Looking into a simple 240V electric system - advice?

[vance]

I've been looking into bringing my brewing operation inside for a while, and I don't have a good garage space to brew in so I think electric is the way to go. My apartment has a laundry room with a dryer outlet just off the kitchen, so I have a 240V outlet I can use.

However - for budget and ability reasons - most of the electric brewing setups I see are far beyond what I'm looking for. I don't have the knowledge to wire up a control panel, or the budget to buy one. Really, what I want is just an on/off like with propane. Being able to set and control a mash temperature would be a serious plus, but not necessarily required.

What sort of set up can I do with this? How much should I budget to retrofit my current system? Currently I do propane BIAB with an 11 gallon kettle. Eventually I'd like the flexibility to do 10 gallon batches when needed, but for now I'm probably just going to add an element to my current kettle. I've always had problems with BIAB so I'm thinking of going to a 2 vessel recirculating system (kettle and mash tun), which would then need a pump and something to mash in.

 

[Br3w4u]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/my-simple-3-wire-electric-brew-rig.644637/
This is the one I made. I have a laundry room with a 240 outlet next to my kitchen like you do and I brew in my kitchen. It isn’t too hard to do the work but definitely do your research before you jump in. This system cost me around $600 to build. You can spread out the cost and if you have the patience to wait for sales to come up you can save some money. Check out www.theelectricbrewery.com and www.auberins.com. I got my kettle from adventures in home brewing for around $100 sometime around Christmas while they were having a sale. Good luck.

 

[vance]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/my-simple-3-wire-electric-brew-rig.644637/
This is the one I made. I have a laundry room with a 240 outlet next to my kitchen like you do and I brew in my kitchen. It isn’t too hard to do the work but definitely do your research before you jump in. This system cost me around $600 to build. You can spread out the cost and if you have the patience to wait for sales to come up you can save some money. Check out www.theelectricbrewery.com and www.auberins.com. I got my kettle from adventures in home brewing for around $100 sometime around Christmas while they were having a sale. Good luck.

That's not... terrible. I've got an 11 gallon kettle that should work fine, once I drill a few holes for an element and drain. I'm honestly hoping to avoid a complicated circuit box like that, because those circuit diagrams just blow my mind (wrong kind of engineering for me), but that may be unavoidable. I know the one you did is probably very basic compared to what a lot of people do, but it's still sooooo far above my level of knowledge of electrical systems.

 

[Br3w4u]

That's not... terrible. I've got an 11 gallon kettle that should work fine, once I drill a few holes for an element and drain. I'm honestly hoping to avoid a complicated circuit box like that, because those circuit diagrams just blow my mind (wrong kind of engineering for me), but that may be unavoidable. I know the one you did is probably very basic compared to what a lot of people do, but it's still sooooo far above my level of knowledge of electrical systems.

I understand the fear but I think that if you just research it for a while and maybe read a book about wiring it really isn’t that bad. You shouldn’t discount it right off. I thought the same thing when I was planning mine but when I looked around I could not find a plug and play controller that was in my cost range. Auber makes one that I think costs around $500 but if I remember correctly it only controls 120v. If you can figure out how to do it yourself it is well worth the savings.

 

[aamcle]

Have a look at the " Counter Top Brutus 20" cheap easy and it works fine, if that one is over the top then a simple ON/OFF BIAB would be the way go.

Aamcle

 

[vance]

I understand the fear but I think that if you just research it for a while and maybe read a book about wiring it really isn’t that bad. You shouldn’t discount it right off. I thought the same thing when I was planning mine but when I looked around I could not find a plug and play controller that was in my cost range. Auber makes one that I think costs around $500 but if I remember correctly it only controls 120v. If you can figure out how to do it yourself it is well worth the savings.

I'll take a look. Every time I start delving into electric brewing I find new things I don't know - I know nothing about actually doing wiring or schematics, GFCI outlets, safety standards, machining a box, everything else. I'm not even sure where to begin, really.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I'll take a look. Every time I start delving into electric brewing I find new things I don't know - I know nothing about actually doing wiring or schematics, GFCI outlets, safety standards, machining a box, everything else. I'm not even sure where to begin, really.

