Indian_villager
Well-Known Member
WARNING: This modification uses mains voltage, proper grounding and GFCI protection are required. I do no accept any liability for your work or decisions on your safety.
Ok folks. I got a used first generation version of this Mash tun a while ago wanted to heat the mash directly in it. I looked at the OEM offering and found it anemic @ 60W. It is clear they were just engineering for safety by avoiding an AC circuit on the mash tun. This upgrade adds a 120V 500W heater to the mash tun that is controlled by an external PID controller.
Materials needed:
InfuSSion Mash Tun - I'm using the first gen however if y'all want to share measurements I'm sure we can confirm if later units would work
Keenovo Custom Silicon Heater - Have them replicate Order Number K11640S if you want the exact same one, or ask them to change it over to 240v if you need the voltage change. Warning This is a long lead time item.
Thin K Type Thermocouple - I used something similar to these that came with a meter
Appliance Cord - As this is only drawing 4A this is more than plenty
Wire Nuts or wago connectors
Kapton Tape
Insulation
Ring Terminal + Tools for crimping
Grommet for the hole in the bottom - Here is a 3d printable version I designed
Zip ties
Drill bits to drill stainless - Recommend a carbide tipped 1/8" bit to make your life easy
Start by flipping over your mash tun and removing the 4 screws that hold the bottom cover. Remove the bit of expanded insulation that is there. Clean the area with Isopropyl Alcohol and dry thoroughly. NOTE The heater manufacturer warns against using Acetone or gasoline for cleaning. Please follow manufacturer instructions on how to install the heater. Use thorough even pressure to make sure the thing sticks flat without bubbles.
Next up put a piece of Kapton tape onto the outlet tube, this is to prevent the thermocouple from shorting.
Next place your thermocouple junction over the previously placed piece of tape, and tape down the junction TIGHT. This is crucial for fast readings, go over it twice.
Once the thermocouple is placed, go over it with a bit of insulation, I used reflectix with zip ties as it is what I had laying around. This is critical to ensure that you are reading pipe temperature and not the elevated air temperature.
Insert the grommet in the bottom plate and drill the holes as shown to prevent damage to the cables.
Feed the thermocouple wire and the leads from the appliance cord through the grommet. Trim the leads from the heater to something managable, it comes with a few feet. Use wire nuts or Wago connectors to connect the heater to the neutral and the hot leads from the appliance cord. Add an extra cable to the ground, the ground has to feed back out of the hole in the plate to attach.
Crimp a ring terminal on the end of the extended ground wire. Then secure the cables coming out of the grommet using zip ties and the holes drilled earlier. Secure the ring terminal to one of the screws that attaches the bottom plate on.
CONFIRM THE DANG GROUND. Use a multimeter to confirm that you have continuity between the ground pin on the plug and various points on the body. Also use the multimeter to confirm that you have less than 5 Ω between the ground pin on the plug and various points on the body, I had a measurement of 1.5 Ω. If you want, zip tie your thermocouple wire and your power cable at a couple points to avoid spagetti.
From here connect the power and thermocouple plug to a PID controller and have fun brewing (I'll post the printables link to the control box and hardware used sometime in the future).
Couple notes: This must be used while recirculating, without it you do not have an effective temperature measurement to work with. Tune your PID controller while you are actually mashing at target temperature, just running this thing empty with water is not representative and you will have an unstable process. This thing works like a treat and I can reasonably raise mash temps.
EDIT: I just ran this setup again on my usual lager recipe ~9lb of grain ~2.75 gal of water, was able to raise 10F in the grain bed over 15 mins.
Ok folks. I got a used first generation version of this Mash tun a while ago wanted to heat the mash directly in it. I looked at the OEM offering and found it anemic @ 60W. It is clear they were just engineering for safety by avoiding an AC circuit on the mash tun. This upgrade adds a 120V 500W heater to the mash tun that is controlled by an external PID controller.
Materials needed:
InfuSSion Mash Tun - I'm using the first gen however if y'all want to share measurements I'm sure we can confirm if later units would work
Keenovo Custom Silicon Heater - Have them replicate Order Number K11640S if you want the exact same one, or ask them to change it over to 240v if you need the voltage change. Warning This is a long lead time item.
Thin K Type Thermocouple - I used something similar to these that came with a meter
Appliance Cord - As this is only drawing 4A this is more than plenty
Wire Nuts or wago connectors
Kapton Tape
Insulation
Ring Terminal + Tools for crimping
Grommet for the hole in the bottom - Here is a 3d printable version I designed
Zip ties
Drill bits to drill stainless - Recommend a carbide tipped 1/8" bit to make your life easy
Start by flipping over your mash tun and removing the 4 screws that hold the bottom cover. Remove the bit of expanded insulation that is there. Clean the area with Isopropyl Alcohol and dry thoroughly. NOTE The heater manufacturer warns against using Acetone or gasoline for cleaning. Please follow manufacturer instructions on how to install the heater. Use thorough even pressure to make sure the thing sticks flat without bubbles.
Next up put a piece of Kapton tape onto the outlet tube, this is to prevent the thermocouple from shorting.
Next place your thermocouple junction over the previously placed piece of tape, and tape down the junction TIGHT. This is crucial for fast readings, go over it twice.
Once the thermocouple is placed, go over it with a bit of insulation, I used reflectix with zip ties as it is what I had laying around. This is critical to ensure that you are reading pipe temperature and not the elevated air temperature.
Insert the grommet in the bottom plate and drill the holes as shown to prevent damage to the cables.
Feed the thermocouple wire and the leads from the appliance cord through the grommet. Trim the leads from the heater to something managable, it comes with a few feet. Use wire nuts or Wago connectors to connect the heater to the neutral and the hot leads from the appliance cord. Add an extra cable to the ground, the ground has to feed back out of the hole in the plate to attach.
Crimp a ring terminal on the end of the extended ground wire. Then secure the cables coming out of the grommet using zip ties and the holes drilled earlier. Secure the ring terminal to one of the screws that attaches the bottom plate on.
CONFIRM THE DANG GROUND. Use a multimeter to confirm that you have continuity between the ground pin on the plug and various points on the body. Also use the multimeter to confirm that you have less than 5 Ω between the ground pin on the plug and various points on the body, I had a measurement of 1.5 Ω. If you want, zip tie your thermocouple wire and your power cable at a couple points to avoid spagetti.
From here connect the power and thermocouple plug to a PID controller and have fun brewing (I'll post the printables link to the control box and hardware used sometime in the future).
Couple notes: This must be used while recirculating, without it you do not have an effective temperature measurement to work with. Tune your PID controller while you are actually mashing at target temperature, just running this thing empty with water is not representative and you will have an unstable process. This thing works like a treat and I can reasonably raise mash temps.
EDIT: I just ran this setup again on my usual lager recipe ~9lb of grain ~2.75 gal of water, was able to raise 10F in the grain bed over 15 mins.
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