Jimbo's Electric Conversion

If it plugs in, post it here.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Tired of buying propane, and freezing in the winter with the door open, so after much research here on HD and at HomeBrewTalk Forums where there's a lot of electric brewers I made the leap. When Im stillin I like to double up and do a second something to make best use of my time. Either a beer, or heating water to start the next batch of whatever Im making. So I needed a double setup. And being the impatient sort I wanted lots of power to get things up to temp fast.

I settled on 2 Camco 5500W elements. http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02963-Screw ... acmo+5500w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Not only are they high power, but these have an added benefit of being Ultra Low Watt Density. That means the element is very long, an S curve that doubles back on itself, so the watts per centimeter density is low. That is good to avoid scorching any solids suspended in the wash. To mount these I went with stainless nuts. http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Fitting ... d_sim_hi_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Initially I intended to silver solder these to the outside of the kegs, but that didnt work out too good, they slide around too much. Since the Camco element shanks are long enough to reach through the keg, I hammered a flat on the keg for the nut and element flange to sit flat, and used a step bit to drill the inch and whatever size hole. These bits are 17 bucks for a 2 pack, large and small, at Harbor Freight. It was easy to reach in and tighten the nut on the keggle since the top is cut out. It was damn tricky in the still. i ended up using a couple dabs of hotmelt gluestick. Nontoxic and benign stuff, I chewed a bit and it was flavorless. I presssed the nut into the glue, using my finger reaching up into the hole, then used a torch to the outside to reflow the glue again to be sure the nut came down flush to the keg. For seals I used the ones that came with the elements, on the outside of the keg up against the element flange to avoid any contact with the hooch. The elements sit at the 3 gallon mark in the kegs. So minimum run size is around 5 gal.

The controllers are 10,000W SCR's. 20 bucks ea on fleabay shipped from HongKong. http://www.ebay.com/itm/10000W-220v-Adj ... 2c7271bb5a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow They seem to work great, adjusting voltage from 0 to 240 as expected. The heatsink only got slightly warm across differnet power settings.

The box I mounted it all in was srounged out of the scrap bin at work. I mounted a 12V computer fan, powered by a simple wall wart power supply zip tied inside the box, The air is directed through the heatsink fins with exhaust holes drilled on the opposite side.

The elements will draw close to 30A each at full tilt, so power comes from a dedicated 60A breaker on 240V, via 8/3 wire to the box and 10/3 wire to each element. A female twist lock connector is on the hot side of each feed. The wire nuts that break out the mains into each controller are not your standard wire nuts. Those have a brass insert with threaded splice to tighten down all wires together with a screwdriver (like a bussbar), then the brass insert threads into the plastic wirenut shell. Very heavy duty.

Well, thats enough yak, the pictures tell the rest. Holler if you have any questions. I test drove each side into 5 gallons cold water. At full power it didnt take any time to bring the water to a boil (I didnt time it, but it was fast).
Stuff.JPG
ControllerInside.JPG
KegWiring.JPG
ControllerMounted.JPG
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
S-Cackalacky
retired
Posts: 5990
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:35 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by S-Cackalacky »

Jimbo, good on you man - glad it all worked out. Be doin' some powerful stillin' now.

I use that same controller on 110VAC. It's been dependable and works great.

S-C
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
User avatar
acfixer69
Global moderator
Posts: 4826
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:34 pm
Location: CT USA

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by acfixer69 »

Jimbo
Your going to love the control and reaction time on electric :thumbup:
AC
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Thanks! Cant wait to try it out on some wheat thats just finishing up. Couple things left to do on this, need safety boxes over the elements and will mount up a couple ammeters, or powermeters in the space on the right I saved for that. A master emergnency kill switch might be good too. Having a hard time finding a 60A double pole switch tho. Prolly need to do it with a relay.
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
Jkhippie
Swill Maker
Posts: 408
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:58 pm
Location: Pembroke, NC

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jkhippie »

Wow. That's enough beef to make a vegan sweat!

Lemme see if I have this right, though. You dropped your nut into the keg, fished it over to the hole, held it with glue while you scewed the element in from the outside? Am I reading that right? I ask 'cause I have the same exact nut and a hole in my keg and I was thinking I'd solder it.
The Partridge Family were neither partridges nor a family.

