GregKelley
Well-Known Member
Not really, but after last night, I felt like the first caveman or like Tom Hanks in Cast Away. I did my first test of my electric system. Just a boil kettle with a 5500W element. Boiled 3.5-4 gallons in about 15 minutes. My element is a little higher than I wouldn've liked (someone else drilled it) so it took a while to heat the water below. A little stir or two would've helped speed it up but I think when I boil 5 gallons it shouldn't take much longer because the extra water will be on top heating instead of the air above the element heating.
Built my own PWM from Walker's drawings (thanks a bunch). Wall wart from a defunct baby monitor. SSR and heat sink from Auberins (no connection to them). I made a modification to the drawing here. The negative lead going to the SSR instead goes to a 3 position (ON-OFF-ON) switch. I also tied the negative output from the wall wart to the 3 position switch. I then tied the middle lead on the switch to the negative terminal on the switch for the SSR. When I first start, I flip the switch so that I have constant voltage to the SSR completing that circuit, no switching. Once I hit a rolling boil, I flip the switch so that the SSR is controlled by the PWM. I adjust the potentiometer accordingly.
I still have to tidy up the inside of the box but plan to brew this weekend.
Thanks to Walker and everyone else who answered my questions!
Built my own PWM from Walker's drawings (thanks a bunch). Wall wart from a defunct baby monitor. SSR and heat sink from Auberins (no connection to them). I made a modification to the drawing here. The negative lead going to the SSR instead goes to a 3 position (ON-OFF-ON) switch. I also tied the negative output from the wall wart to the 3 position switch. I then tied the middle lead on the switch to the negative terminal on the switch for the SSR. When I first start, I flip the switch so that I have constant voltage to the SSR completing that circuit, no switching. Once I hit a rolling boil, I flip the switch so that the SSR is controlled by the PWM. I adjust the potentiometer accordingly.
I still have to tidy up the inside of the box but plan to brew this weekend.
Thanks to Walker and everyone else who answered my questions!