hosehead electronic brewery controller

[RonR]

I'm using a 4400w and a 3750w boilcoils. So I should be under the 20 amps. You could just use the same connector as the 240v input on your elements. Looks like they would fit in the case.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I'm using a 4400w and a 3750w boilcoils. So I should be under the 20 amps. You could just use the same connector as the 240v input on your elements. Looks like they would fit in the case.

As far as i can tell all of their Powercon connectors are 20A only, even the larger one he is using for the 240 Input.

 

[RonR]

As far as i can tell all of their Powercon connectors are 20A only, even the larger one he is using for the 240 Input.

http://www.neutrik.com/en/video/powercon/powercon-32-a/nac3fc-hc

 

[Bassman2003]

So i was pricing out what it would cost to basically make my own headhead2 and came upon something i hope im just misunderstanding.

Basically looking at the spec's for every Neutrik powercon connector says its only rated for 20A.

I think its a pretty well known thing that a 5500W Camco element pulls nearly 23A at 100%(which is why you need 50A if your using both elements at the same time)

That seems like a pretty big design flaw that could be potentially dangerous? Or am i just missing something?

Also not really a fan of the 25A SSR's which are the absolute bare minimum you can use on a system like this, especially when a 40A SSR is like $2 more.

Send Corey a question about the 5500w elements. Maybe you can bridge the two 20A outputs together? Like Ron, I run a 4500w and a 3500w for more versatility and uber power with both on.

 

[SBBC]

In the middle of my 3rd brew. No issues with the Connectors or system temps to speak of. 15 minutes left in my boil and internal temps remain around 123 degrees.

 

[RonR]

I'd like to find out who owns a HoseHead controller. I really don't want to pester Corey and Doug with simple new user questions. If you own one, reply to this post so that we can 'friend' each other.
I've got questions about triggers. I'd like to set my HLT to say 154 for a hour and have it automatically ramp up to 168 for 10 minutes. My HLT had a herms coil in it that controls the temp in my mash tun.
I've also started using pumps. I'm interested in how you guys limit your loses of wort.

 

[Bassman2003]

Hey Ron,

I am wanting to learn more about automated moves as well. I use Beersmith and have imported my mash schedule using the beerXML format, but I want to learn more about "programming" the schedule. Doug had mentioned that you can open beerXML files and write more code. So that must be the answer.

Pause with no heat is something that I want to have when I dough-in as the elements do not need to be on when all of the sediment is flying around.

 

[RonR]

I see where Corey has the Hosehead 2 listed as back in stock. He just returned from vacation last week.

 

[cswest]

Ron,

I just ordered mine today, might be asking you a few questions once it arrives if you don't mind.

 

[RonR]

Ron,

I just ordered mine today, might be asking you a few questions once it arrives if you don't mind.

I'll be glad to help you all I can. Just let me know.

 

[jimboj79]

I have a hosehead 2. Have had it for a week or so now, and haven't had time to hook it up... Will be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[RonR]

Ron,

I just ordered mine today, might be asking you a few questions once it arrives if you don't mind.

I'll be glad to help all I can. I think you made a good choice.

 

[cswest]

Over two weeks since I ordered and I still don't even have a shipping notification. So far I'm still happy with my choice but I'm starting to get anxious to get it in my hands and start brewing.

 

[cswest]

Spoke too soon, I just found out that it arrived today. Now I can't wait to get off work and check it out.

 

[RonR]

Spoke too soon, I just found out that it arrived today. Now I can't wait to get off work and check it out.

I'll be brewing a Zombie Dust clone this weekend with mine. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I think you're gonna love it.

 

[joutlaw]

Let us know how it goes. I'm seriously considering purchasing one and got a guy in our club interested as well.

I think he has 6 day lead time so that could be the reason for the long ship times.

 

[Zipman]

I have a 4 prong 220v outlet in my garage and a 30 amp gfci breaker. The main power input on the hosehead only takes 3 wires. Can I still use the 4 prong outlet or would I need to convert it to a 3 prong outlet.

 

[cswest]

I have a 4 prong 220v outlet in my garage and a 30 amp gfci breaker. The main power input on the hosehead only takes 3 wires. Can I still use the 4 prong outlet or would I need to convert it to a 3 prong outlet.

