Going to Electric! HELP!!

[MarcoF]

200mA will kill you stone dead !

You can not really measure your body resistance with a 10$ multimeter, but you can try.

Better not try too hard: someone earned himself a Darwin Award (http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-50.html) for that...

Seriously though: an RCD/GCFI/Fehlerstromschutzeinrichtung or whatever you like to call it is a must, and as early in the circuit as possible. And they're not that expensive: 35$-ish.

[zapata]

However, the burden of my original point was that few fatalities occur from healthy adults "Getting electrocuted" by normal mains voltages, and RCDs could be a potential pain if the apparatus was used infrequently.

This just flat out isn't true in the context of this thread. Hundreds if not thousands of distillers and homebrewers are using immersion elements protected by GFCI circuit breakers and virtually nobody is reporting any problems. Troll through electric brewery sites and threads and you will see an overwhelming support of GFCI breakers, and few to no complaints other than cost. Maybe this is a problem with UK specific RCD's and "cookers" (is that what we call a hotplate?). But an immersion element simply doesn't leak power whether used infrequently or daily. Almost every hotplate used in the US will be used in a kitchen, and kitchen counter outlets have all been GFCI for the last 20 years. For whatever reason this also just doesn't seem to be a problem here.

I also enthusiastically reject counting on any sort of "it'll throw you off if it shocks you" safety approach. What if your coolant line bursts leaving you laying in a puddle while your still and puddle is energized? Where you gonna get thrown to if you're standing/flopping around in an energized puddle? Does getting "thrown" and cracking your head open suck any less than being fried? If you are thrown and knocked unconscious isn't your still now dangerously unattended at a time when it most needs attention?

In the states we are talking about as little as $65 for a spa panel for 240V GFCI pro and zero inconvenience. In fact the spa panel adds convenience because it makes a convenient master switch which is missing from most simple power controllers.

Choosing to take a risk is one thing. Weighing risk against the cost of it's mitigation in different markets is also reasonable. But I think overstating the inconvenience and understating the risk of human+water+electricity borders on dangerous. Especially in a thread where the stated goal is increased safety.

Since the first introduction of GFCIs in homes, there has been an:

83% drop in electrocutions
95% drop in electrocutions caused by consumer products.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that:

47% of current electrocutions could be prevented with proper GFCI protection

https://www.esfi.org/resource/ground-fa ... e-1973-614" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Pikey]

..........Personally I would not use GFCI / RCD on a still element, but if you do, just be aware that if it trips and you have not used it for a while, it may not be a "real" fault at all !

I would ensure the still casing had a proper path to earth - even a metal rod hammered into the ground and a simple wire connected to it if your lead does not have an "earth" - although very few people are killed by mains electric - even here in UK where "mains" is 240 v as standard, because of the application of Ohms LAw - You are not going to become a conductor for 5Kw - because the resistance of the human body is normally in Megohms ! - Try it with a multimeter - just hold a probe in each hand and measure your resistance ! That slows down the Amperage a fair bit ! Yes it will "Bite You" but also being AC it will "Throw you off" at the same time.

NOTE - I am NOT saying, and never did so - "don't earth your still case" - that is essential on any metal cased appliance. It will conduct any leakage away to earth without any danger. What practical advantage is a Ground leakage trip over a good earth ?

I just measured my resitance. It started At 17 Megohms, and dropped over a minute or two to 11 Megohms, so clearly there is some capacitance as well, but even at 11 megohms (11,000,000 ohms ) that is pretty high resistance, and a very, very low amperage.

.....................And yes, I could see that being a nuisance. I actually run my spare freezer off a short extension cord to a non-GFCI circuit just so it doesn't thaw out if there is a nuisance trip.

To my mind, something far more sinister will be shown by holding the two probes of an oscilloscope - one in each hand and investigating the signal produced ! - Try it if you get access to one ! - Scary stuff !

What did your "Googling" find out about that one ?

[shadylane]

I was in the same boat a couple weeks ago as I am building my new still and will be going electric. I spent a lot of time reading here on the forum.
These are a couple threads that were instrumental for me when considering my parts list and wiring.

viewtopic.php?f=85&t=62655&hilit=heater

viewtopic.php?f=85&t=44557&hilit=controller

This is what I came up with and built including my parts list.

Here is a breakdown of all the parts.

I used this SCR controller. I bought 2 so I have a spare.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/AC110V-220V-10 ... 3432913042" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This dial face for the above controller. This wasn't needed but i thought it added a finished touch to the enclosure.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M9GZIC1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This NMEA enclosure. I could have gone cheaper but I wanted one that was rugged with plenty of room inside:
tps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OG1X7K4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I used this circuit breaker as the power switch. I could have used a simple 220v 30a wall type switch but I wanted something a bit more robust:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013SWPSY4/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

These rails to mount the above breaker in the box. I cut the rail to fit the box and used standoffs and long screws to mount the rail so the face of the breaker would stick out through the face of the enclosure.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0159JLOCE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This digital amp/volt meter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YY1KOHA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This 30amp L6 30R and L6-30P outlet and plug. I bought a couple of these so I had an outlet for my wall and for my controller box.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/30-Amp-250-Vol ... 3309669606" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This 220/240v fan for keeping the controller enclosure nice and cool.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/220V-240V-8cm- ... 2756981482" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

These fan filters for keeping dust out of the enclosure. One went on the intake side and I used a standard fan grill over the fan side which pushes out.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00315C03G/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

And finally, this 5500w tri clamp heater element that has an L6-30P plug connection on it. It made it nice and easy to disconnect the power from the heater while leaving the heater in the boiler.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075KHLJ69/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Below are photos of the complete box and a picture when I was doing my testing after the build.

Thank you for helping the OP
You also supplied useable information, that future members can find

[Expat]

If you want to have a 120v for fans etc, you might consider using the 4 prong version for the wall outlet and controller plug.

[Nunyo]

Thank you for helping the OP
You also supplied useable information, that future members can find

Very glad to help! This forum has been a huge help to me and while I only just recently registered, I’ve lurked for a couple years now digesting as much info as I can to prepare myself for this new hobby. While I’m still learning and have yet to make my first run, I enjoying being able to help others and will give back where ever I can. Especially as I become more knowledgeable. That said, I honestly have to give credit for my controller to the other members here who detailed their builds in a number of threads. It was that information that gave me the tools and knowledge to source the parts I used and complete this build. Hopefully my consolidated parts list will be of use for other members as well. And all things considered, it’s a very simple controller to build too.

For those who are looking to build one of these, I would suggest getting an extra SCR controller which is what I did. They are cheap and having a spare just seems like a prudent thing to do. That would be the one thing that I can see failing in this enclosure. I’d hate to have a controller fail in the middle of a run and be unable to fix the controller for days or weeks. At some point, I will likely get a 2nd heating element so I have a spare one of those too. If nothing else, I might just build a 2nd controller or get a bigger box so I have a dual controller setup. That way, if something fails, it’s just a matter of moving a plug over.

[The Booze Pipe]

I was in the same boat a couple weeks ago as I am building my new still and will be going electric. I spent a lot of time reading here on the forum.
These are a couple threads that were instrumental for me when considering my parts list and wiring.



Below are photos of the complete box and a picture when I was doing my testing after the build.

Way cool build. Thanks for the write up, It deserves it's own thread!