Jimbo's Electric Conversion

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Jimbo
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Due51 wrote:
Jimbo wrote:+1 Belly. Never connect N to G. Neutral is neutral and ground is ground.

Elroy, yes you can run the same controller and element at 110V. lots of folks here do. You will get 1375 watts max, not 5500 tho.
What if I only have 3 wires TOTAL in my line (2 hot black and a bare neutral)?
In a 240 system hot1 hot2 to the element, ground to the box and keg.

In a 120, Hot and N to the element and ground to the box and keg.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by bellybuster »

the 2 wire 220v (2 hot and ground) is an old system and the ground was indeed used to carry current back as a neutral. This is no longer acceptable and for good reason. Fire and electrocution.
That system is only good for 220volt and cannot be split off into 110volt circuits without running a neutral. (or spending allot of money on a step-down Transformer)

I am not an electrician on home wiring.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by bellybuster »

Jimbo, posted same time as you. He only has the 2 hot wires and no neutral.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

he doesnt need neutral. 2 hots to the keg, ground to ground everywhere
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Due51 »

Jimbo wrote:he doesnt need neutral. 2 hots to the keg, ground to ground everywhere
Thank you for the info. Can I still run a fan and an on/off switch off 1 hot leg and the neutral like you did in your diagram?
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Sure. Hot to N makes 120 to power the 12v transformer.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by bellybuster »

Jimbo wrote:he doesnt need neutral. 2 hots to the keg, ground to ground everywhere
Haha, ya I get that but he wants a 110 plug in as well in the same box.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by bellybuster »

Ok, had to go back and see who is who...

You have only 2 hots and a bare ground wire, you cannot pull 110 off that without a neutral which the bare wire is not.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Giner »

CONTROLLER BOX.jpg
Thank you everyone for answering my questions. Of course you were all right. This is the proper answer in a lump. (I also consulted an electrician family member last night just because I found out he was in town). Hopefully this clears things up for any nonelectrical engineers like myself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you only want one plug you can use a 4 prong dryer outlet and only use the neutral for the 110 outlet with one hot leg. Ground goes to everything else 220.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by sambedded »

Giner,
keep it simple, you don't need 2 controllers. one controller for first element and simple switch / breaker for second will be enough.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by bellybuster »

too many conversations going at the same time. The poster i was referring to only has 2 hot legs and a ground... no neutral. DUE51 I think.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Due51 »

I got my SCR in the mail today and am thinking about how I'll mount this in the box. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, I'm concerned about the weight of the SCR hanging on the stem of the control knob. It is quite frail and just holding the SCR by the stem causes the rest of the unit to sag under its own weight.

I've re - read the whole thread again tonight because I want to make sure I understand that I CANNOT use 1 hot leg and my bare ground wire to generate 120V for a fan because I don't technically have a neutral (I have 3 wires total: 2 hot black and 1 bare aluminum strand ground). Correct?
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by tickle »

acfixer69 wrote:
Jimbo wrote:Whatever I bought it threads on slick as snot. I doubt they are different
Not looking for argument at all. I was noting the couplings not your nuts. :esurprised: :esurprised: :esurprised:

AC
LOL! AC, quit checking out his nuts! :lol:
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Giner »

Due51 wrote:I got my SCR in the mail today and am thinking about how I'll mount this in the box. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, I'm concerned about the weight of the SCR hanging on the stem of the control knob. It is quite frail and just holding the SCR by the stem causes the rest of the unit to sag under its own weight.

I've re - read the whole thread again tonight because I want to make sure I understand that I CANNOT use 1 hot leg and my bare ground wire to generate 120V for a fan because I don't technically have a neutral (I have 3 wires total: 2 hot black and 1 bare aluminum strand ground). Correct?

If you switch to a 4 wire plug you can use the neutral. You will want to make sure your outlet is properly wired to the neutral bus. If using Jimbo's diagram, the neutral can go to the 4th wire. Otherwise you will want to mount your controller like Jimbo did and send a 4th stand alone wire back to the neutral bus.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by acfixer69 »

tickle wrote:
acfixer69 wrote:
Jimbo wrote:Whatever I bought it threads on slick as snot. I doubt they are different
Not looking for argument at all. I was noting the couplings not your nuts. :esurprised: :esurprised: :esurprised:

AC
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Due51 »

I finally got everything installed and powered up. The SCR works well so far with excellent control and reaction. I'm doing a stripping run with 5 gallons of Birdwatchers sugar wash through my unpacked Boka. I have a nice flow from the discharge tube and cool water from the condenser tube. So far, si good. Thanks everybody.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Due51 wrote:I finally got everything installed and powered up. The SCR works well so far with excellent control and reaction. I'm doing a stripping run with 5 gallons of Birdwatchers sugar wash through my unpacked Boka. I have a nice flow from the discharge tube and cool water from the condenser tube. So far, si good. Thanks everybody.
:clap: excellent congrats
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Due51 »

Jimbo wrote:
Due51 wrote:I finally got everything installed and powered up. The SCR works well so far with excellent control and reaction. I'm doing a stripping run with 5 gallons of Birdwatchers sugar wash through my unpacked Boka. I have a nice flow from the discharge tube and cool water from the condenser tube. So far, si good. Thanks everybody.
:clap: excellent congrats
Can't thank you enough for the info and pics.

