Electric Brewing - Why didn't anyone tell me?

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Bobby_M

Bobby_M

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How frickin awesome it is. No, I know, you'd have to be blind not to see how popular it's getting. I always had plans to electrify but it was never a priority. While I have dreams of a fully outfitted control panel (maybe BCS), I just got around to making up a test control box with a single PID and a 120v/240v selector switch so I can play around with 5500w in the HLT/Kettle and then downgrade it for RIMS testing.

I just brewed a test batch last night and even with being severely out of practice, I only spent 4 hours from power on to carboy tucked away.

If time savings weren't enough, I also didn't freeze my ass off having to leave the garage door open or risk getting asphyxiated. Super quiet. No overshooting strike/sparge temps. Also, wort doesn't get super stuck to the sides of the pot due to burner wash overheating. The kettle cleaned up with just water and a little wipe down.

All the electric veterans know all of this of course but I guess I never got it.

563711_10152017007447095_1281081869_n.jpg
 
Welcome to the club! It's more efficient and a darn sight easier on the ears.
 
After everyone buying so much from you, I thought you'd have been on board already :) I'm SOOO looking forward to my first batch and just waiting for the few remaining pieces before running a test. Hopefully, I'll be just as happy!
 
There's nothing like building an electric rig, turning it on for the first time and seeing bubbles start to form around the heating element.

young_frankenstein.jpg

"IT'S ALIIIIIVE!"​

Other things that are great:
* Not having to check weather reports before brewing
* Not hauling all of your equipment from the basement to the back deck and then back down at the end of the day
* Not freezing to death / sweating your ass off
* No mosquitoes / bees
* Leaves don't fall into your wort
* Paperwork doesn't blow away
* Boil no longer affected by wind
* No need for heat shields
* Never running out of propane

Things that are not so great:
* Going through a lot of towels to pick up all of the spills on the floor
* Being stuck inside on a beautiful day
 
I am on the verge of going electric but I have to ask:

Bobby, how does going electric speed up your brew time? From the time I turn on the burner, to carboys tucked away, I am just over 4 hrs, and that's for 10 gal batches. And how is kettle clean up easier going electric? Seems like cleaning the element would make cleaning more difficult.

Just trying to understand your points. I want to go electric because I want to get rid of using propane for safety reasons.
 
I would love to get an electric rig. I'll be watching this thread to see what the start up cost was. I don't think my house can handle the electric though. I'm unsure.
 
LandoLincoln said:
There's nothing like building an electric rig, turning it on for the first time and seeing bubbles start to form around the heating element.

young_frankenstein.jpg

"IT'S ALIIIIIVE!"​

Other things that are great:
* Not having to check weather reports before brewing
* Not hauling all of your equipment from the basement to the back deck and then back down at the end of the day
* Not freezing to death / sweating your ass off
* No mosquitoes / bees
* Leaves don't fall into your wort
* Paperwork doesn't blow away
* Boil no longer affected by wind
* No need for heat shields
* Never running out of propane

Things that are not so great:
* Going through a lot of towels to pick up all of the spills on the floor
* Being stuck inside on a beautiful day
Click to expand...

That list is for indoor brewing, not electric brewing. I do all my brewing outdoors (but under cover and in a screened enclosure).
 
I was already brewing in the garage right by the roll up so the only thing changing for me is how much I have to open the doors. If it's a beauty of a day, they go open anyway just not out of necessity.

I didn't think cleanup was going to be easier but it was. I think when you brew on a big flame, any hot break that rises up the sides gets cooked on and especially if you have a boil over. The gunk on the top sides of the pot just kind of dissolved off with some water with no real scrubbing. The element was pretty clean on its own also, but this is just one batch in.

Cost is definitely higher for the original outlay. I was already working towards this for a couple years by first upgrading to a 200 amp service ($800 in parts), then putting the 50amp spa panel in ($50 for the panel, $60 for 6/4 romex to get 12 feet down the wall from the main panel).

$25 for the Camco Ripple 5500 watt.
$65 solder-on TC flange with electrical enclosure

$11 Carlon 6x6x4 box
$46 Auber PID 2352
$15 Auber 25a SSR
$24 Auber 1/4" NPT x 4" thermocouple
$10 heat sink I had laying around.
$30 in SJ cord 10/4 to the box, 10/3 to the element.
$37 NEMA 14-30R and 14-30P connectors
$28 Bryant 3025 (Ebay find... these are normally over $40) 30a DPDT switch with center off (I used this in lieu of a contactor for element OFF, 120v and 240v setting). This was to be able to test the controller for RIMS use a MEGA low watt density.
$10 XLR panel mount jack and plug for Thermocouple disconnect.
~$38 for two pairs of Neutrik 32amp twist lock panel mount/plug ends. This was a total splurge really. You can run the cord right into the element enclosure without this and then use regular NEMA twist lock L6-30 at the panel for at least half the price.

