Partial Electric/Mostly Propane WiFi enabled brewstand

[ParanoidAndroid]

I'm currently building an all propane brewstand and was thinking about ways to cut the brew time. I remember seeing where someone had theirs setup where they could start the HLT from over the internet. Of course theirs was all electric and required higher voltage to get to boiling later in the process.

Has anyone ever done a partial electric/partial propane stand before? I was thinking of getting one of those wifi enabled outlets. You can get them for under 50 bucks now and start them over the internet. Then add an electric element to the HLT. I don't need that to get to a boil, so I wouldn't have to convert from 120V.

I live 30 minutes from work so that would be great if I could fill my HLT with water in the morning, then go online and start my brewday from my desk around 4:00 pm, then have my strike and sparge water ready to go when I get home at 5:00 pm.

Of course I would also have a propane burner underneath for regular weekend brewdays.

How long would it take to get all that water to 170 deg f?

 

[cfrazier77]

I don't know anything on the wifi part but a cheap way could be a simple timer that triggers a relay. Plug a heatstick into it and you are good to go. I used to use a 1500 watt 120 volt heatstick to raise my sparge water during the mash. After an hour it was ready.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

I thought about a timer, but I would like the option to turn it off in case something bad happens.

http://www.digital-loggers.com/lpc.html

This looks like the best one. However its way overkill for what I need. But it has an Android app with individual controls for each outlet. Only 15 amp though.

http://www.lockstateconnect.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LS-P100

This one only has an Apple App, but is almost half the price. Both of them are only rated for 15 amp though, so you could only use a 1500 watt element. Which isn't bad, but would like the option for a 20 amp.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Automation-Switch-Apple-iPhone/dp/B0089WFPRO

This one has mixed reviews and only an Apple App. The Droid app is in Beta. Only 49 bucks. Again, 15 amps.

http://www.visiblenergy.com/products/monostrip.html

This one is rated for 20 amps, but only an iOS app. Has two outlets, but no independent control. Its only 49 bucks though, and you can look at usage data. This is probably what I would end up getting if I decided to go that route. I would just have to go over the web as opposed to an app on my phone.

Now I need something to look at temperature over the internet. I'm having trouble finding that. Might have to just use a webcam setup.

 

[nosnhojm20]

Sub'd

 

[helibrewer]

I thought about a timer, but I would like the option to turn it off in case something bad happens.

http://www.digital-loggers.com/lpc.html

This looks like the best one. However its way overkill for what I need. But it has an Android app with individual controls for each outlet. Only 15 amp though.

http://www.lockstateconnect.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LS-P100

This one only has an Apple App, but is almost half the price. Both of them are only rated for 15 amp though, so you could only use a 1500 watt element. Which isn't bad, but would like the option for a 20 amp.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Automation-Switch-Apple-iPhone/dp/B0089WFPRO

This one has mixed reviews and only an Apple App. The Droid app is in Beta. Only 49 bucks. Again, 15 amps.

http://www.visiblenergy.com/products/monostrip.html

This one is rated for 20 amps, but only an iOS app. Has two outlets, but no independent control. Its only 49 bucks though, and you can look at usage data. This is probably what I would end up getting if I decided to go that route. I would just have to go over the web as opposed to an app on my phone.

Now I need something to look at temperature over the internet. I'm having trouble finding that. Might have to just use a webcam setup.

You might look at Jimmayhugh's stuff "TeensyPi" over on the DIY thread. I use it to monitor ferm temps over the internet and you can also automate switching. It uses a Teenysi 3 board (a mini arduino) couple to a RaspberryPi (Linux on-a-chip). The Teensy handles all the data side and feeds that to the RaspberryPi which runs a MySQL DB and Apache webserver. Using PHP and JSON you can send commands through a web interface to the Teensy and operate switches...the switches can also be assigned temp probes for automation. It uses One-Wire technology for the sensors (DS18B20's) so you can daisy chain many sensors.

For my brewhouse I use a 2000W/120VAC element on a dedicated GFI to heat my HLT/Strike water....MLT is RIMS (1650W/120VAC) controlled on a PID using Brewtroller. I can supplement the HLT with gas. The kettle is 100% gas. So I guess I'm 66% electric, 33% gas...has saved me a lot in propane costs.

 

[dlaramie08]

I use two heat sticks and get to boil at about the same amount of time as propane. They are 1500w 120v sticks running on different circuits. You don't have to have propane to boil. It's very easily doable with 120v. Of course I'm doing full boil on 5 gallon batches. I don't remember seeing what volume you'll be doing.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Bumping this thread from a year and a half ago. I ended up not doing anything and just kind of forgot about this.

In revisiting, I found that the reviews were still mixed for the wifi power strips and outlets. It seems they are still a couple year away from being perfected.

So I ordered an electric bucket heater and a timer. Its the same in this thread.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/i-love-waking-up-hot-strike-water-easy-1-2-3-a-381737/

I looked into it again since I have a 5 week old now and need to cut time as much as possible.

I figured I could do a lot of prep work the night before (mill grains, make water calcs, clean fermenter, general setup, etc.) and make a 4 hour brewday out of it if I time it right. That would allow me to brew on weekdays if I want, or wake up early and brew.....simply start the timer for the element to come on an hour or so ahead of time.