e herms question

[evan5159]

so i had a hell of a craigslist haul. this guy gave me his eherms keggles. i already bought of course a pump and i understand the whole herms process. i like fire so i sold the keggle boil pot. i kept the hlt and mash tun. the hlt has the 5500w element in it and a thermal couple/heat probes. the probes have male xlr ends. ok all i am wanting at this point is to be able to keep my hlt at proper mash temp to recirculate and of course to raise to sparge temps. is this what i want to buy? http://amzn.com/B0087O6S2A ? anything else?

 

[k_mcarthur]

Yes, and no. The PID is the right one, but the SSR is rated only for 25A. I have this exact package for my 120v e-herms system and it works really well. You need a SSR that is rated for at least 30A, but 40A will work better and not overheat.

 

[evan5159]

I'm sorry but I have no idea what that means. Could you please explain

 

[PLOVE]

What he means is that a 5500W element on a 220V circuit will draw 25 Amps. Your SSR will either get really hot, or just fail altogether. Switching to a 30A or even 40A relay is the easy solution. Just make sure you're wiring properly sized for the amperage as well.

 

[k_mcarthur]

What he means is that a 5500W element on a 220V circuit will draw 25 Amps. Your SSR will either get really hot, or just fail altogether. Switching to a 30A or even 40A relay is the easy solution. Just make sure you're wiring properly sized for the amperage as well.

Yes, good old ohm's law. Watts/volts=amps. When I was assembling my system I found a great resource at www.electricbrewery.com, I think Kal the creator of this site is even a member here. Check it out.

 

[evan5159]

Thank you. I know I must sound like an idiot but I have very little knowledge of these electrical systems. I do now understand. Help appreciated

 

[k_mcarthur]

No worries, we all started somewhere. I love my e-herms system, makes step mashing easy. Press some buttons, walk away.

 

[PLOVE]

Yup. Came to the right place. No question is a dumb question, particularly when it's attached to a "live wire". Good luck with your build and definitely keep posting questions as they arise.
P

 

[jeffmeh]

Actually, a 5500w, 240v element will draw just under 23 amps at 240v, less if you only have 220v. It should work fine, although a 40a rated SSR might last longer.

 

[k_mcarthur]

The NEC requires that current should not exceed 80% of the rating of circuit devices. Hence why an electric dryer that has a 5500w element must be on a 30a circuit. 5500w/240v=23a, 23a/80%=28.75a. So it should be on a 30a circuit. My 120v 2000w e-herms heat sink gets pretty hot when trying to get up to mashout, I would definitely go higher next time. Just FYI.

 

[jeffmeh]

The NEC requires that current should not exceed 80% of the rating of circuit devices. Hence why an electric dryer that has a 5500w element must be on a 30a circuit. 5500w/240v=23a, 23a/80%=28.75a. So it should be on a 30a circuit. My 120v 2000w e-herms heat sink gets pretty hot when trying to get up to mashout, I would definitely go higher next time. Just FYI.

This gets brought up quite a bit, but I believe the "not to exceed 80%" code requirement only applies to continuous loads (3 hours or more). An electric brewery will not constitute a continuous load, as even if brewing for more than 3 hours the element will be cycling on and off.

Of course, IANAE, but that is my understanding. That said, I would go with a 40a SSR.

 

[kal]

You can most certainly use a 25A SSR up to 25A. NEC doesn't apply to parts like this.

Now that said, as others have mentioned, I'd go with a larger one just to be on the safe side. I use 40A SSRs myself for my heating elements that draw ~22.9A.

Kal

 

[plateman]

Yes, and no. The PID is the right one, but the SSR is rated only for 25A. I have this exact package for my 120v e-herms system and it works really well. You need a SSR that is rated for at least 30A, but 40A will work better and not overheat.

K_mcarthur, I'm in the process of building my 120V HERMS panel. By chance you have a wiring diagram, or some photos to share?