I THINK those are the major ones...

Granted, this is just for a simple one kettle system but I actually enjoyed getting back to my roots using the kettle as the HLT and boil kettle and mashing in a cooler.
 
Bobby_M said:
Granted, this is just for a simple one kettle system but I actually enjoyed getting back to my roots using the kettle as the HLT and boil kettle and mashing in a cooler.
Click to expand...

HAHA, I had to chuckle on that one. I've been brewing for 11 yrs and that's how I roll! 1 kettle pulling double duty as HLT and BK and a cooler MT. I use a couple of buckets to store the sparge water while I drain the MT to BK.

While I like the 3 vessel systems with HERMS, etc, I love the simplicity of my system and clean up is a snap. I've drank beer made by fancy, automated HERMS and their beer didn't taste any better than mine.
 
I just went fully electric, and am very pleased with the quiet operation and not having to fool with burners and 20 lb propane bottles.

I think my 5500 watt elements have trimmed my heat-up time as well.

I have been mashing with a RIMS for about 6 years now but only recently made the step to electric HLT and BK.

The added SSR and PWM wiring and controls for the kettles fit nicely in my existing RIMS panel

One thing working in my favor was being able to repurpose an old hot-tub circuit in my panel and rerouting the AWG 6-3 w/Ground over to my brewing area.

Bobby got me set up with the silver solder-on fittings to electrify a keggle for the BK. The solder option seems like a good alternative to TIG welding for the DIY crowd.

The HLT is a keggle with a spa element mounted in the base.

Brewing in the basement without the combustion fumes will be great.

2013-11-11 12.36.43 (Small).jpg
 
The best "mistakes" I have ever made:
Visiting the electric forum & theelectricbrewery.com

A couple grand later and the kal clone was born.
 
Oh, I'm pretty sure I told you!

I live just south of the tundra, I swear, and indoor electric brewing rocks.

I brew when it's hot outside, when the bugs are bag, when it's snowing, when it's raining, and when the outside pipes are frozen. It's like winning the lottery, sitting inside and brewing and browsing HBT and drinking a beer in my shorts or sweats.

Clean up is not as easy, as I have no hose to use now to spray down everything but it's still not bad at all and I"m comfortable, warm, and dry.

The rig is quiet, I never run out of fuel, and I can get a rocking boil in pretty quick time. I never scorch my wort, or overheat my strike water, and I don't have to sit and watch it. It's awesome!
 
Shhh. Our gas friends will get upset.

Congrats bobby, I love how I can heat strike and mash and spend that time with my family or do other chores.
 
A nice side benefit to having the E-BIAB rig in the garage.........I can now cook meat sous vide. Yum.;)

I've found cleanup with the single vessel E-system to be about as easy as it can be. Roll it out to the end of the garage, get the hose, start flushing.
 
hio3791 said:
HAHA, I had to chuckle on that one. I've been brewing for 11 yrs and that's how I roll! 1 kettle pulling double duty as HLT and BK and a cooler MT. I use a couple of buckets to store the sparge water while I drain the MT to BK.

While I like the 3 vessel systems with HERMS, etc, I love the simplicity of my system and clean up is a snap. I've drank beer made by fancy, automated HERMS and their beer didn't taste any better than mine.
Click to expand...


I like this too. I use the bucket to drain the mash into while sparge water heats in the kettle though.


I left the roll ups closed on the last batch and was greatful for the warmth provided by the propane.

I think a pid controlled heat stick would be sweet though to supplement the propane.
 
I wasn't arguing anyone's point. I think having a PID controlled system makes brewing easier. But as I get older, I've gained an appreciation for the simpler things. Which is why I am looking at getting an SSVR. I think it's an equal replacement for a burner with a valve controlling the heat intensity.

Having a quieter system is a bonus but as you said, in the cold months, I would miss the heat generated by the burner. My wife doesn't want me brewing inside so I would stay in the garage. I have a portable heater I could hook up for when I go electric and keep the garage somewhat warm.
 
haha! Hilarious...The man making the cutting edge electric brew hardware for homebrewers, finally actually tries his own equipment. I had to look back and forth twice from the post to the poster's name, then check the post date, before it sank in.
 
Weezy said:
haha! Hilarious...The man making the cutting edge electric brew hardware for homebrewers, finally actually tries his own equipment. I had to look back and forth twice from the post to the poster's name, then check the post date, before it sank in.
Click to expand...

I had to check the post date, too. I was expecting to see 2007 or something!
 
I thought I'd share my "goof around" controller box details for the hell of it.

