Which control panel?

[marjen]

I am just getting my new electric brew project underway. I am going to be building out a 3 vessel system. Will be getting Spike V4 kettles but looking to see if it makes sense to go in a different direction with the panel. But there are soooooo many options. I have looked at Grounded Brewing, Brew Buddy, the Electric Brewery, SS Brewtech, Blichman Brew Command and I really don't know what direction to go in?

I have 2 dedicated 30 AMP circuits. I would like to be able to do back to back but not sure its possible with 30 AMP? Other than that some timers would be great. The ability to have the water start heating up over night would be great. Not sure if any can auto reduce heat when approaching boil to prevent boiler over but that would also be great. Any ideas on best option for this situation?

 

[doug293cz]

With 2X 30A circuits you can do back-to-back brewing, but most pre-built or kit controllers designed for back-to-back require a single 50A-60A feed circuit. So, either put in a larger feed, use multiple single element controllers, or DIY a controller that takes 2X 30A feeds. You cannot "splice" together 2 30A feeds to get a single 60A feed.

Controllers based on Auber Instruments EZBoils (rather than generic PID's) have the ability to back off heating when approaching boil. They also allow auto shut off at end of mash and end of boil, and some allow step mashing. I highly recommend going with an EZBoil based system.

Brew on

 

[marjen]

Unfortunately changing to 50A is not an option. Just finished building a house and at the time was sure I was going to go with SS brew tech controller which requires 30A or 2x30A. The brewery is on the 2nd floor and the run to the basement is long.

Will try and find some panels with EZ boil. Also it seems that the SS brew tech panel may be a good option as it can do back to back with the wiring setup I have and at $1300 is cheaper than a lot of other panels out there. Finding reviews is difficult though.

 

[Bobby_M]

The brew commander (a pair of them) is the perfect solution for dual 30amp supplies. That's $750.

 

[marjen]

I agree Brew commander is a contender. Also looking at SSBT panel. I think it is down to these two.

While researching all of this I came across an old post of mine where I was trying to put together a system in my old house. Shortly after that we bought some land and decided to build a new house so my home brewing plans were put on hold.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/new-ebrewing-setup-ebiab-or-eherms.647412/#post-8256852

In the thread @TexasWine had an interesting idea on a 2V system using something like a chilling coil essentially as an external herms coil. I actually think I am going to give that a go to see how it would work out. I would not be able to do double batches, which for now is really not an issue, but it lowers my cost of entry and saves me some space and reduces a little bit of complexity.

So I think for now I am going to repurpose my existing SSBT BME 20 gallon kettle as a BK/HLT. I will connect my exchilerater counterflow chiller to also server as a herms coil pumping hot water from the BK through one side. The other side I will connect to a new mash ton I will purchase and pump wort down through the exhilarator and back through the top port of the MT. When done mashing will drop the water from the BK (reuse later for cleaning) and pump the wort from the MT to the BK and start the boil.

From a control standpoint I only need to heat the BK/HLT. So Brew commander or SSBT 1V controller will work. The SSBT has the advantage of being able to control 2 pumps which is a need. I could just manually operate the second pump with brew commander. If the Brew commander could control 2 pumps it would be the winner for sure. This is a tough call.

The semi tricky part is where to place the temp probe. I am thinking in the MT during mash but would then need to move it during boil. I suppose I could try and figure out the offset between kettles and just leave probe in the BK/HLT the entire time.

 

[Bobby_M]

What is your batch size goal?

 

[Jako]

i wanted to do a 3V system. i was talked off the cliff of never ending spending. ended up going with 2v system using a EBIAB panel and using the Rims kit that Brew Hardware sells. i haven't used any of it yet but i can share some pictures.

my system was a copy of mongoose33's system he and a few others helped me along the way.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qiVQydJip2uuVxo8A

The pictures of my kettles and main panel are in link. I didn't take any pictures of the panel that runs the rims but you can see all the information on Brew hardware's website. Also I purchased A lot from brew hardware and everything was packaged so well and shipped quickly.

I would also like to add I saved at least 1200 by not going with a 3V system.

For my everything including upgrades for my fermenter I spent $2400 give or take that also includes my stainless table and other things most could do without. One of the most expensive pieces ended up being my hood vent but I will be brewing in a basement room with no windows so mold is a concern.

 

[augiedoggy]

lots of options here... for $1300 you should be able to go to more than a couple of these control panel makers and have them build you a custom panel or modified panel using 2 30a circuits.. I built a larger version of such a panel for my brewpub which had to be inspected and meet codes, for under $1500.... It runs off of 2 60a circuits and controls 10 heating elements as well as 2 pumps and monitors with 4 rtd temp probes all controlled through a 26" touchscreen and brucontrol. (just to give you an idea of what can be accomplished for that kind of money.)
If the builder uses a couple ezboil controllers, even with their labor you should be able to get something custom tailored to your needs for much less.

This should go without saying but as far as 3 vessel vs 2 vessel, cost is relative here based upon what a person WANTS to spend and the compromises they are willing to deal with its going to vary as much as the individual...
One can easily spend more for a 2 vessel setup than another ends up spending for 3 vessels + rims... I see $2400 mentioned above and my entire home brewery with 4 stainless conicals temp controlled with a glycol chiller as well as my 3 vessel electric system plus rims and plate chiller was less than that. Other factors to consider are what a person can or wants to do him or herself as well convenience and cosmetic attributes which varies from brewer to brewer.

 

[marjen]

Batch size will be 5 gallons. I went ahead and purchased the Brew commander. Going to give e it a try. Also ordered a custom mash tun from spike and for now will repurpose my SSBT BME 20 gallon kettle to serve as the HLT/BK. I got a 2nd riptide pump and the exchilarator counterflow chiller. The chiller will also serve is a sort of external herms coil. Once the mash tun is in I am going to run the system through a water test to see how it will work and how long ramp up etc takes.

 

[Ajae]

Unfortunately changing to 50A is not an option. Just finished building a house and at the time was sure I was going to go with SS brew tech controller which requires 30A or 2x30A. The brewery is on the 2nd floor and the run to the basement is long.

Will try and find some panels with EZ boil. Also it seems that the SS brew tech panel may be a good option as it can do back to back with the wiring setup I have and at $1300 is cheaper than a lot of other panels out there. Finding reviews is difficult though.

I believe Electric Brew Supply makes their panels, you’ll be able to find some reviews that way.

 

[PrrCabin]

I built my own panel
It was a big time ego boost