Help! What is this?

[psymonkey]

Hello electrical gurus - can anyone tell me what this is? (see picture)

It runs off of a 240v 30a single-pole square d breaker in my garage which is labeled "compressor" and turned off. Just oustide the garage, there is a little custom shed that was built to house a large compressor tank that came with the house, probably at least 50 gallons. The compressor that once filled said tank did not convey with the foreclosure

Anyway, I'm looking at getting into electric and have no idea what this is. Is it missing pieces? The box itself just says GE on it when the lid is closed.

Thanks!

 

[dumpsterbrew]

yea its missing pieces. Its a non fused disconnect there should be a plastic piece that plugs in to complete the circuit. the line side is usually to the right and the load to the left. looks like you have a free 30 amp 240 volt circuit for whatever you want to add in the future.

 

[psymonkey]

So could I just replace that with a spa panel and be in a safe position to go electric?

 

[psymonkey]

Thank you, btw

 

[ajdelange]

Hello electrical gurus - can anyone tell me what this is? (see picture)

It's a manual disconnect the functioning of which is clearly explained in the video at [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REw7JT4d0J4[/ame] (but note that he is using a fused version). Given what these cost (a few bucks) you can replace it with something from Home Despot or Lowes which has got to be easier than trying to find the replacement parts (ON/OFF blade assembly and shield).

It runs off of a 240v 30a single-pole square d breaker in my garage which is labeled "compressor" and turned off.

Are you sure about that (I mean the single-pole part)?

In order to modify this for an electric brewery you would want to
1)Replace the breaker in the feeding panel with a GFCI breaker sized for whatever load you plan to use. Thirty amps doesn't get you very far in electric brewing.
2)Pull a new 4 wire cable between the panel and the out building (this is not necessary if you have no 120V components in the electric brewery)
3)Replace the box.

 

[psymonkey]

Are you sure about that (I mean the single-pole part)?

Actually, no! in-fact, it looks like it's a 2 pole 30amp breaker: here is one on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0068JWELA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

So could I replace the box in the picture with a spa panel to get my GFCI protection rather than doing it in the panel box with a breaker?

Not sure about the 30AMP issue - I'll have a single boil coil & tower of power which specified that I needed a 30A 240v.

 

[ajdelange]

What you actually install depends on what you want to do. If the only load on this thing is the 'tower of power' and that is a pure 220V load then you would be fine with the GFCI in the main panel (in fact it will have to be in the main panel as it requires connection to a neutral in most cases) and the simple manual disconnect (like the one in the video). If, OTOH, you plan to have some other loads (like room lights, pumps, etc.) then you might want to install a sub panel in the outbuilding with circuit breakers of the appropriate types for the loads you intend to install such as a 30 amp GFCI for the 'tower of power' and a 15 amp breaker for an auxiliary outlet. Note that, of course, you will now have to increase the size of the breaker in the main panel and of the wire to the outbuilding.

If anything in the outbuilding needs 120V then you will have to run a neutral along with the two phases and ground.

30 amps at 220 volts is 375 BTU/min capable of raising 5 gallon water 9° per min. If that meets your requirements then 30 amps is plenty.

 

[psymonkey]

This is all good news. All I need is a single plug for my tower of power. That box is actually through the garage wall, I want the plug in the garage so I'll just seal it up and tie it in on the other side. The little outbuilding won't actually be for brewing. I just mentioned it as some background as to what the box was used for to help identify it in case it was mysterious or something

So rather than the 220 GFCI in the breaker box, can install a Spa Panel with GFCI in the garage and feed the outlet for the tower of power from that?

By the way, I clearly have no clue about this stuff. Rest assured I'll be having a friend who does help out with the install. I'm just trying to understand what I need to buy. I guess I keep asking about the spa panel as it seems way more affordable than the GFCI breakers, unless I'm looking at the wrong things, which may be likely

 

[augiedoggy]

It's a manual disconnect the functioning of which is clearly explained in the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REw7JT4d0J4 (but note that he is using a fused version). Given what these cost (a few bucks) you can replace it with something from Home Despot or Lowes which has got to be easier than trying to find the replacement parts (ON/OFF blade assembly and shield).



Are you sure about that (I mean the single-pole part)?

In order to modify this for an electric brewery you would want to
1)Replace the breaker in the feeding panel with a GFCI breaker sized for whatever load you plan to use. Thirty amps doesn't get you very far in electric brewing.
2)Pull a new 4 wire cable between the panel and the out building (this is not necessary if you have no 120V components in the electric brewery)
3)Replace the box.

I totally disagree!
30amps is plenty... a 4500w element draws 17-18 amps 5500w =22-23 amps (real measured draw since they are overrated)... there is no reason one needs to fire two elements at once unless they are spending 8 hours on back to back brew sessions.
that said I run a 1000w rims at the same time as my 4500w element and 2 DC24v pumps and it all draws less than 27 amps running at once...
I ran four wires and have no need for the neutral.
5500w is overkill in my opinion for 10 gallon and smaller brew setups and 4500w is less likely to ever scorch even the highest gravity high solids wort.

OP,
Yes you just need a spa panel for install in your garage...leave the original 30A breaker in the main panel, this way you can buy a 50a spa panel and the gfci functionality and well as main disconnect functionality will work fine and the main 30a breaker will protect against any overdraw. This is what many including myself have done.

 

[augiedoggy]

What you actually install depends on what you want to do. If the only load on this thing is the 'tower of power' and that is a pure 220V load then you would be fine with the GFCI in the main panel (in fact it will have to be in the main panel as it requires connection to a neutral in most cases) and the simple manual disconnect (like the one in the video). If, OTOH, you plan to have some other loads (like room lights, pumps, etc.) then you might want to install a sub panel in the outbuilding with circuit breakers of the appropriate types for the loads you intend to install such as a 30 amp GFCI for the 'tower of power' and a 15 amp breaker for an auxiliary outlet. Note that, of course, you will now have to increase the size of the breaker in the main panel and of the wire to the outbuilding.

If anything in the outbuilding needs 120V then you will have to run a neutral along with the two phases and ground.

30 amps at 220 volts is 375 BTU/min capable of raising 5 gallon water 9° per min. If that meets your requirements then 30 amps is plenty.

I think its safe to assume that he already has at least one other 120v circuit for the current outlets in his garage and this was a deticated 30a line for the compressor... if so 120v pumps dont draw any serious power to justify rewiring...15a outlets are fine.

 

[psymonkey]

Thanks guys! This is super helpful! It's funny. I didn't realize just how little I knew about electrical until I decided I wanted to build a diy system/ They all look so simple on the outside, a few big buttons, a temp readout and an on/off switch..then I saw the wiring diagrams - enter Blichmann. I'll stick with computers

 

[ajdelange]

So rather than the 220 GFCI in the breaker box, can install a Spa Panel with GFCI in the garage and feed the outlet for the tower of power from that?

Sure but you don't need two breakers in series. Since you want GFCI (and you should have it) then to my way of thinking you might as well put it in the main panel where the question as to whether neutral is available or not is moot as it is in the main panel.

You could leave the magnetic/thermal breaker in the main panel and put the GFCI in a sub panel but the wiring you show in the picture is for two phases and ground. You would not be able to install a GFCI breaker in a sub panel with that wiring unless you can find an old style GFCI breaker that does not require neutral. Of course if the tower of power requires 120 you would have to rewire for 4 conductors anyway.