Electric boiling tun

[IrregularPulse]

Only thing I've heard about not stirring during the Mash refers to not opening a cooler to stir often because of temp loss.

 

[mr_beland]

I tought I read that in the Handbook of brewing, edited by Fergus G. Priest and Graham G Stewart. I seek this info again and i just found a chart of an decoction process, that agitation is shutted off at each decoction.

I have benn reading this book when I start brewing.

But, i think there's room for experimentation. Maybe the enzymatic process is altered with agition, and it's not same sugar's profie that is produced.

 

[StAnthonyB]

I'm planning to build an electric boiling tun. The plan is to use 2 x 3000W water elements on 240V (245V exactly) and control it manualy. BUT!.. with this amount of amp (24.5A), I can't use an ordinary rheostat. Some guys here in the forum seems to use an PID thermostat, but i don't figure how you can obtain an consistant boiling. A friend of me, told me that thyristor dimmers could sustain this intensity. I seek the web, but it wasn't conclusive. Later, today, i was seeking again and i found this :
http://www.galco.com/scripts/cgiip.exe/wa/wcat/itemdtl.r?listtype=&pnum=GT3A-3AF20-IDEC

Is this suitable for this application. If you set it in the lowest delay range, it could give an consistent boiling without excessive fooling and evaporation rate.

I also want to weld the 1'' locknut that fit for water element on bargain fittings web site, anyone ever try this or have better ideas?

Maybe Johnson Controls could build you or I suppose do it yourself if your UL Certified... A digital controller capable of 220V three-prong connected to a 5500W heating element.

 

[mr_beland]

Any one knows if the 25 AMP SSR fits on 40 Amp heat sink at Auber Ins. The 25 amp heat sink only handle 15 AMP.

 

[The Pol]

What???????

How does a heatsink "handle" 15A? or 25A for that matter. It is just a milled piece of aluminum to dissipate heat. Some people dont even use them. There is no "handling".

 

[passedpawn]

? button stuck, Pol?

The larger heat sink will fit on the 25A SSR. It isn't much more expensive, so go for it. I don't think it is necessary, but it certainly won't hurt.

I have two SSRs bolted to a metal box with no heat sink. But it is a large metal box.

 

[jkarp]

Pol must be having an off day.

mr_beland - if you look at the SSR dimensional specs in the PDF on Auber, you'll see they're all the same size so the heat sinks would have to be interchangeable. That means you can definitely use the larger heat sink if you need additional cooling.

 

[AnOldUR]

. . .The 25 amp heat sink only handle 15 AMP.

My uneducated guess would be that Pol is saying heat sinks are not measured in amps, but by the amount of heat that they can dissipate?

 

[The Pol]

Any one knows if the 25 AMP SSR fits on 40 Amp heat sink at Auber Ins. The 25 amp heat sink only handle 15 AMP.

Heatsinks only handle heat... how much heat sink you need, if any, will depend on a slew of other factors. Some people dont use them at all, so the statement that the 25A heat sink will only handle 15A seems, well, baseless.

So, what makes it a 25A heatsink? Wouldnt it be a 15A heatsink then , if it can only "handle" 15A?

As for being "off", just put 28 hours in at work in 2 days, so that is possible

 

[The Pol]

I am a little confused.

We are talking about running (2) 3000W elements, right?

So to control (2) 3000W elements, would you run (2) SSRs?

If so you will only have 12.5A coming across each SSR

I would think that a 25A SSR and the more compact 25A heatsink would certainly suffice if you are using (2) SSRs

If you are talking about running both elements across ONE SSR, I mean you are really looking at sending 25A across a 25A SSR?

That SSR probably will not last long, you are going to hammer it with the max amp draw. The general consensus has been been to size the SSR one size larger than the MIN necessary for your build. Losing an SSR mid brew session can be a real inconveneience.

I guess to me it seems like the plan to send all of the current across one SSR is a bad design. And if you utilize (2) SSRs, you really do not need more than a 25A heatsink on 25A SSR becuse you will be sending across so little amperage.

 

[AN_TKE]

another resource for temp control = www.dwyer-inst.com

 

[cruelkix]

Using a PID is easy.

Use the MANUAL mode, set the cycle time to 1 second. Then you simply control the boil with % output. I use 70%. That is 70% on and 30% off, the entire cycle is 1 second, it sustains a boil perfectly.

A huge dimmer is going to cost you dearly.

The Pol,

I am writing code to handle the load on my 5500w element. Does your statement mean that 70% of 1 second the element is on and the other 30% it is off? Do you know how you Auber PID handles this? Does it just keep it on for the first 70% and then turn it off for the last 30%. Or does it mix the 30% in throughout the whole second? Does that make sense?

Oh, adn as far as the OP is concerned, go with The Pol's method. Very cheap and easy.

Thanks,
Craig

 

[The Pol]

The 1 second cycle is just 70% ON then 30% OFF. It is a really simple cycle.

 

[The Pol]

I am a little confused.

We are talking about running (2) 3000W elements, right?

So to control (2) 3000W elements, would you run (2) SSRs?

If so you will only have 12.5A coming across each SSR

I would think that a 25A SSR and the more compact 25A heatsink would certainly suffice if you are using (2) SSRs

If you are talking about running both elements across ONE SSR, I mean you are really looking at sending 25A across a 25A SSR?

That SSR probably will not last long, you are going to hammer it with the max amp draw. The general consensus has been been to size the SSR one size larger than the MIN necessary for your build. Losing an SSR mid brew session can be a real inconveneience.

I guess to me it seems like the plan to send all of the current across one SSR is a bad design. And if you utilize (2) SSRs, you really do not need more than a 25A heatsink on 25A SSR becuse you will be sending across so little amperage.

Anyone? This thread is very convoluted

 

[leboeuf]

You can run 2 3kwatt elements in parallel on one SSR. Not a problem at all. Just use a SSR that is rated for something larger than 25amps at 240v. A 240v 40amp SSR would work just fine.

Also pay attention to the recommended heatsink area.

 

[cruelkix]

The 1 second cycle is just 70% ON then 30% OFF. It is a really simple cycle.

Cool! Thanks!

 

[mr_beland]

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=45

It's writed that you need forced ventilation when AMP is higher than 15. It's why i asked if it could support the HEAT generated by 25 amp. I know that current don't pass through heat sinks.

I will put both elements on a 40A ssr due to cost.

 

[p-nut]

I have called Auber several times. They are extremely helpful if you have questions. I spent 20 minutes talking to him about which PID would work best for my application. I spoke to him yesterday about his SSRs. He recommended using the 40 amp heatsink with the 25 amp SSR to dissipate the heat more effectively. Both SSRs have the same footprint. I have since decided to use one of our controllers from work, since they have outputs that can be configured as PWM.

 

[mr_beland]

Thanks a lot for info

 

[MikeScott]

Ahhh... SSR = Solid State Relay. Whew :cross:

I thought I was going to have to do a search to figure that out.

Great thread guys! Lots of good stuff.

Also Pol, Brewer's friend is a great site! I've spent more than a little time there, and made lots of use of your calculators. Thanks!