If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, there's been a breach in the Duck Containment Facility.
User avatar
S-Cackalacky
retired
Posts: 5990
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:35 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by S-Cackalacky »

Jimbo, didn't see a ground to your keg. It's important that it be grounded.

I didn't use a box to enclose my wiring on the element. I fashioned a coil from a wire coat hanger that wraps around the electrical cable. I made sure the exposed wiring was well insulated to prevent contact with the wire coil and then wrapped the whole thing with rubber electrical insulation tape. It's a rubber tape that binds to itself - NOT the regular plastic electrical tape. The wire coil helps eliminate stress on the wiring.

S-C

Edit: Never mind, I think I see your ground connected to the bottom skirt.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
woodshed
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2970
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:21 pm
Location: Pagosa Springs,CO

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by woodshed »

Nice work Jimbo. The fine tune ability of electric is great. Can't wait to find out how it works for you.
User avatar
Halfbaked
retired
Posts: 3398
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:51 pm

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Halfbaked »

Great job Jimbo. Glad to see and hear about it. Are you doing your keggle also? You gotta tell how you like it when you use it. Id like to hear your take on your keggle also if you are doing it. Can't wait to hear how you like it!!!!!!!!!
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Baked, ya I did them both, still and keggle. Can run them both with this setup. With both at full tilt it will be suckin nearly 60A. Lucky draw that my brew room is in the corner of the basement at the breaker box.

JK, ya I dropped the nut inside and fished it over. Actually had to file a little lip off inside the neck first to get the nut to fit inside. Then a dab of kids hotmelt gluestick to hold it in place while I carefully threaded the element in. That was after 2 hours of other failed attempts haha.

Cack, thanks for the cable strain relief idea. yes, there's a ground lug screwed to the skirt of the keg.

Woodshed, I made a little cheat sheet, voltage to wattage conversion. I got some white rub off lettering. Ill calibrate the scale on the knobs with marks for 1000W, 2000W etc. up to 5500W. It will take a couple runs to dial in stripper heat and spirit run heat.
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

OK you said ask questions , I have a question. First I don't know anything about electricity so be patient. I don't like the price of propane either but, I see all these numbers , 5000 watts , 60 amp breakers. I don't understand how that much electricity can be cheaper than propane. I run 1, 300 watt T5 grow light for 3 months and 2, 150 watt heating blankets in the winter starting my pepper plants. ( I grow exotic peppers too) and it raises my electric bill $30 dollars a month . Now these are cycling on and off so they are not using constant electricity. That is only 600 watts total. A 1000 watt HPS light costs about $60 dollars a month all by itself.
I am starting my new still right now and am looking for efficient power sources and if electricity is a lot cheaper than propane I would go with it . I just don't want my power bill to double. I get my propane for right at $3.00 a gallon. My new still will have an 18 gallon boiler. My old still is 8.5 gallons and I use a 20,000 btu burner to run it. It runs on a low pressure high volume regulator and will go from 60 degrees to boil on a 8% mash in about 55 minuets. I can do 5 stripping runs on a 5 gallon tank, that is about 4 dollars a run. If I run it with a high pressure regulator it will get there in about 20 minuets,but I only get 3 runs as the initial heat up uses a lot of propane then I cut it down while I run. So I am looking for the most efficient way to bring 15 gallons up to temperature in a reasonable time and at a reasonable price. My Main breaker at my house is only 100 amps so that 60 amp breaker would use almost all my capacity.
So what does it cost you to run a 5000 watt heater for a full stripping run? I can build a lot of things but electricity is a foreign language to me.
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Corene,

Electricity is cheap, compared to propane. Its about 16 cents a kilowatthour. Thats 1000W for an hour. A stripper of 13 gallons shouldnt take all 5500W, that would be a raging boil. Someone on here said they got 10g up to a boil in 8 minutes with 5500W. So 5500W to get it up to temp in a few minutes then dial it back. Lets say 2500W avg for 3 hours. Thats 7.5 KWh. Thats $1.20

Your grow lights cost a lot because theyre on for several hours every day. 1000W for 10 hours a day for 30 days is 300 KWh. Thats $48 at 0.16 per KWh.

