First all electric alls I can say is WOW!

[brew_ny]

First before I forget thanks to all that answered my question about electric brewing and to all that shared their setups

I did my first all electric brew today and I alls I can say is WOW !

First thing I noticed was how quite it was that is compared to the jet engine SP 10 I have been brewing with

I went with A SSVR and rheostat kit from Auber Instruments and a couple of Camco 5500 watt ULWD Lime Life Ripple elements

one to heat my water to mash and another for my boil kettle , water kettle is a 15 gallon Aluminum pot and the boil kettle is a 16 gallon stainless steel

I am using the same controller panel to run both for now but that will change soon

I did a couple of brews using electric to heat water and propane to boil wort, it took me a bit of time to put an element in my boil kettle

I read and read about knock punches and step drills etc.

in the end I just used a lenox bi metal hole saw I had and it went smooth as glass

did have a bit of a oh sh*t moment when I put the silicone o-ring and nut on, it leaked like a sieve

I was like should have listen to all the things I read, I went weldless with a setup from www.bargainfittings.com

then I remembered I needed to Teflon tape the threads on the element, life was good after that

so I just got done brewing a 11.5 gallon batch of Cream of Three Crops hit all the numbers

will be setting up a PID for my water kettle

all the best and thanks again all

S_M

 

[augiedoggy]

awesome! I was very impressed with mine everytime I use it also... I didnt need any tape on my elements at all? you did put the oring on the OUTSIDE of the kettle right?
surprisingly I Got lucky and only had on weldless fitting leak and it did need teflon tape because of the limitations of the configuration I used..and I have quite a few with the herms coil and sight glasses and such.

 

[Chupidacabra]

How much are you invested so far? I'm thinking of doing a pid biab set up so I'd only need one pid and one element. Seems like the odds and ends would be around 300? Also what kind of enclosure did you use?


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[brew_ny]

you did put the oring on the OUTSIDE of the kettle right?

I did not I got a nut and o-ring from Barginfittings the one they have you put the o-ring inside because the nut has a groove for the o-ring

you only tighten it hand tight and it seals


http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=95

I hear you leaks are a pain knock on wood this was the only one I have had

How much are you invested so far?

not a lot I had a bunch of 10/3 wire and got a couple PID gifted to me from a person at work

I did buy a SSVR kit from Auber Instruments could have got it cheaper from ebay but did not want to wait for a slow boat from China

and then if I had a problem ship it back

the box I used was a 6 x 6 x 4 plastic waterproof one that was 13 dollars, I did buy a spa panel that had a 60 amp GFCI breaker installed for 72 bucks

I had the 6/3 wire with a ground I needed to run to my sub panel, the 5500 watt element were 17 dollars a piece

I had all kind of connectors and 30 amp twist lock outlets and plugs, 30 amp switches

I am a network administrator/engineer at a manufacturer so the have lots of second hand stuff they will give to me if I need it

but 300 dollars sounds about right some of what I used was overkill but I had so I used it

all the best

S_M

 

[Chupidacabra]

Sounds like you're in the perfect situation to build a panel lol. Thanks for the tips though!


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[augiedoggy]

I did not I got a nut and o-ring from Barginfittings the one they have you put the o-ring inside because the nut has a groove for the o-ring

you only tighten it hand tight and it seals


http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=95

I hear you leaks are a pain knock on wood this was the only one I have had




not a lot I had a bunch of 10/3 wire and got a couple PID gifted to me from a person at work

I did buy a SSVR kit from Auber Instruments could have got it cheaper from ebay but did not want to wait for a slow boat from China

and then if I had a problem ship it back

the box I used was a 6 x 6 x 4 plastic waterproof one that was 13 dollars, I did buy a spa panel that had a 60 amp GFCI breaker installed for 72 bucks

I had the 6/3 wire with a ground I needed to run to my sub panel, the 5500 watt element were 17 dollars a piece

I had all kind of connectors and 30 amp twist lock outlets and plugs, 30 amp switches

I am a network administrator/engineer at a manufacturer so the have lots of second hand stuff they will give to me if I need it

but 300 dollars sounds about right some of what I used was overkill but I had so I used it

all the best

S_M

I have the exact element kit from the same place... if you put the oring on the outside where the element has the solid lip it will seal better...

 

[brew_ny]

Sounds like you're in the perfect situation to build a panel lol. Thanks for the tips though!