The Carlon box I actually used is the 6" x 6" x 4" and I got it at Lowes for around $10. I had it for about 9 months and I see it's now over $11. Home Depot's prices on electrical items seems about 10% cheaper overall.

controller.jpg

In retrospect, the labels are a little big and cartoony looking but they'll do the job. The main goal of this build was to have a means of learning the Auber PID behavior as it applies to RIMS. In addition, I get a lot of questions about the possibility of using the RIMS as an on-demand water heater. This box will let you switch the RIMS element between 5500w and 1375 watts (at mega low watt density). I did this with a Bryant 3025 which is DPDT w/center off. This allows me to disable the element completely similar to using a 2 pole contactor on a larger box.

Here's a shot of the back with the fixed power-in cord and the detachable element-out cord. If Neutrik made the 32a powercon in 4-pole, I would have used it there as well so that the cord sets were all completely detachable.
controller2.jpg


The heat sink was a found item at the scrapyard.

Aside from the splurge on the Neutrik connectors, which I really only used to test them out, I consider this a relatively low budget build. There are no DIN rails, breakers, contact blocks, inside. I used very inexpensive panel mount fuse holders to protect the PID and pump outlet since they are tapped off of 10 gauge lines.

I wouldn't try to do this with any smaller of a box. It took some beers and head scratchin to figure out how to get all this into the box. If I was starting from scratch, I'd probably put one additional SPST switch in to turn the PID off so that I could just leave the main plugged in
 
Weezy said:
haha! Hilarious...The man making the cutting edge electric brew hardware for homebrewers, finally actually tries his own equipment. I had to look back and forth twice from the post to the poster's name, then check the post date, before it sank in.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly! Bobby is really at the forefront in making great solutions for electric brewing. I love his latest tri-clover element housing for brew vessels. The ability to throw a triclover blank cover and use the same kettle for propane brews is quite elegant. This allows one to take their kettle to a place where the needed electrical connections are unavailable. It seems that being able to easily remove the element would also allow one to thoroughly clean the bottom of the kettle, something that seems challenging with a permanently installed element. I'm still using propane for my brews, but I'm really intrigued by the triclover element kit.
 
Nice Bobby. Did you get those fuse trays from Lowe's / HD?

FYI, I found PG21 SS glands / strain reliefs that work with the the 10/3 SJO cord. Might work with 10/4, not sure. Pretty cheap. On the plastic box, maybe not useful, but they look great on the element end of the cord. I've got them on mine.

Also, the OD of the SJO 10/3 from Home Depot was wider than the Lowe's. The outer rubber jacked is thicker. This is important for anyone looking for fittings for this fat stuff.
 
passedpawn said:
Nice Bobby. Did you get those fuse trays from Lowe's / HD?

FYI, I found PG21 SS glands / strain reliefs that work with the the 10/3 SJO cord. Might work with 10/4, not sure. Pretty cheap. On the plastic box, maybe not useful, but they look great on the element end of the cord. I've got them on mine.

Also, the OD of the SJO 10/3 from Home Depot was wider than the Lowe's. The outer rubber jacked is thicker. This is important for anyone looking for fittings for this fat stuff.
Click to expand...

I was going to bring in the stainless grips for the bling factor but decided the black plastic ones would shave $5 off the RIMS/element enclosure prices.
Now if you've got stainless braid around your cords.....

The ones I have were big enough for the 10/4 SJ cord (300v rated) but it may not be big enough for 10/4 SO (600v rated).
 
Bobby_M said:
I was going to bring in the stainless grips for the bling factor but decided the black plastic ones would shave $5 off the RIMS/element enclosure prices.
Now if you've got stainless braid around your cords.....

The ones I have were big enough for the 10/4 SJ cord (300v rated) but it may not be big enough for 10/4 SO (600v rated).
Click to expand...

Yea, I saw no reason to go with the SO. The light duty stuff is fine I think.
 
I think I brewed three times on a turkey fryer and said screw this and immediately began going electric (which got out of hand).
 
I've been brewing for 12 months now and I am heading into electric in a big way. I did 2 extract brews, then went all grain and never looked back, now I want to get away from the propane.


Ebrewsupply Bcs 4 element DIY setup is arriving on Monday. Can't wait to get started on the build!
 
I've done only 3 brews. Kit, partial mash, all grain BIAB (on propane) and decided Electric was the only thing that made sense.

Ordered stuff up last week (it's the 20th Bobby. . . are the enclosures back in stock? huh? are they, are they are they? :D)

Can't wait to get my first electric BIAB brew done.
 
KPSquared said:
I'm planning an inline 6" fan and a round stainless hood vented outside. To cold around here to just crack the garage door.
Click to expand...

^^ This... I've considered even seeing if I can duct it right out the garage door ;) I'm installing installation into the garage door slots so I think it'd be a good place to go out... besides my brewery is on wheels!
 

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