I'm brand spanking new to this e-brew thing...

[Jarrat]

I'm new to this e-brew thing and I want to get some fog cleared...

I've been trying to spend any free time I get researching this e-brew thing to get a all grain kit going....

Here is my plan...

I have a 32 quart (8 gallon) stock pot, and I`m planning on putting in (2) 1500 watt 120v elements side by side with custom nuts made up (so the elements can sit parrallel to each other) and wired up properly with a 20amp gcif outlet with a 20amp breaker for each plug just under my breaker pannel using 12awg wires.

I need it to make the strike water for my mash tank coleman cooler... and to do the boil afterwards.... Planning on trying to controll the boil by pluggin and unpluggin 1 of the elements... might step up to a 2000W later and possibly upgrading the breaker along with it to find the sweet spot....

I`m not at all interested in doing anything automated, or anything crazy like I`ve seen on this site.... just wanting to keep it cheap, small, 100% in the garage, and a clean looking setup that can be torn down easily and everything thrown into a bin and put away when not in use.

So my main question is.... does this seem like something possible??? The only thing I am worried about is the 1 hour boil after the wort is ready for the final boil.... that no one on here talks about that.... and if it burns onto the elements, what temps needed, ect......

If someone has a couple free minutes can someone put the definitions of these abbrevations for me.... and anymore you can think of as it is VERY hard to figure out what the heck you guys are talking about when I don't have the time to read through everyone's thread to find the definition of it..


RIMS

HLT

BK

RIMS tube

single vessel RIMS

ULWD

BIAB

PID controller

eHLT

PWM

PBW

ETM

 

[stlbeer]

If someone has a couple free minutes can someone put the definitions of these abbrevations for me.

RIMS = Recirculating Infusion Mash System

HLT = Hot Liquor Tank

BK = Boil Kettle

RIMS tube = Recirculating Infusion Mash System tube (heater element is in here)

single vessel RIMS = RIMS come in different types. One type is the tube, the other is a remote vessel - kettle - that has a heater in it. Wort is pumped through it and recirculated through the grains.

ULWD = Ultra Low Watt Density - used to describe the number of watts per square inch of heater element. ULWD is less than 50 watts per square inch of element.

BIAB = Brew In A Bag

PID controller = Proportional, Integral, Deriviative - a temperature controller that uses calculus to determine when to add or turn off heat (in our case).

eHLT = Refers to a HLT that is electric

PWM = Pulse Width Modulator - think of it like an electric stove knob.

PBW = Powdered Brewery Wash - made by 5-Star. Used to clean brewery equipment.

ETM = did you get this right? Nothing was brought up in a search of the forums.

 

[Boar Beer]

your on the right track with your plan. basically you want a way to heat your strike water and boil in the BK
We do not have any problems with the heat probes getting covered with wort or caking up. From time to time we do clean the BK with PBW
Manually adjusting the boil by plugin in and unplugging the outlets may work for you. You just have to try it. Good luck

 

[Jarrat]

Thanks for the definitions...

Might end up doing a PWM of some sort later down the road....

I'm gonna do a couple run throughs of just plain water to get everything broken in and get an rough idea on how my equipment works... Might try my first all grain next weekend after I get my laundry sink in my garage finally plumbed in...

Thanks again!!!

 

[kpr121]

ETM is Eric-The-Midget of course! Although now it should be ETA (Eric-the-Actor)…

My suggestion would be to go straight to 2000 watts. I think you could have some trouble keeping a boil of 6-7 gallons up with 1500 watts, especially considering your location (unless you are brewing indoors always?).

The cost difference between 1500 and 2000 elements is very small, and you will appreciate the time savings heating strike water and getting up to a boil. Since you are using 20 amp circuits and 12 gauge wire you might as well go for it. Always better to have more power (and control it down) than to have less than you need.

 

[wubears71]

ETM is Eric-The-Midget of course! Although now it should be ETA (Eric-the-Actor)…

Haha! I HATE Eric but cannot stop listening to him - he's entertainment gold.

 

[frankstoneline]

I use basically the same setup for my 15 gallon e kettle. Mine is a pair of 1500w elements, run on two loops out of wall plugs with GFCI adapters. I have one leg set to a hard on/off switch with a second on/off for my pump, and the second leg set to the pid. during mash I use a RIMS tube to heat strike water and maintain mash temp on the PID leg, while the non-PID leg heats the sparge water. After the mash out I recirc through the mash tun for ~45 minutes and switch the element from the RIMS tube to the second kettle element, running it on the manual mode of the PID. I can usually tune it down to ~70% power once its up to a boil (for batches that are 5 gallons, never done anything bigger).

 

[Dawntred]

EMT I believe is Electrical Metal Tubing. A comon galvinized steel conduit used to run wires in and is easier to bend and manipulate than Rigid Conduit do to its thin wall. (Rigid Conduit looks like steel water pipe. Hope this helps.)

 

[Dawntred]

Woops, I have no idea what ETM stands for. Read it wrong