Help with new electric build

[gilb]

I've been reading up a bunch on going electric and have started to think about how I could make it work. I'm far from an electrician, so I'm pretty hesitant about doing this wrong. I've attached a crude diagram of what I had in mind and would love to hear from some of you more experienced electric brewers. Thanks.

 

[danb35]

That is basically it. Of course, you'd also have some sort of temp sensor wired to your PID. I use a two-pole relay to cut power to both hot legs when I have the switch turned off--it complicates the design a little bit, but it gives me a lot more flexibility with the switches (the switch doesn't need to be rated for the full current draw of the system).

 

[Rivenin]

is this a 240v setup?

 

[gilb]

Yeah it's 240v, I'm planning on having 2 elements with a switch to select which one is being used. And maybe eventually ditch the PIDs and run it all off an Arduino. But I guess step one is figuring out one element.

 

[Rivenin]

ok, well as far as i know on 240, you have to turn off both legs of the power going into the element. if you were running off of 120, you could just cut the "hot" and be fine.

See this for example. ode to PJ!

 

[danb35]

ok, well as far as i know on 240, you have to turn off both legs of the power going into the element. if you were running off of 120, you could just cut the "hot" and be fine.

At some point, you'd want to be able to completely cut power to the system, but that can be as simple as unplugging it. If you break either of the hot lines, though, you'll stop current flow though that device. In OP's diagram, the switch will turn off power to the outlet (presumably for the element). If you think about it, that's just what an SSR does.

A two-pole switch or contactor is nice to have, but it isn't strictly necessary.