Electric Brewery's

[Scott H]

We spoke about creating a discussion so people who have or people who are thinking about and/or building can share pic's info and pitfalls to avoid.

Just about finished building my bench and hopefully will have a chance to start wiring it up this weekend. Pics to follow shortly.

[Barry]

Best place for RTD sensor to measure mash temp is where the recirculating wort re-enters your mash tun.

Mine's on the outlet of mash tun as per Kal's design which by all accounts works perfectly well, but the general consensus is that it should be on the inlet.

I bought the metal 2 gang boxes and plates, plus washers, o-rings, etc from Amazon following the affiliate links from theelectricbrewery.com. Pretty cheap and hassle free. You could definitely source locally but most of the trade type places that stock these things aren't open on weekends I've found, and the general hardware stores (Mitre 10/Bunnings/Placemakers) that have more convenient hours are next to useless.

[GFbeerGuy]

For some reason when looking at my order from Auber's i put down a weldless 2' prob opposed to the treaded one which Karl use's so this makes it pretty difficult to attach it to either the outlet or inlet section, thus anyideas where i could place it? i was thinking either under my false bottom or on the side and just make sure the outlet runs over the probe.

Yes i found that my local Mitre10 is near useless for anything so Amazon it is. Cheers!

[Barry]

hmmm, there might be someone else around building one of these systems who could take that sensor of your hands? Then you could order the NPT one.

I have both in my system, that weldless one through the wall of my kettle, and 2 NPT ones in T's on the outlet of HLT and MT. The NPT ones have to be the shortest ones (1.5" I think), even then they only just fit into a T.

[Scott H]

Maybe check in with you local stainless fittings shop/wholesaler maybe they have a adapter or can get one to make it it into a T.

[Brett Mason]

Starting to make progress again on my slow moving herms project.

Was planning to use one of those cheap hot water urns showing up on TM and the daily deal sites as my HLT. Turns out the element in the 48l one is a bit big to safely use on a standard 10 circuit. Its rated at 2500w@220V so draws ~2900w@240v. (My RCD wasn't too happy about it either). So in the process of getting my money back on that one. It would pay to ask what the element is rated at if you are thinking of getting one.

So... figure I might as well convert a keg for the HLT instead since it will be more flexible in the long run. Planning to roughly copy the Electric Brewery for the element installation & junction box. The controller will be a 30a STC-1000 with the standard probe jammed in a thermowell.

1. What are people using to drill their holes in kegs? Google makes it sound like drilling through stainless isn't easy. Will a standard step bit do the trick with the kegs being a thicker than a pot?
   
   
2. Any recommendations on a 2kw element? Currently thinking either a NZ hot water cylinder element or a 2kw Camco off ebay since thats the brand used by the Electric Brewery guys.

[Brett Mason]

Good points. Sounds like the ones are a goer. Does probably rule out welding anything in because of the funny threads but not too concerned with that.

[Peter Smith]

Going to clamp my urn next brew day to see the amps pulled, I did notice my 48L was quick to heat water...

[Kevin Sharp]

I'd advise against a step drill. Many people get away them , but my experience was 1) work harden the stainless 2) blunt the drill and 3) crack the kettle. Fortunately the crack was just small enough that I could recover the situation with a chassis punch. I got the punch from www.wilsonbros.co.nz and paid less for it than I did for the step drill ... and much less than a new kettle.

[Adam Sparks]

And I hold the chassis punch currently which I've used and need to drop back off to guy. I also own a punch suitable for half inch fittings if y'all need.

Brett... I actually have a 20l urn with a herms coil installed that I was about to list on trade me. I'll sell it to you for the cost of the parts if you like. Will get some photos together for you if your interested. It works well. Ramps about 1deg C per minute and the 2k element works just fine off 10amps. Uses the thermostat which came with the urn

[Peter Smith]

if anyone needs to bend 1/2 inch copper or stainless let me know have a pipe bender 

[Brett Mason]

OK, chassis punch it is. Didn't even think of cracking the metal.

Thanks for the offer Adam & Guy. I'm down in Dunners so I will see if anyone has one down here first off.

[James Millar]

I'm in the process of building a 40L electric HERMS brewery. Sorted out a brew table, stainless hardware etc, but the hardest bit thus far is the electronics.

I've put together a wiring diagram for my control box, largely based on theelectricbrewery.com. I'd welcome keener eyes than mine taking a look over it. I'll be getting a sparky to check everything before any power goes through, of course.

Brewery overview:
- Vessels: 2L dedicated HERMS kettle (modified 2200W domestic kettle), 60L HLT with 2200W element, 70L boil kettle with 5500W element, 70L mash tun with false bottom

- Pumps: March 809 & brown pump

- Control box: one 400x300x200 enclosure containing PIDs & SSRs, switches, buzzers, timer etc

- 32A power supply, with RCBO in mains box (sparky to wire up) - to L6-30 plug / L6-30R receptacle

Questions:

1. Can anyone see any problems with the wiring diagram I've designed/adapted? Like theelectricbrewery, I'm using a 3-way switch to control mechanical relays that direct power to either boil kettle (24A) or HERMS/HLT (10A + 10A), so all elements cannot run simultaneously and draw too much current.

2. Would these mechanical relays be suitable for switching the various SSRs?

3. Would 6mm^2 cable for the power plug (from 32A socket to control box) easily handle the current, and voltage drop across a 10 metre cable?

Any advice or critiques would be appreciated.

Cheers!