Temperature Controller

[-Dan-]

I'm having a simple 2 vessel setup with a Igloo cooler and one pot. Recently switched the 12 year old Polarware pot and propane burner to a Blichmann electric pot after installing the 240v outlet in the garage.

After running this way twice, I am looking to do a bit of controlling on the heat. With the burner it was easy ... with the current setup I cannot. The fancy full scale e-brewery setups is not what I want but a simple way to control temperatures to some level.

The Blichmann Power Controller is one thing that came to my mind; https://www.blichmannengineering.com/power-controller.html
So did some of the items here; either the Blichmann ToP Controller (different than above) or the Wort Hog.

Any suggestions for a simple setup? I may add a second pot at some point, maybe not. #1 key would be temp controlling. Through temp control setup as some setups allow would be of interest.

Thanks for help!

 

[doug293cz]

You looking for pre-built only, or would you consider DIY?

Brew on

 

[-Dan-]

I would prefer a pre-built one most likely

 

[Gonefishing]

I use this on my boil kettle. It allows me to dial the power down and thus the boil. I run it at 50% after the boil starts. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-R...=2537620235095cb40a22229748928f7e949b2af78201

 

[mongoose33]

Look at a Stilldragon if money is tight: http://stilldragon.com/index.php/diy-large-controller.html

 

[ehk089]

Still dragon^^ kit is super easy and gives you the same control as propane... they’re like 50 bucksshipped. Or build your own pid, but that will cost double and may be more of a pita. I built a pid and went back to the still dragon for ease of use personally.

 

[doug293cz]

I use this on my boil kettle. It allows me to dial the power down and thus the boil. I run it at 50% after the boil starts. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-R...R-Speed-Controller-Motor-Control/253762023509

Look at a Stilldragon if money is tight: http://stilldragon.com/index.php/diy-large-controller.html

The two items linked in the quoted posts only control power input. If that is all that is want (electric equivalent to a propane burner) they will do the job. If you actually want something to control to a set temperature, you need a controller with a PID or an Auber EZ-Boil (I recommend EZ-Boils because they operate differently than PID's, and don't suffer from some of the complications people sometimes have with PID's.)

Brew on

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm now stocking limited quantities of the Auber Cube controller. https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tempcontrol_cubee.htm

 

[-Dan-]

Thanks everyone for the responses. After evaluating everything as is currently, finding this here (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/entry-level-controller-opinions.660176), I ended up settling on the Wort Hot 330.