Jimbo
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

Jimbo wrote:Corene,

Electricity is cheap, compared to propane. Its about 16 cents a kilowatthour. Thats 1000W for an hour. A stripper of 13 gallons shouldnt take all 5500W, that would be a raging boil. Someone on here said they got 10g up to a boil in 8 minutes with 5500W. So 5500W to get it up to temp in a few minutes then dial it back. Lets say 2500W avg for 3 hours. Thats 7.5 KWh. Thats $1.20

Your grow lights cost a lot because theyre on for several hours every day. 1000W for 10 hours a day for 30 days is 300 KWh. Thats $48 at 0.16 per KWh.

Jimbo

Sounds good to me , but what about power. I have a 100 amp main breaker for the house. My dryer and AC runs on 220 so I know there is 220 to the house . I am guessing I would have to run a separate power source to my shed to run the still. UGGGGG! I can foresee more long nights of reading. Hey we have 440 three phase at the shop maybe I will set up there . I'll just tell them it is a humidifier! :D Thanks Jimbo!
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

You could run a 30A breaker to one of these big elements, on a 100A service, no problem. Even with the A/C and your dryer going. But getting that out to your shed wont be cheap. Heavy gauge wire is damned expensive. 8/3 wire is $2.50 a foot. My controller box is 1 foot away from the main breaker panel :) The box was full, but there was a 30A breaker for the dryer, and my dryer is gas. So I yanked that one out, and popped in a 60A to feed my controllers.
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
woodshed
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2970
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:21 pm
Location: Pagosa Springs,CO

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by woodshed »

Corene1, you can easily run an 18 gal boiler off of one 5500W element and never breach 30 amps.
More like 22 for start up and 17- 19 for run.
greybeard_biker
Novice
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 11:17 am

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by greybeard_biker »

there is always the possiblity of a generator? I know my biggest one can handle close to 12,000 watts. I found it dirt cheap from a guy 2 months behind on his house, my biggest reason when I bought it, was it also is a welder. just a thought for high power loads, it might be cheaper to run gasoline to produce electricity than to buy the electricity from the power company.

however it is noisy, & burns slightly over 1 gallon an hour of gas. book says 1.2 gallons an hour under full load. one of my friends powered his garage with a smaller generator welder for years, & had plain old orange extension cord for a 800' run from his house to his shop for his lighting & a few small hand tools, but used the genny for everything else. he finally hooked up a meter this year. he actually rigged up the extension cord into his breaker box & had it running 220, & had 2 seperate 110 circuits. 1 was for all the lights, the other he used for tools, or his tiny compressor.

the 8/3 wire your running is under sized for a 60 amp breaker, just commenting. also what size is your ground on that 8 gauge, some has a 10 gauge ground, with 8 gauge insulated wires. technically you shouldn't have over a 40 amp breaker on that. just saying incase of a fire, & a fire marshal comes investigating. not to mention what you have it hooked to.

also as a side note, if your having problems affording the wire, dont be scared to run a single wire to shed, its cheaper for 110, or 2 wires for 220, & use neutral & ground to a bar driven into the ground. many old farm sheds have 1 wire from house to them, & a mini junction boox serving as a breaker, & ground & neutral hooked up basically what is in house, but in smaller scale, & I am not going to discuss the legalities of this, but it can be done safe.
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

Thanks everyone. We have an electrician that does work at our shop and I will hit him up on wiring the boxes and breaker if I get them all set up and wires ran to the final hookup spot. I would have to make a 30 foot run from my main breaker panel to my shed. I think I have the wire covered as we have a bunch of old machines out back at work and they were all wired to 220 3 phase hookups and twist lock plugs. I will have to check wire size on them when we go back to work Monday. If I remember right the total OD of the wire housing is about 3/4 ths of an inch so the wire must be pretty heavy. I could always run a wiring conduit and run covered single strand wire also.
F6Hawk
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 803
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:43 am

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by F6Hawk »

Jimbo wrote:Corene,

Electricity is cheap, compared to propane. Its about 16 cents a kilowatthour. Thats 1000W for an hour. A stripper of 13 gallons shouldnt take all 5500W, that would be a raging boil. Someone on here said they got 10g up to a boil in 8 minutes with 5500W. So 5500W to get it up to temp in a few minutes then dial it back. Lets say 2500W avg for 3 hours. Thats 7.5 KWh. Thats $1.20

Your grow lights cost a lot because theyre on for several hours every day. 1000W for 10 hours a day for 30 days is 300 KWh. Thats $48 at 0.16 per KWh.

