cheap STC 1000 on Amazon $10.99 ea with free ship

[Owly055]

I just purchased a pair of STC 1000 temp controllers on Amazon with sensor and relay.... for $10.99 each free shipping.

I'm taking my sous vide mash to the next level, and that is to make my own sous vide just for mashing using BIAB. My circulator will be made from a cheap harbor freight electric drill, the hand grip sawn off to make it a compact unit. It will use a piece of CPVC pipe with a propeller style impeller near the bottom driven by the drill. A 600 watt rod style immersion heater will be inside the pipe parallel to the shaft that drives the impeller, and a control box sitting on the counter top will provide the power to the drill and heater, containing the STC 1000. This should give the torroidal flow I want inside my brew bag, without having to screen the grain out, and maintain temp within a fraction of a degree. It will have an appearance somewhat similar to an electric ice cream maker. with the drive motor sitting on a cross piece on top of the mash tun in the center.

H.W.

 

[augiedoggy]

I just purchased a pair of STC 1000 temp controllers on Amazon with sensor and relay.... for $10.99 each free shipping.

I'm taking my sous vide mash to the next level, and that is to make my own sous vide just for mashing using BIAB. My circulator will be made from a cheap harbor freight electric drill, the hand grip sawn off to make it a compact unit. It will use a piece of CPVC pipe with a propeller style impeller near the bottom driven by the drill. A 600 watt rod style immersion heater will be inside the pipe parallel to the shaft that drives the impeller, and a control box sitting on the counter top will provide the power to the drill and heater, containing the STC 1000. This should give the torroidal flow I want inside my brew bag, without having to screen the grain out, and maintain temp within a fraction of a degree. It will have an appearance somewhat similar to an electric ice cream maker. with the drive motor sitting on a cross piece on top of the mash tun in the center.

H.W.

Not for nothing and I'm not trying to give you grief so if this doesnt concern you ok. But you might want to read the warning on the side of the box about how the cheap motor/ brushes they use expel cancer causing dust out of the sidevents as they run... Im not sure if you lid is going to be sealed somehow but from the sounds of the cross brace it sounds like you might leave it open. I also dont know if the dust is a problem to drink as it is to breath but I wouldnt want it in my beer..
Having the drill running over and open mashtun for an hour at a time will likely result in the brush material wearing and sprinking into your wort directly below fairly quickly. Plus depending on the temps, as I myself found out the motor can be exposed to some serious condensation and rust from steam. and even more of the dust from inside the case will mix with the moisture and possibly run down into the mash.

Again just mentioning it in case you want to take steps now in building to address it.

I do plan on using a plastic tupperware container to shield my mixing motor from further damage even though I use a fairly sealed DC unit the shaft and bearings are drying out and rusting.

 

[Owly055]

Thanks for "raining on my parade". A quick check of the composition of typical electrical brush material shows a composition of 90+% carbon and graphite, and the remainder being silicon carbide and cured resin binder. What the "binder" is, is anybody's guess, but none of the other materials are remotely toxic. This is from a Australian MSDS. The issue is respiratory when exposed to a lot of this dust. Remember that electric mixers, blenders, etc, are all brush motors also.

I just bought a cheap no-name 3/8 electric drill in a pawn shop for $10 yesterday to cut up and use for this application I hope to do a trial of the system on Christmas Eve. I'm going to use an ordinary galvanized steel paint stirrer initially at least. It would be a simple matter to make a full lid with just an opening for the mechanism to project through. The drill I paid so much for, has a boss behind the chuck to clamp a handle on, so it will be easy to mount. I may be able to do something creative with pipe reducers, and perhaps even design the unit to stand in the bottom of the mash tun like a Christmas tree stand. such that a lid can simply slip over the barrel.


H.W.

Not for nothing and I'm not trying to give you grief so if this doesnt concern you ok. But you might want to read the warning on the side of the box about how the cheap motor/ brushes they use expel cancer causing dust out of the sidevents as they run... Im not sure if you lid is going to be sealed somehow but from the sounds of the cross brace it sounds like you might leave it open. I also dont know if the dust is a problem to drink as it is to breath but I wouldnt want it in my beer..
Having the drill running over and open mashtun for an hour at a time will likely result in the brush material wearing and sprinking into your wort directly below fairly quickly. Plus depending on the temps, as I myself found out the motor can be exposed to some serious condensation and rust from steam. and even more of the dust from inside the case will mix with the moisture and possibly run down into the mash.

Again just mentioning it in case you want to take steps now in building to address it.

I do plan on using a plastic tupperware container to shield my mixing motor from further damage even though I use a fairly sealed DC unit the shaft and bearings are drying out and rusting.