Mash & Boil With Controller

[firerat]

Good Afternoon gents.

I recently acquired a Brewers Edge Mash and boil as a gift along with an alembic condenser and lid.

I know from reading that the main issues using these guys is power control. You either go 1000w or 1600w with no real control.

Well digging through my garage I found my old variac transformer similar to this one:

https://www.ebay.com/p/20-Amp-110v-Vari ... 959&chn=ps" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

It's a 20amp 2000w 110v deal.

Any reason I wouldn't be able to use this for power control?

[6 Row Joe]

It looks like it should work. You might want to do a water run to make sure. I built a PID controller but a simple dial may actually work better.

[firerat]

Oh for sure I will.

I'm just seeing if anyone has a reason it might not.

[6 Row Joe]

I have been reading up on controlling electric heated stills. I built a pid controller and although it works well you still have to adjust it for the output rate (or column temp if you choose). The more I read the more I see that your kind of controller is recommended. I believe that controller reduces the power to the heating coil instead of the digital on/off of the pid. It seems like a better way to control the heat.

[Pikey]

A variac will do the job fine.

[firerat]

Unfortunately I can't play with it for a while but once I do I'll post my results.

I hope it works. I'm not in a position to build anything complicated and I love the mash and boil so far for making beer. It'll be awesome to have one unit multi task for me.

[6 Row Joe]

Keep us posted how well it works. Twisting a dial to regulate your heating element wouldn't be any different than looking at the flame and turning down a propane regulator. LOL Good luck.

[Wild Bill]

A friend has the mash and boil with the pot still attachment and I have run it several times. What I found is on a stripping run 1600w was too much and caused puking. 600w was ok but slow. On a spirit run 600w is a pretty good match to get the proper output. I told my friend if it were mine I probably would get into the guts of it and wire in a switch to allow 1000w output. Even though there are two separate elements, 1000w and a 600w, the only choices with the factory wiring is 600w or 1600w. I think 1000w might be about perfect for a strip run and a simple toggle switch with the proper rating could accomplish it. Of course a controller would allow much finer tuning but you will outgrow that M&B setup and not sure if a controller for it would be a sound investment unless the controller had the capability to run higher wattage and 230v elements as well. The M&B is a 110v unit. Re reading your post I see you already have a variable voltage trasformer so no expense in giving that a go as well.

[badflash]

In my day a variac was a transformer. It will probably work, but a light dimmer with the right wattage will work too.
I've also used PID controllers off ebay to control a 1500watt heater for a large aquarium. The light dimmer and variac will give you a true power control. The PID controllers are on-off control and the heater will be on and off for short periods of time. This can cause stuff to not be as steady as with a light dimmer or variac.

[Pikey]

In my day a variac was a transformer............

So ? Vary the input voltage on an infiitely adjustable scale, you WILL vary the heat production.

I've also used PID controllers ..........

As I understand it the OP wants to control his distillation - what temperature would you control in a distillation situation with this crude "On/Off" switch ?

[badflash]

I don't know anything about distillation, just controls. Before I retired I was an Instruments and Controls supervisor. The PID controllers are not crude on/off controls, but they are on/off over a period of seconds depending on the response time of your temperature probe. A human standing there controlling a light dimmer or variac will work better until they get bored, distracted, or have to pee.

With some systems there is a large thermal lag like with an aquarium with a huge amount of water. If the heater over powers the system it is a problem and the temperature can surge. If it is properly matched it is not much of a problem. With a still I understand the theory and worry that the reflux would never settle down.

I am actually working on a "knob turner" to control a gas stove for my mashing unit. It would work automatically to turn the knob on the stove based on temperature.