Changing to Electric

captainshooch

Thanks FS. Seems to me even the smallest one at 4' x 50' is way more than what I need. Found a smaller kit for doing a water heater on ebay for 14.95 plus19.00 for shipping.

moscca

After going electric, my next upgrade for my Dash 1 will be installing 4 temp. sensors. I was thinking of the RTD PT100 Temperature Sensors type. I see now on eBay that there are for water/oil and others for air.

RTD PT100 Temperature Sensors for Measuring the Air Intake Temperature

Is it better to place the air-type in the column and the water/oil-type in my dephlegmator?

Thanks,

M-

crozdog

@Mosca, I've never heard of this difference. seems like they are simply trying to target a different market / use. reading the specs, they seen the same apart from the probe diameter...

olddog

Just got to be SS and waterproof

moscca

Thanks guys, i'll just go for these ones :

RTD Pt100ohm Temperature Probe Sensor PT 1/8'' Thread L50mm D6.4mm

and 4 of those :

Digital Temperature Meter for RTD PT100 Temperature Sensors (12VDC / C)

cooperville

Yeah Mossca from what i know the pt 100 has a more accurate reading as the third wire reads the delay or something like that its what i am running

moscca

What are you running Coop ? I also read that the pt100 is the more accurate. But I think it it the change in temp. that is the most important.

M-

cooperville

I am using it with a PID controller for my HERMS system i did have a K-type but opted to get the more accurate pt-100 after reading a lot of info on homebrew talk and aussie home brewer

dellae

@cooperville said: Yeah Mossca from what i know the pt 100 has a more accurate reading as the third wire reads the delay or something like that its what i am running

The 3rd wire is for line resistance compensation. The PT100 changes resistance with temperature and the resistance of the connecting lead adds inaccuracies. The 3rd wire is connected to another analog input and compensates for the lead resistance so it is only reading the actual junction resistance.

Thermocouples can be made accurate but they require 'cold junction compensation' which is a lot more drama than just reading the resistance of the wire.

olddog

I have read that RTD's are more accurate, but themocouples are faster.

OD

dellae

@olddog said: I have read that RTD's are more accurate, but themocouples are faster.

OD

For the actual junction the difference is negligible. The main difference is the amount of shielding from the housing. The larger the diameter and thickness of material the more the dampening effect.

For the temperatures we use you can have very small diameter probes without any issues (just robustness).

CothermanDistilling

my BCS-462 controller takes thermistors (I wish it took RTDs), and after calibration at 0C,30C, and 70C, they are within .1C of each other across the board... and they are cheap... these are $4 stainless probes, and these plastic probes are $1.55. I am using 2-pair alarm/phone wire with no shielding other than the twist of the wire, and am extremely happy with the performance of them, I have heard bad things about ones sourced from ebay in china not being as good of tolerance, these are from a reputable distributor and manufacturer. I do prefer the plastic probes now, as they can be removed from something like a boiler or fermenter without liquid going anywhere, and you can use them with any length thermowell.

CatfishJim

Got a question. I'm changing my 1/2 keg into electric. Should I add one or two, 220 heating elements and what size? I'm thinking one element wired direct with only a switch and the other thru a SD control box. Help!!!

Stinger

One 5500w (or 4400w) element is what most of us use. Two would sure reduce warm-up time though.

CatfishJim

Then there should be no trouble running the controller for heat up with a 5500?

Smaug

@CatfishJim said: Then there should be no trouble running the controller for heat up with a 5500?

None at all. In fact that would be the most preferred element for most.

CatfishJim

Ok thanks, I am so excited not to have to breath gas fumes anymore. Plus it much warmer in my garage than in the shed!

Stinger

5500w will BOIL 12 usg of water in about 50minutes, depending on starting temp. 12usg of wash should take around 30 mins to get up to first drips/reflux.

Pretender

@captainshooch said: moscca, can you tell me more about this material, who makes it, where did you get it and maybe cost . Thanks! CH

Equally good foam pad will do. It does not cost very much, easy to work with.

applepie

Stinger not real sure what you mean on your last post. will 5500W water to boil water or mash in 50 minutes or 30 minutes. Not jabbing but askin. If I use 2-4500 watt elements full power to 12 gal or 2-5500 how long before drips?

Smaug

Puh,,,,really fast. No more than 15-20 minutes tops I would say

thunder88

Takes me 45min with one 5500w with a 40-45L charge so I would say Smaug is correct. I also have an element wired for 120v for the when the wife is doing laundry. Takes 2.5hrs for the same charge since a 5500w 240v element only puts out about 1300w at 120v.

fnulnu

Looks like 5500w 240v is kind of a standard go to element if I am hearing everyone. What kind of element is preferred? I seem to remember reading somewhere that one may need a low density or ultra low density element? Brands, types? Good thread for people wanting to switch to electric and want to know what works and what to expect. Those of you who are electric keep the info flowing, it is appreciated.

Myles

If you are going to switch to electric seriously consider using two lower power elements instead of the single big one. It is probably more expensive to purchase but if one element burns out mid run, then you can at least keep going with the other.

Each element will also have a lower watt density than the single big one.

You also have the wiring to think about. 2 smaller elements means a lower rated circuit and circuit breakers for each element.

Stinger

@Applepie

This is what I meant:

12usg of TAPWATER from 15C (60F) to 100C (212F) takes around 50 minutes using 5500w

12usg of WASH from room temp to first drips takes around 25-35 minutes using 5500w

I've never actually timed the heat-up, but these numbers are a good estimate, and are about the same as Smaug said (for 2 elements). ALSO, I've read no complaints about the warm-up times with the 26usg milkcans - which have only one tri-clamp for electric heat.

sandsquirt

I'm terrible with electric! I'm going with a keg boiler and a 3" plated column. I was just given 2 120V 2000W High Watt Density heating elements. I want to plug 1 in directly and run 1 on a simple controller. What kind of heat up time will I see? Will 2000w be enough to make the run so I can unplug 1 element? I only have 120v available but I can run them on separate circuits. Thanks!

sandsquirt

Looks like I should look for a couple of different elements.

punkin

I don't think there's many here running 3" columns mate. You may have to suck it and see?

dellae

@sandsquirt I run a 65mm OD column, in neutral mode max power is approx 2.5kw. Pot mode I run around 3-3.5 kw depending on wash type.

As per Riku - max 508mm/sec column velocity @ 75mm OD = 3 kw + losses (depends on how well your kettle etc is insulated)

dellae

@Sandsquirt - Heatup time 50 Litres with 2kw element, 65C differential = 1.9 hrs heatup + losses 50 Litres with 4kw element, 65C differential = 0.95 hrs heatup + losses