High Gravity EBC II and Brewers Edge II Controller, Can I do This?

[rodduley]

I am just getting my toes wet in electric brewing and have cobbled together a few items to get me started with my controllers. Some time ago I purchased an EBC II controller from High Gravity. It has a triac knob (infinite power) to control the boil but also can use a controller like a Brewers Edge II (this is what I have, think Johnson A419). My question is concerning the Brewers Edge II controller. It is not as precise as a PID controller but allows you to select your setpoint and the differential. The unit comes from the factory with a 5 degree differential default setting. It also allows for an Anti-Short Cycle Delay with a factory setting of one minute. These settings are designed to prevent excessive compressor wear when cooling. I am only using this unit to heat strike water in my HLT. The manual recommends not to set the differential below 3 due to concerns about the compressor. Since I am using it for heating only, is there a reason I couldn't set a tighter tolerance on all settings to be more precise? Any reasons/concerns not to do this? Eventually I would like to have PID control but this is what I have to work currently. One last question, I wonder if there is a possibility to incorporate PID control into the EBC II?
Any comments or thoughts are much appreciated.

 

[rodduley]

BUMP, I don't know if this was a dumb question but 50 views and no comments? I was just hoping someone with experience with these type of controllers would chime in.

 

[augiedoggy]

I know nothing of the brewers edge setups but I can fairly confidently state that most of the high gravity system owners are not going to be able to answer your question. If they could they would have built the exact same controller themselves for $100 or less vs spending 3 times that to have someone else assemble it..

You can use a pid controller to replace a Johnson or stc 1000 style thermostat controller that I know for sure you would likely need another enclosure (those enclosures the ebcII is made from are about $9 at home depot) actually you can get everything you need to build an "EBC II" from the home depot for about $50-75 except the SSVR , potentiometer and heatsink which will run you about $20 additional or in your case to build what you want you just swap the ssvr with a regular SSR and the potentiometer for a pid... you can get the auber pid EBC uses for $55 or so or buy another like the mypin TD4 which has the manual mode built in for about $30 so it works like the potentiometer knob you have now OR works in pid temp setpoint mode when in auto mode...

you can do this with the ebc unit you have as long as there is room to fit the pid in the case. However I read the high gravity uses epoxy to glue all the components in the case making the unit as cheap (and disposable) as possible instead of using screws so you might have a hard time.
I hope I didnt make this too confusing.

 

[rodduley]

augiedoggy, thanks for the reply. You truly are the champion for the little guy (build your own vs. overpaying someone else). I applaud your perspective. I actually got the EBC II off craigslist for $100 so I was happy with the ability to get into electric brewing right away and for the mean time I am able to use it to heat and boil. My original question was concerning the tolerance of the Johnson type controllers to be a little more precise with my strike water compared to what I know the precision of a PID controller. I actually have a small separate HERMS vessel (2 gal), with a 25 ft. coil, 2000w / 120v with a small PID controller that someone built for me that I plan on getting my precision for mash recirculation.. I just don't currently have the precision in my HLT. I would like to have PID control eventually in the HLT and just scrap the separate HERMS. That is why I posted this thread. I know a PID would not fit in the current EBC II enclosure but I would be intrigued by even a separate enclosure PID that works with the EBC II that would provide precision in the HLT. Any thought are welcome.