Waking up to mash tun at strike temp

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ryanj

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I've been brewing with E-HERMS system for a few years now and love the convenience, accuracy, and consistency that it brings.

Summer time makes getting to strike temp a lot easier, but I still wish there was a way to program my system to "start" around 5am so I can just walk downstairs and everything is ready for me.

I'm running a pretty vanilla 30amp setup with Inkbird PIDs. In theory I could stage my control panel with all of the settings and then just rely on a master timer to turn things on, but I'm not really sure if a product like that exists.

Any suggestions?
 
There was a very similar discussion here recently:

Some of those are more kludgey than you may want. I picked up an Auberin DSPR320 just for the opportunity to have a delayed start.
 
There's plenty to choose from:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=outlet+timer&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
If your total load exceeds the timer's rated capacity you might have to split the power to the PID and pump from the power to the element so as not to overload the timer.

I'd love to use an external timer like this, but my system is 220v/30a

In a perfect world, I'd just use a standalone timer to control the whole system, but the 220v/30a timers are a lot more expensive than the 110v ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Secur...ords=40+amp+wifi+switch&qid=1595248644&sr=8-9
I think I'm better off looking at an Auber EZBoil
 
I'd love to use an external timer like this, but my system is 220v/30a
Is the PID 220v/30A too? Because that's all you need to be able to powerup at the preset time, you don't need a timer for the heating element as it's already being interrupted by the SSR.
 
Is the PID 220v/30A too? Because that's all you need to be able to powerup at the preset time, you don't need a timer for the heating element as it's already being interrupted by the SSR.
Ah, I see what you mean. Good point.

I just really don't want to go through and modify my wiring within my control box. I spent weeks wiring it, and the idea of going through and making changes or cutting new holes sounds horrible. :(
 
Somebody's idea of a horrible time is somebody else's idea of a wonderful time... and vice versa. :cool:;)
 
i heat the water up to 160 or so the night before and throw some blankets on the hlt. it isn't 'perfect' when i want to get going in the morning but darn close. my typical routine when i get up is to turn the system on, set desired temp and start recirculating. then i hit the bathroom and usually at temp when i get back. could be better but simple and beats waiting 45 minutes or so if starting from scratch.
 
i heat the water up to 160 or so the night before and throw some blankets on the hlt. it isn't 'perfect' when i want to get going in the morning but darn close. my typical routine when i get up is to turn the system on, set desired temp and start recirculating. then i hit the bathroom and usually at temp when i get back. could be better but simple and beats waiting 45 minutes or so if starting from scratch.
This is my current solution and honestly...all things considered... it's probably good enough.

I need ~30 mins to condition and mill my grain anyway. It might be worth just sticking to my current method
 
How long does it take to get from room temp to strike temp?
Honestly, if it's taking you a half-hour to condition and mill the grain, then a few more minutes to have a cup of coffee or something isn't the worst. Maybe start it up right when you get up, go about your morning business, then it should likely be ready or close to it by the time you get back.
That said, if it's a matter of timing - you need to be done by X:eek:'clock, preheating the night before - maybe even bring it higher, so it cools down to strike temp is a good plan.
 
If the main goal is simply to save time, I would suggest looking at shortening your mash and boil, those two will net you more saved time, and they are (almost) free! You only need to pay more in hops.

This is what I have started doing for 'standard' strength beers that I am comfortable with on my system. When I am on my game and am working efficiently with no/few mistakes, my fastest brew day was around 2.5 hours from filtering the strike water to putting everything back cleaned. I am usually not that fast, but it can be done!

ETA - This is for 5 gallons on an electric system with a permanent location in the garage with 5500 W elements in the HLT and BK, a two stage chiller (I can chill 5 gallons in about 7 minutes in one pass to the fermenter), and doing a 30 minute mash and 30 minute boil.
 
I'd love to use an external timer like this, but my system is 220v/30a

In a perfect world, I'd just use a standalone timer to control the whole system, but the 220v/30a timers are a lot more expensive than the 110v ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Secur...ords=40+amp+wifi+switch&qid=1595248644&sr=8-9
I think I'm better off looking at an Auber EZBoil
you can use a multistep timer to turn on specific pids or allow the ssr function od certain relays at certain times.. I played with this on my first pid panel , even went to the dspr310 for the added timer/temp activated features but it was more hassle for me to bother with and I found it much easier to implement with brucontrol though I'll admit I only tested it and found Ive never actually used it.
currently even at the brewpub we heat the strike water to 165 or so the night before..
 
You can put a relay between your PID/Controller and the heating element. Put the new relay on a timer circuit. Before you go to bed, turn on the automatic system as normal, make sure the new relay is open, set the timer for the desired time delay.

While the relay is open, the controller acts as normal and thinks it is sending power to the heating element, but it is not. When the new relay times out and turns on, it will start to heat the water and the PID/controller will recognise the ramp in temperature and behave as normal.

Design and construction of this magic time delay box? There are many ways to slice and dice that one.

Is this scheme compatible with your particular PID/controller? I have no idea. E.g. what if your controller is programmed to not allow full power for more than 2 hours. After 2 hours it assumes an error and then shuts down. Then my scheme would not work.
 
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