Converting to electric

[Solidsnake]

Looking to switch my Keggle from propane to electric and was wondering if I got the 15 gallon boilcoil can that run on 120 as well as 240. I know that with ripple elements I can run 240 element on 120 and just lose wattage but was unsure if the same applied for boilcoils.

 

[AkTom]

I don’t have a clue. Take pictures of your conversion. Sounds like something I need to do sometime soon.

 

[doug293cz]

Yes a Boil Coil can be run on 120V, but at 120V you only get 1/4 the power that you do at 240V. So at 120V a heating element rated 5500W @ 240V will only put out 1375W. 1375W is not enough to heat and boil 6-9 gal of water/wort in a reasonable amount of time. Most 120V all-in-one "5" gal systems have 1600W - 2000W (rated at 120V) heating elements.

A heating element is just a resistor, and for resistors the power is given by:

Power = Voltage^2 / Resistance​

The resistance is essentially constant with applied voltage.

Brew on

 

[Solidsnake]

Is the 10 gallon boil coil enough for making 5 gallon batches with the occasional 10 gallon batch?

 

[doug293cz]

The 10 Gallon 120 BoilCoil is rated at 2250A @ 120V and requires a 20A circuit to provide power. When doing a 10 gal batch, you will have a temp ramp rate of a little over 1°F/min, or roughly an hour to heat from mash to boil temp.

Brew on

 

[stlbeer]

Search for a spreadsheet titled “electric heat.xls”. It’s great for planning your electric brewery. Answers questions about how long it will take to get to a certain from a certain temp, etc. I found it valuable in assessing what element to use.

 

[-Dan-]

I cannot speak much to the 120v version but I can tell you that I am more than happy with the 240v. Water for a 5gal batch is heated up in no time, quicker than with me previous propane setup.
When I decided which route to go, I went back and forth between the 120v and 240v options and decided to have a 30amp outlet installed to be done with it. Best decision I could have made!

 

[sicktght311]

1350watts will heat water for mashing/sparging, but it will take quite some time. It will not be enough to boil however. For refernce, my 1650watt element in my HLT takes about 2-2.5 hours to heat 8 gallons of HLT water + 5-6gallons of strike water from 55 to 155 recirculated through the herms coil. The 1650watt element in the boil kettle will heat to a boil, but you have to keep the lid on and cracked. Hasnt caused any DMS issues and i've made some fantastic beer with my system

2250 watts will get you there faster, and boil a bit easier with the lid further off, but you're almost maxing out a 20amp circuit, if not fully maxing it out. I brew on a 20amp outlet but with my element and 2 pumps combined i'm only running around 16ish amps so i have plenty of room. Electrical code typically requires you to put no more than 80% load on a circuit, so on a 20amp circuit you really shouldnt be running more than 16-17amps safely.

 

[tellyho]

Do it once, the right way. Control panel + 240v + 5500kW. It does not have to be complicated or necessarily that expensive, but you will be laughing at the end of your 4 hour brew day.

 

[Bobby_M]

Electrical code typically requires you to put no more than 80% load on a circuit, so on a 20amp circuit you really shouldnt be running more than 16-17amps safely.

Please dont perpetuate this myth. It does not apply to branch circuits or appliances connected to those circuits with portable cords.