BIAB System Build Help

[cbier60]

To defend Silentdrinker, maybe he didn't pay sufficient attention to Jayjay1976's particular comments about his setup, but I think his general comment is valid. If you're going to use 2 110V heaters, you just need to be sure that you have 2 outlets on separate breakers. Sounds like this is a pretty common occurrence in most kitchens.

 

[Silentdrinker]

Sorry, I think this maybe a bad idea. Running high wattage through the light fixture wiring is not a good idea imo.

Never seen a 1500w light bulb and light fixture wiring is typically thin, not to be confused with thhn wire.

Don’t forget the lack of GFCI too.

To defend Silentdrinker, maybe he didn't pay sufficient attention to Jayjay1976's particular comments about his setup, but I think his general comment is valid. If you're going to use 2 110V heaters, you just need to be sure that you have 2 outlets on separate breakers. Sounds like this is a pretty common occurrence in most kitchens.

I did see that. I’m not challenging or questioning his method. There’s nothing wrong with it as long as it’s properly done. My comment of “hopefully” was in general for those who think they can follow this advice with out verifying their electrical simply because someone has tried it and it worked fine for them. And that kind of mentality of, ‘he did it, so it must work,’ is strong within this community.

A lot of old houses wouldn’t be setup the same. Plus I imagine a lot of them lack ground fault circuit interrupters and that’s really important for electric brewing.

People blindly follow advice and some people give bad advice, like using a light socket, or neglect to provide the full picture. I’m not saying he’s giving bad advice; he’s not. It’s just lacking some info since his electrical is to date and even beyond the minimum requirement with the 10/3 wiring.

I know there are people who assume overloading a circuit means plugging too many things into one outlet. They don’t realize it’s not about the quantity of devices or the receptacle that matters. Plus they have no idea what a GFCI is and how important it is for safety. The wire shield on the element can easily crack exposing a live wire with out detection until it’s too late.

Hell, look at how many people burn their house down each year trying to fry a turkey. And that’s a relatively straight forward common sense sort of thing.

Electricity is dangerous as it is, adding water increases the danger. And using unorthodox methods to avoid properly powering your electric setup could increase that danger further. Ghetto setups aren’t uncommon, but it’s less of an issue when it’s a ghetto ferm chamber or fermenter.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I don't believe you need a ground for a GFCI to trip, but I would not use one without.... View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1509483617.961542.jpg

 

[Silentdrinker]

I don't believe you need a ground for a GFCI to trip, but I would not use one without.... View attachment 419110

An open ground GFCI will trip only if an unbalanced load is detected. It won’t trip if there’s fault in the appliance.

Regardless, an open ground GFCI provides more protection than a grounded non GFCI receptical.

 

[lglenny99]

Well I figured out how to get this.i will have the 220v option just fine. I can tap into a drain and water lines that are running right above the unfinished ceiling. I have been reading on the grainfather, spike, and double element options. Ugh there are so many options. Love all the insight on the electrical options.

 

[Jambro64]

If you can get your hands dirty you can build from the ground up for around $500 easy. Bru Gear has their 10 gallon SS kettle for $90 plus shipping and all the parts for the element and controller is easily under $300. Leaving you money left over to hire an electrician to run the new 240v four wire circuit to your basement. You can do 120v but it does take a while to get to temperature. I have been using an old Electrim Bin plastic bucket with 2750 watt element in a 240v plug for ever. We used to unplug the dryer and brew on top of it. If you don't feel safe wiring your own PID controller you can get BIAB controllers fairly cheap. Add the pump to recirculate during mashing and you have a Grainfather. Best part is you can add to it later.

 

[lglenny99]

If you can get your hands dirty you can build from the ground up for around $500 easy. Bru Gear has their 10 gallon SS kettle for $90 plus shipping and all the parts for the element and controller is easily under $300. Leaving you money left over to hire an electrician to run the new 240v four wire circuit to your basement. You can do 120v but it does take a while to get to temperature. I have been using an old Electrim Bin plastic bucket with 2750 watt element in a 240v plug for ever. We used to unplug the dryer and brew on top of it. If you don't feel safe wiring your own PID controller you can get BIAB controllers fairly cheap. Add the pump to recirculate during mashing and you have a Grainfather. Best part is you can add to it later.

Is there a diagram of this. I saw the element etc, but not sure I get how it is hooked up. The only other part missing that the grainfather has is the built in wort chiller also. I do like the idea of building so I can do larger grain amounts if I need. I don't plan on brewing more than a 5 gallon enough to fill a 1/6th barre keg) so I don't need anything huge.

 

[Jambro64]

Is there a diagram of this. I saw the element etc, but not sure I get how it is hooked up. The only other part missing that the grainfather has is the built in wort chiller also. I do like the idea of building so I can do larger grain amounts if I need. I don't plan on brewing more than a 5 gallon enough to fill a 1/6th barre keg) so I don't need anything huge.

I used a couple of different youtube videos to get ideas:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za7dSoiVqbA[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGufeODqU6g[/ame]

I am doing a 240v 5500watt element PID controller into that 10 gallon Bru-Gear kettle. I do 5 gallon BIAB batches and now can keg mine as well. There is a great Electric Brewer forum thread on here as well.

As for a wort chiller, I just use an immersion copper coil for now. Would like to upgrade to include a pump and a chiller plate. Might be a while before I get out of the dog house for building this eBIAB system.