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Easing into Electric

 
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jdhurst




Joined: 03 Oct 2018
Posts: 1



PostLink    Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:18 am    Post subject: Easing into Electric Reply with quote


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I'm an all-grain brewer and I've been leveraging propane for a few years (10gal igloo MLT)

I've been inspired over the past few months to make the move to electric after reading the write-ups & testimonials shared across these forums. So thank you Kal for the tremendous write-ups & documenting everything...! And thank you to those of you who have shared your builds & breweries.

If my ultimate goal is a setup similar to the setup described in the write-ups by Kal (3 kettle system, pumps, 30a control panel, etc), what are the opportunities to ease into electric brewing without buying items that won't serve me long-term? Heat sticks come to mind as items that work in the short term but won't be as useful long-term. Cost is my main factor, presently, so I'm not able to make the plunge whole-hog, though I'm saving what I can until then. Cross
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to the forum!

We built our new online store specifically for people like yourself who wish to build their setup over time, piece-meal, as budget allows.

I would recommend buying parts as budget allows and building it yourself if cost is the main factor. You don't need to buy the entire 30A control panel kit all that once either: Start with the enclosure, heat sink, and maybe some of the front panel parts as listed in our build instructions. Then continue to add parts as budget allows. The benefit of doing it this way slowly too is that you'll learn a lot more, adding and wiring a few parts at a time.

See our new shop here: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/

List of parts is here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/parts-list-for-building
(These parts all link into our new shop)

You already have a setup that works today for brewing. I would continue to use that. Trying use a partially built setup or temporary stuff like heat sticks will change your process short term and cause (frankly) pain and confusion as it will be in constant flux and not the end goal you're after. Plus it's stuff you may not end up using long term which mean it's money spent for a temporary solution which isn't good is cost is the main factor.

Now that said, if you want to add a heating element to the boil kettle for boiling only, you can do that without a control panel if if your volume of beer is adequate for the element size: A 5500W heating element is good for boiling 8-20 gallons or so, or possibly more (depending on kettle configuration/insulation, ambient temperature, use of a kettle chimney, etc.). If boiling less, use the 4500W heating element instead.

If you use our ultra-low-watt-density (ULWD) that we recommend there will not be any problems with caramelization in the boil. See the heating elements here: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/collections/heating-elements
The worse thing that will happen is that you simply boil off too much water if the element is too powerful for the amount of wort. Once the control panel is ready you'll be able to dial down the power.

Note that if not using our control panel you should have a way to turn the heating element on/off. Plugging it in/unplugging it is not a safe way to turn it on/off as there is a large amount of current that runs through the element. You should really have some sort of switch that is meant to handle 240V/30A for both the 4500W or 5500W element. A simple way to do this is to use a sub-panel breaker box off the main breaker panel, located near where you're using the heating element so it's easy to turn on/off. You would use a 2-pole switch rated GFI 240V/30A breaker in this sub-panel breaker box as the switch to switch the 4500W or 5500W element on/off. (Some brewers do simply plug them in/out to turn the heating elements on/off, but I feel it best to let people know the proper safe way to do things whenever possible).

For heating to specific temperatures such as is done in the Hot Liquor Tank, there is no simple way to do this without a control panel of some sort. Turning the element on/off periodically to try and maintain a specific temperature is not only very difficult but will grow tiresome after a few minutes. Nobody would want to do this for hours. A manual dial type control (such as found on an electric stove) can't be used to maintain a specific temperature either. It has to be done with a feedback type system with a temperature probe as is done through our control panel.

As you build the control panel and get it working you can certainly use it for (say) boiling or similar while you work on replacing the other kettles (MLT and HLT).

Good luck!

Kal

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My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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wscottcross




Joined: 03 Jul 2015
Posts: 212
Location: CT

Drinking: Launch IPA, Double Sunshine clone, Maple Coffee breakfast stout

Working on: expanding my beer horizons (and my beltline)


PostLink    Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jdhurst, I did exactly what you described. At first I bought a simple controller, but it didn't work and I was able to get a refund for it. Then I searched and found plans for building my own simple controller with a single PID, one temperature probe and one SSR/heatsink. It worked for me for about a year while I was building the control panel and building out the basement brewery. Most of the components can be re-used if you plan it carefully. There is one example of a temporary setup here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-brewing-system/
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Kal clone controller, 30 gallon Spike Brewing kettles, 6 tap keezer
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