipated by the (included) computer type fan ? I had read that people use relays after temp controlers to deal with the load and heat created but in the case of the dimmer hopefully it wouldn't be necessary wanted to keep it as simple and inexpensive as possible.
Oh Augiedoggy my kitchen stove is natural gas and couldn't handle the big boils thats why I had to go propane. Ian.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Im in the middle of buying parts for an electric BIAB setup now.From advice Ive gotten here.

Mypin PID $20
40A SSR $7
5500w element $30
oversized heatsink $17
Box for mounting element to kettle $20
I still need temp sensor $35
30a plugs and wire. but I think that's about all I need.
So Im figuring around $150 and I can brew 10 gal batches and have twice the beer in the same time
I just ordered a King Kooker 20 gal pot for $98 (sears on sale now)
All said and done I should be under $300 for a complete system INCLUDING A POT not to shabby
Im just plugging into my dryer outlet and saving time and money by not running a new line