Sorry if this has been covered...but what is it like brewing with this indoors? Do you have problems with condensation? Do you need a lot of air flow?
Which diagram are you referencing? A link would help a lot.sorry to revive an old thread...but I am having problems understanding exactly why the contactors are necessary. Why couldn't I just place the power switches/buttons between the PID and each SSR and leave out contactors? or even between the SSR and element? Are they really needed? i have been reading around quite a bit and just don't seem to understand. Thanks for the help
sorry to revive an old thread...but I am having problems understanding exactly why the contactors are necessary. Why couldn't I just place the power switches/buttons between the PID and each SSR and leave out contactors? or even between the SSR and element? Are they really needed? i have been reading around quite a bit and just don't seem to understand. Thanks for the help
Which diagram are you referencing? A link would help a lot.
P-J
Ok, got it. The contactors are in place due to the fact that the switches involved cannot handle the current draw to drectly energize the heating elements. The elements draw 17A and the switches wanted for the original design cannot handle that current draw.hey thanks for the quick reply! I am planning on using the 2-element 120V diagram from the first post in this thread
P-J said:Ok, got it. The contactors are in place due to the fact that the switches involved cannot handle the current draw to drectly energize the heating elements. The elements draw 17A and the switches wanted for the original design cannot handle that current draw. It is all about design choices for the person wanting to do an E-Brew set up. Generally they spell it out and I take the time to draw a diagram to help them. P-J
Yeah, you can simply use a 20A switch in place of it. Have one leg going from switch-outletand then the SSR inbetween the other leg and the outlet.
If you're not wanting a blingy panel have you considered a switch/outlet combo? I'll be using this for my element receptacle on my next panel http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AU6R2M/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
iijakii said:That's a pretty interesting route, but personally I'd prefer to just use one element with the PID and one simply either on/off. You don't need both for the mash and only need one for heating times and/or boil, ya? Could save on one SSR and a lot of complexity, I think.
How is the pump doing now? Any more problems with it? I received a modest Christmas bonus this year and want to add a pump to my setup.
I'm pretty much done with this pump - it left me stranded in the middle of a brew day twice, both times when recirculating boiling wort to sanitize my plate chiller, leaving me to gravity feed through the chiller. Took the pump apart, and the impeller shaft had seized - I got it cleaned up, put some keg lube on it, and it's working again, but I've had it with unreliable equipment.
I just got a Chugger pump from BobbyM, haven't used it yet, but it seems to be a much better option for not much more. I do not recommend the GreatBrewEh/US Solar pump.
Option #1: The SSR should be mounted directly to the heat sink using thermal grease. Therefore you need to do a cutout for it in the control panel.Great thread, thanks for posting your build! I'm starting a similar build and have a quick question, for Russki or anyone else willing to help.
When mounting the SSR's to the enclosure, do you:
1) Cut the enclosure in order to mount SSR's to the heatsink, then bolt heatsink to enclosure
or
2) Bolt SSR's to enclosure back plate and then bolt heatsink to other side back (i.e no ssr cutout)?
Thanks in advance!!
Sorry to keep bringing this thread back, but I had a question about the plug that was used in this build. I have been looking around for 20 A 120 V plugs and they seem to use the 'T' style plugs rather than a 'normal' 120 V plug...is this necessary? I will be using 2000 W elements, which should pull just under 17 A if I understand correctly. Will I be okay using a 120 V 15 A 'normal' plug or do I need to use these?
2 SSRs - one per element.Trying to follow how many ssr's you used. Per the diagram there were 4.
That's good to know, although I figured out the priming issue even with the "impeller on top" configuration. My problem with that pump was that it quit in the middle of two brews; once from overheating, and second time when the shaft seized. I've been using a Chugger for the last 3 brews, and couldn't be happier with it.I gave up on trying to see if anyone else mentioned this, but I noticed you mentioned priming issues with that pump, I have the same one, and the documentation said to not use it in the orientation you have it, the pump body should be off to the side, not below the head.
Ok, got it. The contactors are in place due to the fact that the switches involved cannot handle the current draw to drectly energize the heating elements. The elements draw 17A and the switches wanted for the original design cannot handle that current draw.
It is all about design choices for the person wanting to do an E-Brew set up. Generally they spell it out and I take the time to draw a diagram to help them.
P-J
Well done! I have been looking to build something like this for a long time. This is basically perfect for my purposes. I am basically going to clone this build. I really want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread (and to all the others like it). This has given me the confidence to get started on my own setup (and my tax return has given me the funds fortunately).
P-J, I need your assistance, please. There is at least one change I'd like to make to that wiring diagram: I don't feel the need for the extra LED push button switches for the elements. For my purposes, that's extra bling that I don't care about very much (the other two seem easier since they don't need contactors, so I'll leave those in place).
Removing those and the contactors seems to simplify the wiring and free up room in what looks to be a crowded enclosure. If I were to do that, could I use some 20a 120v toggle switches of some sort? Maybe like this one (click)?
HopRodGR mentioned this in post #90 and iijakii mentioned a basic outlet/switch combo in post #91. I like that too, but wouldn't that then require a bigger handy box to account for both combo outlets? It seems like the single outlet handy box just barely fit on the enclosure, and I don't really want a larger one hanging off if possible. I guess I could always mount the SSRs and heatsinks to the top instead of the back to make everything fit.
Well done! I have been looking to build something like this for a long time. This is perfect for my purposes. I am basically going to clone this build. I really want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread (and to all the others like it). This has given me the confidence to get started on my own setup (and my tax return has given me the funds fortunately).
P-J, I too need your assistance, please. There is at least one change I'd like to make to that wiring diagram: I don't really need for the extra LED push button switches for the elements. The other two seem easier since they don't need contactors, so I'll leave those in place. Removing those push button switches and the contactors seems to simplify the wiring and free up room in what looks to be a crowded enclosure. I like the extra room since my wiring work isn't the best.
If I were to do that, could I use some 20a 120v toggle switches of some sort? Maybe like this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Toggle-Switch-SPST/dp/B0002ZPBRA/
HopRodGR mentioned this in post #90, and iijakii mentioned a basic outlet/switch combo in post #91. I like that too, but it seems like the single outlet handy box just barely fit on the enclosure, and I don't really want a larger one hanging off the side if possible. I guess I could always mount the SSRs and heatsinks to the top instead of the back to make everything fit.
With the two combo outlets in mind, I tried modifying your diagram. Does that seem close? How might toggle switches fit in to that diagram?
Really my goal is function over form, and I'm trying to clone this build while trimming certain bits for economy (camlocks, sight glass, etc.).
Any advice you might have for me would be most appreciated!
All well said, however, What diagram are you referring to? A link would help me help you. No? -
whatever...
It's really simple on 120v.. If you want to use a rated toggle-switch instead of a fancy switch+contactor combo, you just place it inbetween the SSR and outlet on your hot.
Great looking rig!
Subscribed for future reference, in case I don't pursue induction.
Nice build! Nope, that's all I did, and it's been working great. One thing I do differently now is I set the strike temperature to my target mash temp (i.e. if I'm mashing at 152F, that's what I set the on the PID from the get go); otherwise it seemed to overshoot my mash temp.russki, other than running auto-tune, setting the input type to the proper RTD setting, setting the alarm function to the right terminal number and enabling manual mode switching, was there anything specific you modified in the PID parameters?
Nice build! Nope, that's all I did, and it's been working great. One thing I do differently now is I set the strike temperature to my target mash temp (i.e. if I'm mashing at 152F, that's what I set the on the PID from the get go); otherwise it seemed to overshoot my mash temp.
Have fun with your new toy!
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