Watts for 2.5 gallons?

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cbzdel

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I am building a 2.5g E-BIAB system that I want to be able to use indoors on the rainy days and outdoors on the nice days. Though my kitchen is wired for a 20amp circuit I am still debating between 1500 watts and 2000 watts. If I go with 1500 I can brew anywhere with this system, but if I go with 2000 watts I will be limited strictly to my kitchen, and most likely if I take the system elsewhere say to a friends house or such I will be very limited on hook up locations.

That being said would 1500 watts be adequate for 2.5 gallon batch?? If I am using it in my kitchen I can also my electric stove to assist and speed things up. But lets remove the stove from the equation, if running the element only will 1500 watts be adequate to do a full 2.5 gallon batch, looking to get 3 or so gallons into the fermenter.
 
Not sure how much help this will be but I brew 2.5 gallon batches on the stove but I use the Hot Rod from Brewhardware. I have a 1500W element in it (ULWD). I use the stove and the Hot Rod to get to strike temp ( about 20-25 minutes from 62 degrees to 156 or so) and about 15 minutes to get to a boil. I can maintain a decent boil with just the Hot Rod.
 
20 amp circuit are pretty common, I would use the 2000w element so the system will not need to rely on stove assistance...JMO

IME, the difference b/w 1500 and 2000 is more than one would expect, with the 2000 delivering considerably more. I think this is due to a set amount of losses, say 500w. So in reality, the 2000w supplies approx. 50% more power to the wort, less losses for both elements. Just speculating that the 2000w element less 500w puts 1500w into the wort, while the 1500w only puts 1000w into the wort after losses.

IME 1500 is like watching grass grow...while 2000 gets some work done.

If you are happy to coexist stovetop, then the 1500w will work fine.
 
20 amp circuit are pretty common

I guess that is correct, though my kitchen is the only place I have 20amp outlets (the single sideways prong). My breaker box doe have additional 20amp breakers designated for outlets, though the outlets them self are just 15amp outlets. So all it would take it replacing an outlet.

Also another thing, I was debating getting one of these, in either the 15 or 20 amp depending on the what element I choose:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037NXKY0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Though I am expecting to always use this on a GFCI protected circuit, it seems like if I use this plug I then get somewhat double the protection plus again the ability to take the system anywhere. Would that be a good idea or should I just stick with a standard plug and if I want to take it on the road I can pick something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P8COIS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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As I understand it, the 20 amp outlet fixtures are designed for 20 amp devices with the single sideways prong, but a standard outlet on a 20 amp circuit will also carry 20 amps. My house has plenty of 20 amp circuits, but none of the newer sideways prong outlets, so I use the standard type plugs, but just be sure there are no other significant loads on the circuit if running 2000w.

I believe the sideways prong plug is to prevent someone from plugging a 20 amp device into a 15 amp circuit...avoiding that is the key.


From 20 amp with 15 amp outlets - InterNACHI Inspection Forum http://www.nachi.org/forum/f19/20-amp-15-amp-outlets-1015/#ixzz3UHnTretx

Part of the UL listing for the 15 amp receptacles is that they are capable of feeding through the 20 amp circuit, the primary difference between 15 and 20 amp receptacles being the faceplate configuration.
 
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