A Novice call for help...

Hi guys, I need some help here. I have been thinking to go electric for a while, so I don’t have to freeze outside during the winter. I want to transform a 50L sanky in one brew kettle and liquor tank. I’m using a Rubbermaid cooler to keep my water hot for sparging. I inspired myself from these guys and the electric brewery forum on home brew talk.

Electric beer brewing system

The electric brewery

My plan is in pdf attachement


1. PID/SSR w heat sink/Temperature probe
2. SW1/SW3
3. SW2
4. F1/F3 slow blow 30A fuse
5. F2/F4 I don’t know yet
6. 30A GFCI Breaker

Questions:
1. In F1 and F3 do I need a 30A fuse for each or is it 2 x 15A each that make a 30A total?
2. Do I need a 15A switch or a 30A switch for SW2?
3. What is a ‘’K type’’ probe
4. Do you think the PID/SSR/Temp probe is a good deal on ebay?

Thank you so much for your help.

View attachment pid-temp-controller.pdf

1. For your fuses, you want something that will protect the equipment, so you want fuses that will blow well below 30a. The general rule is you look at the amperage draw of the piece of equipment you want to protect, and get a fuse at that amperage rating. For example, you could use a 1a fuse to protect the PID (F2), if the PID does not draw more than 1a. Another option is to put something like one 7a fuse on the hot leg before all of the 120v equipment. You don't need to fuse the load side of the SSR, as your 30a breaker is protecting that.

2. SW2 is a 120v switch. See above.

3. You can google the K type probe (thermocouple). An RTD probe is more accurate and less fussy. http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_15&products_id=189

4. See https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/rex-c100-pid-cheapest-pid-ebay-254480/. You need to make sure it has SSR output, manual mode (if you want to be able to use it to control a boil), and temp display in F (if that's important to you).

just to be an ass to jeff, you don't need manual mode to boil, but it is a hell of a lot easier

theknub said:

just to be an ass to jeff, you don't need manual mode to boil, but it is a hell of a lot easier

Click to expand...

And given the relatively small price difference to get a PID with manual mode, it would be foolish to go without it.

jeffmeh said:

And given the relatively small price difference to get a PID with manual mode, it would be foolish to go without it.

Click to expand...

keep on preaching

4. I bought the $28 shipped setup off ebay to dabble. It worked pretty well for heating mash and strike water actually but i already purchased an RTD from Auber to get better accuracy and Celsius in tenths. Most the ebay cheap PIDs will not do manual mode, are in Celsius only, and need a RTD to bring a decimal point into the mix for better resolution. The manual for the REX-C100 I got is pretty much useless and the word on the street is that the ebay ones are Chinese copies. A lot of the stuff I found on the forums searching on how to get it to work with the RTD was relevant in my case (wrong settings in manual, etc.). Once I make the switch to all-elec I will most certainly be using the proven Auber units. As cheap as the setup was it was worth it just to get a taste though.

thank you so much for for your answers. I just need some precision.

2. SW2 is a 120V switch even if it connect with the 5500W element? (that is connected with the other Hot wire)

SW2 is suppose to flip my element from 220V to 120V so I can ''control the boil''

4. How the manual mode works ? do I need to leave a part of the SSR outside the box...or install another switch? Is my SW2 switch should be enough to control boil?

BTW, I'm from Canada so I can't order from a lot of your amazing web sites, or I pay an huge shipping!

The way I read your diagram (apparently incorrectly), is that SW2 is a 120v switch (has H1 and N poles), that controls the coil of a double pole, single throw, normally open, 240v, 30a, mechanical contactor (SW3). That allows you to switch the element off regardless of what the SSR is doing, a good safety feature because SSRs can fail closed (on) and they leak voltage.

But given what you have said, SW2 is a single pole, double throw, 30a switch that enables you to switch between H1 and N, making your element switchable between 120v and 240v. SW3 is a double pole, single throw switch that allows you to switch the element off as I described above.

That said, I like my misinterpretation better. You would always run your element at 240v and use the PID manual mode to control the boil. That gives you to set the PID to cycle the element anywhere from 0% to 100%, and will give you much more control than than switching from 120v to 240v, which effectively gives you 0%, 25%, and 100% options. That might work for you, but what if you needed 70% to maintain the boil?

I would put the SSR inside the box with its attached heatsink outside the box.

Perhaps some our northern brethren could point you toward some purchasing options in Canada.

P.S. In my configuration you could also just go with SW3 (double pole, single throw, 30a switch), rather than a separate switch (SW2) with a mechanical contactor.