BLING BLING Electric HERMS Conversion

[brrman]

Great build diatonic - I had missed your thread before. The last of my parts should arrive by friday... hope to get things moving by then.

 

[diatonic]

Thanks brrman. Just came across your bar build thread courtesy of the HBT twitter feed. Very nice. I ended up grounding my HLT with an alligator clip that I attach to the ball valve while the HLT is in use. Just FYI. I never found a way to ground at the thermocouple and keep the seal, though I imagine it is possible.

 

[brrman]

just found out the chiller from morebeer (used for heat exchanger) is out of stock - trying to decide if I should build my own or just wait...

 

[LooyvilleLarry]

I'd build.

 

[diatonic]

I just picked up a roll of soft copper tubing at a local plumbing supply shop and shaped it by wrapping around a corney keg. Sweated on the uprights with 1/2 hard copper connected with 90° elbows, and 1/2 NPT male connectors at the top. Pic here, works well... though it is permanently attached to the lid

 

[brrman]

yeah, I know I can do it - I made my immersion chiller a couple years ago. Did the same thing with the corny keg.. I guess I was just being lazy... lol

On a brighter note I have the bulk of my wooden cabinet/stand complete. Will have pics this weekend.

 

[brrman]

You need to reinforce the inner liner... you can do this by using a 2" PVC CAP... the flat one, not the rounded ones... and using an epoxy to secure that to the inner liner, but of course from the OUTside.

wow - I never realized it was so hard to find a PVC end cap that is flat instead of rounded... Been to 3 stores and all they carry are the rounded ones. Looks like I may have to get creative.

 

[The Pol]

wow - I never realized it was so hard to find a PVC end cap that is flat instead of rounded... Been to 3 stores and all they carry are the rounded ones. Looks like I may have to get creative.

I think I got my flat end caps at Lowes for different parts in my build. I have two on my HLT total.

I bought the B3 1/2" dia. prechiller because at the time, it was like $50... which was cheaper than I could get the tubing at Lowes at the time.

Morebeer, out of stock? No... can't be

 

[brrman]

yeah - I have since bought some soft copper tubing but haven't had a chance work with it.

I will have a go at another Lowes location for the end caps, and maybe the Ace hardware I have near me. If thats a no go I may end up fiberglassing something custom.

On a brighter note - at least my kettle is finished - I let it sit for an hour and no leaks at the element seal.

 

[The Pol]

Try Rons True Value of Indianapolis, thier website has EVERYTHING and it is CHEAP! I bought a ton of parts there, including my $18 5500W RIPP element!

 

[diatonic]

FWIW, I haven't needed to use end caps.

 

[The Pol]

Some people arent as lucky... I think technique matters when assembling these things.

 

[brrman]

I just can't see the element staying stable (I am using the bigger 5500W element too remember) without some reinforcement.

 

[brrman]

Well I found the pvc cap at Ace hardware, along with the stainless washers I need and the stainless wing nut. The epoxy is curing on the HLT is I type.

 

[The Pol]

Brian, you never picked up your motor today, wifey left it out as you said, it got rained on... Where were you bro?

 

[Sawdustguy]

If it got wet just put it in a 110* oven for 15 minutes to dry it out. I have, on more occasions than I care to admit, spilled something on my keyboard. I simply throw it in the dishwasher and put it in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes to dry it out. I haven't lost a keyboard yet.

 

[brrman]

Brian, you never picked up your motor today, wifey left it out as you said, it got rained on... Where were you bro?

Dude - I am sorry man - I totally forgot. We had a water issue on friday and today I ended up ripping out all our carpet. Believe me, I would rather have been working on the brew system... Is it ever going to stop frigging raining??? Add the fact that a raccoon has ripped a hole in my roof, and that my parents arrive from Canada in 2 days, and it might indicate where my stress level is... LOL

A little water won't kill the motor as long as I dry it out before I run it. I will plan to pick it up some day when you are around so no worries. I'll call ya and we can set up a time. I am in no rush - have to install about 500 sq feet of hardwood now... sigh.

thanks man
Bryan

 

[The Pol]

Sorry about the floor... I MAY be home Tuesday and Wednedsay of next week, definately on Thursday.