I have a 4 prong spa panel in my garage and it works fine. The controller does not come wired so you can wire it any way you want. There are ways to wire it directly although you will get differing opinions on if that is safe or not. You can also get an adapter to go from a 3 prong plug to a 4 prong plug.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YDY7YK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[cswest]

Just geeking out a little. Last night I was able to turn on SSH and load a VNC server on the Raspberry Pi. I also set them up to load when the Raspberry Pi boots up. So now I can run it without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse and just connect with my iPad. Additionally I purchased a Powerline kit, sends your internet through your home electrical system, so now I can get a much stronger network connection out in my garage. I'll be doing a water test tomorrow and if all goes well brewing a Pale Ale this weekend.

 

[RonR]

I've done two brew days with my hosehead and couldn't be happier. The only thing I've got to master is controlling my mash temperature. I've installed a herms coil in my HLT and placed the temperature probes in stainless tee's on the output of the mash tun and also on my HLT. It seems my temperature is about 4-5 degrees cooler coming out of my mash tun according to the probes.
I guess I need to go ahead and buy an accurate thermometer to get the offsets right on my probes. I'm just not comfortable that my temps are accurate yet.
On a side note, I programmed my STC-1000 for a 14 day fermentation cycle. It keeps it a 66 degrees for several days then raises it to 70 for awhile and then at the end, it automatically drops the temperature to 34 degrees for a cold crash. I just put the fermenter in my chamber and start the program. Then come back in 14 days to keg. Pretty neat.

 

[Zipman]

Any suggestions on where I can find a thermowell that is small enough to fit in the the stainless tee and large enough to handle the provided temperature prob? The smallest length I have been able to find is 2"

 

[RonR]

Any suggestions on where I can find a thermowell that is small enough to fit in the the stainless tee and large enough to handle the provided temperature prob? The smallest length I have been able to find is 2"

I wasn't able to find one. I finally went with some compression fittings like this one: https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/pcomp1.htm

Just use two O-rings and trim back the heat shrink on your probes.

 

[cswest]

Water test went great! Family stuff came up this weekend so my brew day got pushed back to next weekend.

 

[RonR]

Played around with my Hosehead system today. I purchased a Blichmann G2 15 gallon mashtun to replace a 10 gallon cooler I had been using. Wanted to see how my herms would work with the new mashtun.
It's about two degrees difference between the HLT and the mashtun when pumping through the herms coil.
So now I'm dialed in and should be able to hold my mash temp to within one degree with no problems.
I love this setup. Gonna have to brew something next weekend.
Don't know why the picture of the computer screen posted upside down.

 

[cswest]

I brewed my first beer, a pale ale, with the Hosehead controller yesterday. Hands down the easiest mash and sparge ever. I do have one question for you RonR. What setting do you use to control your boil? Everything I did resulted in an extremely active boil and I ended up with an evaporation rate higher than I'm used to.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431869329.628039.jpg

 

[RonR]

I brewed my first beer, a pale ale, with the Hosehead controller yesterday. Hands down the easiest mash and sparge ever. I do have one question for you RonR. What setting do you use to control your boil? Everything I did resulted in an extremely active boil and I ended up with an evaporation rate higher than I'm used to.

View attachment 278644

Once I achieve a boil using manual mode, I begin to drop the duty cycle down from 100% until I have a reasonable boil rate.

 

[thrillhouse]

Just wanted to follow up with those of you using this in addition to RonR to see whether you're happy with the decision. Thinking of pulling the trigger but still a little hesitant. How difficult was it to wire the plugs? I have a prebuilt element from theelectricbrewery and I'm not looking forward to having to rewire it. Thanks for any info!

 

[RonR]

Just wanted to follow up with those of you using this in addition to RonR to see whether you're happy with the decision. Thinking of pulling the trigger but still a little hesitant. How difficult was it to wire the plugs? I have a prebuilt element from theelectricbrewery and I'm not looking forward to having to rewire it. Thanks for any info!

If your wire gauge is appropriate, then wiring the connectors included with the hosehead is a breeze. There's videos on YouTube posted by the maker of the hosehead on how to do it.

 

[Doublej0305]

for a 14 gallons (pre-boil volume) I start at 100% (manual mode) till it starts to boil then back down to 85% to maintain. The last 15 minutes I run it through my counterflow and ramp it up to 92% to achieve the same rolling boil. It's been great so far with no issues

 

[Zipman]

I brewed my first beer with the Hosehead this past weekend. The process was very easy and I was able to maintain an accurate mash temperature. During the boil I used the manual mode at 100% until I achieved a rolling boil. I then backed down to 72% to maintain the boil.