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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by buflowing »

Well Jimbo, been thinking about you recently. You see, I've a couple of buckets of mash sitting around waiting to be run. And you know what? I've got a propane fired rig. And I'm in Michigan. And it's cold as a witches tit, both outside and in my garage. I seriously don't know when I'm going to run again. And I know you are not too far away and it's likely as cold as it is here. And you used to cook with gas as well, probably outside in the garage like I do. And now, I'm jealous. You've gone electric and are cooking in the basement. Where it's warm, and dry, and probably not as dirty.

It's time to join the ranks. Gotta get my keg electrified. I'll be reading this thread and others to see what I need to do, as well as what I can do with what I have. And planning my summer sailing adventures to get my mind off this numbing cold.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

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buflowing wrote:Well Jimbo, been thinking about you recently. You see, I've a couple of buckets of mash sitting around waiting to be run. And you know what? I've got a propane fired rig. And I'm in Michigan. And it's cold as a witches tit, both outside and in my garage. I seriously don't know when I'm going to run again. And I know you are not too far away and it's likely as cold as it is here. And you used to cook with gas as well, probably outside in the garage like I do. And now, I'm jealous. You've gone electric and are cooking in the basement. Where it's warm, and dry, and probably not as dirty.

It's time to join the ranks. Gotta get my keg electrified. I'll be reading this thread and others to see what I need to do, as well as what I can do with what I have. And planning my summer sailing adventures to get my mind off this numbing cold.
haha, yes, basement is pretty much 66-68 all year. LOL, woops not gloating. You know, you could put a vent fan in and use propane in the basement, until you get around to the electric build. Ive always cooked in the basement, with ventilation.
cold.jpg
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by buflowing »

Titillating.

Now I need to get reading to find out what I can run off a 30 amp dryer circuit.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Halfbaked »

Most don't go over 5500w or 6000w and your 30 amp will do either.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by himesrun »

Hey Jimbo. I'm going to copy your controller and could use a wiring diagram. I'm just gathering parts for now. Any way you draw up and post one?
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

himesrun, I posted one in this thread. couple pages down.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by himesrun »

Thanks Jimbo, every time I get to the "NPT" discussion I usually skip a couple of pages and that's where it was.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Due51 »

halfbaked wrote:Most don't go over 5500w or 6000w and your 30 amp will do either.
I have a 15 gallon keg and boil 10 gallons max at time. I installed a 5500watt camco ulwd element and it'll heat up 10 gallons in no time. I'd venture to say it's a little overkill if 10 gallons is the most you're going to bring to a boil.

Also - Buflowing, I'm in Michigan too. Convert to electric. Sitting in the garage in this weather sucks. Doing it in the basement is quite enjoyable when it 0 outside.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by The KYChemist »

I've got a question, or two. I know... You're all thinking "Oh, no." I really would like to put an ammeter, and voltmeter, on my controller box. I read about the blue chinese ones, which is what i was planning on using, before I even read this thread. Seems, they don't give accurate readings. I read all about why, a few pages back, but its still like reading Greek, to me. I'm not the most electrically inclined person, but have been learning. Seems the problem lies with the meters, themselves, and what they are calibrated to read. So, would these be acceptable to use?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110951281361?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120985523453?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I figure, by using the analog meters, you wouldn't have the same problem as the digital ones. I was also thinking the problem may lie with the controller. From what I've read, most use the ssr set-up, where you have to buy fifty different pieces. I preferred the all-inclusiveness of Jimbo's scr controller set-up. I haven't been able to find much on it, but have the ssr people had the same problem, with the digital meters, as Jimbo did?
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by bellybuster »

personally, if buying Chinese I would go with an amp meter that uses a shunt. I just find the connections on those to be pretty wimpy for pass thru. That's allot of amps going thru there. That's my feeling but both those gauges should do the trick.

On the flip side. you really only need measure one, amps or volts. Either will give you what you need. I have both and don't even notice the volts side. Mine is digital. It has been said you don't need either and its true. A mark on the dial is all you need but I like shiny things.

As far as the accuracy it really doesn't matter as long as it is consistent.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Im switching to analog meters. Just a lot more convenient to look at a needle, and Ill put ink dots on the lens where 2,3,4,5 and 5.5 KW are. Old school retro look is cool too.

As far as True RMS or average, I assume the analog meters will have the same problem. Yes SSR and SCR's both chop the waveform the same way, so the same problem exists with both.
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Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by The KYChemist »

Jimbo wrote:Im switching to analog meters. Just a lot more convenient to look at a needle, and Ill put ink dots on the lens where 2,3,4,5 and 5.5 KW are. Old school retro look is cool too.

As far as True RMS or average, I assume the analog meters will have the same problem. Yes SSR and SCR's both chop the waveform the same way, so the same problem exists with both.
Hmmm... Well, that's dissapointing. Anyway to rectify this, so the gauges read true? Or, is it one of those "live with it" situations?
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