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I had thought about buying this PID because they guy is in the states and has good feedback

it is a mypin with a 25 amp SSR with heatsink and a pt 100 probe

my PIDs only use J or K type thermocouple which are not that accurate, I am just heating my water and I mash in a cooler

I can live with it in the boil kettle I just watch so who care, right now I am using a SSVR and a rheostat so it is all done buy hand anyways

good luck with whatever you end up building

S_M

 

[wstev]

Bargainfittings.com
Been looking for a good site to buy fittings for a while now. Thanks!


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[brew_ny]

I have the exact element kit from the same place... if you put the oring on the outside where the element has the solid lip it will seal better...

I have done 8 brews with my setup so far and no leaks with the o-ring on the inside

but in the end it is what works for you

I will be doing brew # 9 this week, I just love doing it all electric

Bargainfittings.com
Been looking for a good site to buy fittings for a while now. Thanks!

their stuff is great they ship fast and are easy to deal with

all the best

S_M

 

[Owly055]

I did not I got a nut and o-ring from Barginfittings the one they have you put the o-ring inside because the nut has a groove for the o-ring

you only tighten it hand tight and it seals


http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=95

I hear you leaks are a pain knock on wood this was the only one I have had




not a lot I had a bunch of 10/3 wire and got a couple PID gifted to me from a person at work

I did buy a SSVR kit from Auber Instruments could have got it cheaper from ebay but did not want to wait for a slow boat from China

and then if I had a problem ship it back

the box I used was a 6 x 6 x 4 plastic waterproof one that was 13 dollars, I did buy a spa panel that had a 60 amp GFCI breaker installed for 72 bucks

I had the 6/3 wire with a ground I needed to run to my sub panel, the 5500 watt element were 17 dollars a piece

I had all kind of connectors and 30 amp twist lock outlets and plugs, 30 amp switches

I am a network administrator/engineer at a manufacturer so the have lots of second hand stuff they will give to me if I need it

but 300 dollars sounds about right some of what I used was overkill but I had so I used it

all the best

S_M

It is bassakward to put the O-ring on the thread side. If the solid side (washer side) were to the inside, and the O-ring there, there would be no issue with the threads. You wouldn't need teflon tape to fill the threads under the O-ring to prevent wort from following the threads. This is a poorly thought out fitting system.

H.W.

 

[brew_ny]

It is bassakward to put the O-ring on the thread side. If the solid side (washer side) were to the inside, and the O-ring there, there would be no issue with the threads. You wouldn't need teflon tape to fill the threads under the O-ring to prevent wort from following the threads. This is a poorly thought out fitting system.

H.W.

it maybe a poor design but it works well in my setup

so I am all good with it thanks for your comment and insight

all the best

S_M

 

[kevreh]

So you went with this rheostat?: http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_30&products_id=353

I need to add one to my setup. I hear you on noise, so much stealthier, not to mention more energy efficient and not having to worry about having enough propane on brew day.

One thing about the auberins rheostat, how does it work since the ssvr is expecting dc voltage. The rheostat has no power in.

Any pics so far?

 

[brew_ny]

So you went with this rheostat?: http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_30&products_id=353

I need to add one to my setup. I hear you on noise, so much stealthier, not to mention more energy efficient and not having to worry about having enough propane on brew day.

One thing about the auberins rheostat, how does it work since the ssvr is expecting dc voltage. The rheostat has no power in.

Any pics so far?

that is the product I went with I love it have brewed about 100 gallons or so with the setup

SSRs are looking for voltage, SSVRs are controlled by resistance

so no voltage needed, I will take some photos of my controller it is very simple and works very well

it is great not having to think about do I have enough propane or not, it also as so much cheaper to brew

all the best

S_M

 

[kevreh]

Boy you've been pushing your setup to the limits with the number of batches you've down. Good to know its holding up.

I posted on the PJ design thread, but wondering how I could use this rheostat in conjunction with a pid. Maybe just add this ssvr downstream from my ssr thats controlled by the pid.

BTW, does the ssvr regulate the element with analog method (less power) or PWM?

Thanks...

 

[brew_ny]

I brew two time a week 22 gallon ( 2 ten gallon batches in the kegs) about every two weeks

if your PID does contact mode you can use your SSVR with it but it still needs rheostat

using a rheostat would be analog, but theirs is not linear to the dial

I will take some photos for you a bit

S_M