I know the feeling. I wanted to get into the house and built my system myself but it ended up costing alot more than I had budgeted for. Electric isn't cheap and you definitely shouldn't cut any corners more so with 240v . Have you considered a grain father or something similar? Seems perfect for apartments. Can't do a big batch but with your apartment limitations it might not really matter and alot of Brewers plan for the future big batches and never end up doing larger batches

 

[Br3w4u]

Well it’s worth a try to learn but maybe a worthog system or something would be best for you. Like this one https://www.highgravitybrew.com/store/pc/Brewery-Controller-Electric-Wort-Hog-EBC-130-p5041.htm

 

[Genuine]

I just built one for myself exactly for the same reasoning as you. I was able to build the controller for just under $200 and could have done it for less if I didn't get so much wire. Feel free to PM and I'll help as much as I can. Wiring was easier than I thought and not a problem.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...e-element-one-pump-k-rims-panel-build.650845/

For simplicity, I've been fond of a 2 Vessel Kettle Rims System that utilizes full volume mash with no sparge. For me, it's simple, easier, uses one pump and I can brew a 5 gallon batch in 4-4.5 hours. I figured if I can make great beer with one less vessel, have precise temp control and not have to worry about having propane, then I'm all for it! I built this system with a buddy of mine a couple years ago and get 83% efficiency:

 

[ancientmariner52]

For those of us with no electrical knowledge: go the diy store and buy a book on basic house wiring. No, there won't be word one about brewing, but you'll learn basic principles, terminology, electrical formulae, and most importantly safety. Then you can approach this brewing lark in a state of knowledge.

I'm not an electrician, so I won't risk advising anyone on specifics. I built a bare-bones electrical system for about $400 US. HLT is a 5500W element with PID controller. I splurged on a Blichman Boil Coil for my kettle, with a 10kw PWM controller. No need for temp sensor or temp control on a BK in a 3 vessel set up.

Make a plan, watch for sales, be ready to adapt what comes to hand. You can do it cheap and safe.

 

[teesherv]

You may want to look into using a rheostat / potentiometer controlling an SSVR. It was the way I started after the sticker shock of shiny boxes, PID controllers, and SSRs.
And I did exactly what ancientmariner suggests and checked out some books on house electrical work.
Check stilldragon's website for their controller for an idea about what I'm talking about. I didn't buy theirs, just an example.

 

[MX1]

you can base a controller on a 10,000w SCR that can be found for about $20, it wont be automated, and you will have to watch temps, but no different than using a burner.

I use one to run a 15 gallon pot still, for those times I want/need distilled water.....

 

[MX1]

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=85&t=70974&hilit=element+controller

 

[gnef]

I went the super simple route for my electric setup. For my HLT, I just use a 220v temperature controller that triggers a 40 amp SSR, strickly on or off. For my boil kettle, I use one of the kits from still dragon with the potentiometer and SSVR like was mentioned above.

 

[universalfrost]

If you want a simple no frills electric brewery then get a mash and boil....

I got mine for $269 shipped in the scratch and dent section of williams ( it had a thumb sized slight indent on the back of the base )...

Works great for countertop brewing and it's 115 volts...

You can keep your old brew pot for the HLT and just heat up enough sparge water for your batch and you are good to go..

 

[vance]

Ok, I made a very simple paint drawing to try and figure out what all I need for this project:

https://imgur.com/a/YVf8Tlu

The mash tun will be current 11 gallon kettle. I need to drill at least one hole, to run a pump out of, and then decide whether I want to just run the wort during the mash back into the top or in some sort of sparge arm kind of deal.

The boil kettle will be a new 15 gallon kettle (I usually do 5 gallon batches, but I want the flexibility to do 10). I'll have my 240V dryer outlet, connected to a spa panel, connected to a controller (either one of the Inkbird ones or the EZBoil).

From there, I'll run a temperature probe (probably just sitting down into the kettle for now) and my heating element, through a hole at the bottom.

I need at least one more hole to pump out of, for transferring to my FV and for moving sparge water into the mash tun. I also need some sort of HERMS coil. This is where I'm a bit stuck - how do I manage the HERMS coil and the element without them getting tangled up? Do I need to add any more ports to the kettle to use one?

What else am I forgetting?