Jimbo
16¢ per KWh where YOU live. Varies, of course, by region. I've paid 22¢ before.

Currently it's .0778¢ for me. So say you used 5000W during heat-up of 10 mins, then 2000W for 2 hours during the run, you'd pay: 5 X .0778 ÷ 6 = 6.5¢ to heat up and 2 X .0778 X 2 = 31¢, or 37.5¢ for the run. Using your rate of 16¢ per KWh, that would be a tad over 77¢.

Just to give Corene an example. I dunno if 2000W for 2 hours is what it takes to make a run, just made those numbers up to get an idea of cost.
User avatar
Halfbaked
retired
Posts: 3398
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:51 pm

Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Halfbaked »

Corene there is no need to hit your electrician friend up to rewire your place. Use your dryer plug. Its 30 amps.
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Thanks Greybeard for the warning. After readign that I did some more math. I bought a 60A after seeing a comment from someone that 20A wasnt enough for 1 element and need a 30A. But,.... these things draw 23A full tilt. So I shoudl have got a 50A breaker. The controller box is mounted right next to the breaker panel, so that stretch of 8/3 is only 4 feet long. Nonetheless, I hadnt thought about fire marshal hell. I could drop a 50A in there and let it ride, or put a 40 in and make sure both elements arent roaring together. Could a 50A on 4 foot stretch of 8/3 cause me insurance concern if something were to happen?
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

halfbaked wrote:Corene there is no need to hit your electrician friend up to rewire your place. Use your dryer plug. Its 30 amps.
Thanks, but I can't do that , the dryer is in the house, and the shed is outside. I did do a lot of reading last night and I don't think it would be a problem to do a dedicated circuit. I checked my fuse box and there is 1 open slot on the 220 side and 4 open spots on the 110 side so I think I will just run a circuit to my shed and I can also break off a 110 outlet from it also. That way I could get my grow lights and heating pads off the house circuit. I might even run a small sub panel to the shed. I haven't had any problems but why risk overloading the house circuit. The parts for converting aren't very expensive either. Jimbo's heating element and controller were under $50 dollars a new propane burner is more than that . This is going to be a good project. I think I will keep my little still intact, and just build a completely new still. I was going to use parts from it to negate some of the costs but this way I will have my little still to do small runs and to do small spirit runs also. I still have a lot more reading and planning to do though. Thanks again to everyone!
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

[quote="Jimbo"]Tired of buying propane, and freezing in the winter with the door open, so after much research here on HD and at HomeBrewTalk Forums where there's a lot of electric brewers I made the leap. When Im stillin I like to double up and do a second something to make best use of my time. Either a beer, or heating water to start the next batch of whatever Im making. So I needed a double setup. And being the impatient sort I wanted lots of power to get things up to temp fast.

I settled on 2 Camco 5500W elements. http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02963-Screw ... acmo+5500w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Not only are they high power, but these have an added benefit of being Ultra Low Watt Density. That means the element is very long, an S curve that doubles back on itself, so the watts per centimeter density is low. That is good to avoid scorching any solids suspended in the wash. To mount these I went with stainless nuts. http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Fitting ... d_sim_hi_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Initially I intended to silver solder these to the outside of the kegs, but that didnt work out too good, they slide around too much. Since the Camco element shanks are long enough to reach through the keg, I hammered a flat on the keg for the nut and element flange to sit flat, and used a step bit to drill the inch and whatever size hole. These bits are 17 bucks for a 2 pack, large and small, at Harbor Freight. It was easy to reach in and tighten the nut on the keggle since the top is cut out. It was damn tricky in the still. i ended up using a couple dabs of hotmelt gluestick. Nontoxic and benign stuff, I chewed a bit and it was flavorless. I presssed the nut into the glue, using my finger reaching up into the hole, then used a torch to the outside to reflow the glue again to be sure the nut came down flush to the keg. For seals I used the ones that came with the elements, on the outside of the keg up against the element flange to avoid any contact with the hooch. The elements sit at the 3 gallon mark in the kegs. So minimum run size is around 5 gal.