 

[brrman]

ok - I am off on thursday so I will come down then, Rob. And I will call you to confirm on the day of.

 

[Chosenwon]

Hey Pol,

When wiring up 240v element I think any safety precaution is a good idea. I started building mine and almost did not do this (before finding this thread).

I have incorporated using a 240v 30 amp double pole switch, but am confused as how to wire it up. The rest of my wiring I am confident in, but this is still not clear to me. Do you wire each leg vertically like a single pole switch or side to side? I realize this is a noob question, but better safe than sorry. Thanks for any input on the wiring of this heavy duty switch.

 

[Chosenwon]

Hey Pol,

When wiring up 240v element I think any safety precaution is a good idea. I started building mine and almost did not do this (before finding this thread).

I have incorporated using a 240v 30 amp double pole switch, but am confused as how to wire it up. The rest of my wiring I am confident in, but this is still not clear to me. Do you wire each leg vertically like a single pole switch or side to side? I realize this is a noob question, but better safe than sorry. Thanks for any input on the wiring of this heavy duty switch.

OR anybody else who has the answer is welcome to chip in. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[The Pol]

Vertically.

When you flip the switch up, it makes the connection. Now if the switch went left to right, left to right would make sense.

 

[Chosenwon]

Vertically.

When you flip the switch up, it makes the connection. Now if the switch went left to right, left to right would make sense.

Thanks Pol, that is what I did, but it made be doubt myself when I saw that the top two screws were a brownish black color and the bottom two were a bronze color. It all makes sense to go vertically though.

Thanks for your help and this inspiring thread!

 

[conpewter]

Thanks Pol, that is what I did, but it made be doubt myself when I saw that the top two screws were a brownish black color and the bottom two were a bronze color. It all makes sense to go vertically though.

Thanks for your help and this inspiring thread!

You can always use a multi-meter to check continuity as you work the switch (when it is not attached to any live wires). I got a very cheap one from harbor freight that still works fine.

 

[scoots]

I am in the final process of collecting the pieces to build this system and have one very important question about wiring. I cannot find 10/4 wire anywhere that is the length I need. The best I can do is splice 3 lengths together at various points in the basement or to run the individual wires through conduit. So the question. Why 10/4 and not 10/3 with a ground?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[brrman]

10/4 essentially is 10/3+grnd... 2 hot, 1 neutral, 1 ground.

Running individual wires will be much more expensive than buying 10/4 grouped/romex. Are you sure 10 gauge is even heavy enough? What size elements are you running?

If I can find 125' length of 6/4 at Home Depot I am sure 10/4 can be found somewhere, even online I saw places to order...

 

[scoots]

10/4 essentially is 10/3+grnd... 2 hot, 1 neutral, 1 ground.

Running individual wires will be much more expensive than buying 10/4 grouped/romex. Are you sure 10 gauge is even heavy enough? What size elements are you running?

If I can find 125' length of 6/4 at Home Depot I am sure 10/4 can be found somewhere, even online I saw places to order...

I cannot find it at the Menards, Homedepot or Lowes near me. 10/3 with a ground is what I picked up, but I want to make sure it is ok before I use it.

 

[illin8]

Doesn't Lowe's/HD have spools of it that you can buy as much as you need off of? You know, the ones on the rotating rack thing...some of those spools look like they hold 500'.

 

[The Pol]

Doesn't Lowe's/HD have spools of it that you can buy as much as you need off of? You know, the ones on the rotating rack thing...some of those spools look like they hold 500'.

Yes, this is how I bought mine. Menards, Lowes and HD have them here. Any sort of wire you can think of, in bulk lengths.

 

[The Pol]

I used 10/4 wire. How many amps are you going to pull? Google it... there are charts that will show you exactly what gauge you need depending on the amps yuou are going to draw.

I draw 23 MAX.