Here is another question. If you made a cylindrical perforated stainless screen, maybe 2 inches in diameter, to cover the element would that help protect it from suspended particles?
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

Sorry Jimbo, I stole your post. I am starting another one for my project. You have gotten me all excited to go electric with my new build . I have read most of the night and spent at least an hour looking at electrical stuff at H depot. Talked with an electrician there and he gave me some advice . I really like your setup and Thanks for the info.
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Seems plausible. But these ultra low watt density elements spread the heat out pretty good so not sure how big of an issue it is. The thickest thing I ever run is a fresh squeezed wash and that suspended yeast will make it through any screen. If you wanted to try that to run a fruit solids wash Id be damn curious to know if it worked or not. I got a double boiler coming together for that purpose, but the element is on the wrong side of the tank for that scenario now. LOL.

you didnt steal my post. I write these so we can have open conversation about it, its all good. it be boring if no one commented. LOL you got the bug, I know how you feel. its all about the journey isint it. Im always a little upset when a project finishes and get antsy lookin for another. :)
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
Halfbaked
retired
Posts: 3398
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:51 pm

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Halfbaked »

So if Corene isn't stealing your thread maybe I will. Sorry in advance. On your double boiler why not use your still boiler as your boiler and use a thump keg to do on fruit or use only your clearest fruit in the boiler and dirty in the thump? Your element is on the right side for a thump. Sorry again for not staying on topic of your build
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Jimbo »

Double boiler is done. here's a pic. my 1/4 barrel slim spirit still fits inside the electrified keggle. Right now I have it sittin on 2x4 standoffs to keep it off the burner for the picture. Ill fabricate a stand out of angle iron to keep the slim a couple inches above the element. the slim 1/4 is 7.75gal, so I should be able to doo goopy 5 gallon plum and peach slurries now. :)
DoubleBoiler.JPG
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
Halfbaked
retired
Posts: 3398
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:51 pm

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by Halfbaked »

Not what I was thinking but I like it. You cant leave us hanging on how you like all this xmas stuff when you get to run it.
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

Jimbo wrote:Double boiler is done. here's a pic. my 1/4 barrel slim spirit still fits inside the electrified keggle. Right now I have it sittin on 2x4 standoffs to keep it off the burner for the picture. Ill fabricate a stand out of angle iron to keep the slim a couple inches above the element. the slim 1/4 is 7.75gal, so I should be able to doo goopy 5 gallon plum and peach slurries now. :)
DoubleBoiler.JPG

That is a really good idea. :clap: I think I will incorporate that same technique on my new still. I will be doing some fruit this summer too. Lots of apricots, cherries and plums around here in the spring and apples in the fall. Plus it is very space efficient.
User avatar
corene1
HD Distilling Goddess
Posts: 3045
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:05 pm
Location: The western Valley

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by corene1 »

By the way I went down to the shop today and there is 60 foot of 8-4 copper cable. I think it will work fine. Is there a difference in stranded cable versus solid core cable as far as it's ability to carry current?
PB290037.JPG
User avatar
humbledore
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 898
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:12 pm
Location: The third coast

Post by humbledore »

This is a well done, well thought out build. I like that double boiler idea too. Lots of good stuff here Jimbo, thanks for posting. I hoped to do an electric build soon so I can be indoors. On the beer side though I do hope you have some good venting when you go to boil wort down, lots of humidity going into the air.
singlemaltluv
Novice
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:46 am

Re: Jimbo's Electric Conversion

Post by singlemaltluv »

Jimbo wrote:You could run a 30A breaker to one of these big elements, on a 100A service, no problem. Even with the A/C and your dryer going. But getting that out to your shed wont be cheap. Heavy gauge wire is damned expensive. 8/3 wire is $2.50 a foot. My controller box is 1 foot away from the main breaker panel :) The box was full, but there was a 30A breaker for the dryer, and my dryer is gas. So I yanked that one out, and popped in a 60A to feed my controllers.
Jimbo I've done just that. A friend of mine who happen to be an electrician and who also happen to owe me a favor, installed a junction box off of my main box. I think that the wire that we pulled which was a heavy gauge was either 8/3 or bigger I have to look still have over 20 feet left. A 60A breaker was installed here. From there we ran the same wire to another junction box located in my shed. From here is were I will install all of my other breaker including an 60A GFI breaker to run my kettle off of. :thumbup:
Last edited by singlemaltluv on Sat Nov 30, 2013 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply