George, I was excited to stumble upon your channel. I've been marathon watching all the videos. I was at a loss how to convert my still to electric with a PID. "how do I get the water heater element into the pot?", I asked myself. after scouring the internet without knowing the name of the part I was looking for. It's called a Universal Water Heater Element Adapter Kit. it costs about $6 at Home Depot or Amazon. basically you cut a hole in your pot and bolt this threaded adapter around the hole. I hope it helps you or your viewers. Cheers!
This is mostly magic to me I can understand its a fancy thermostat 🤷♀️ i orderd all the stough to build a 2000 W 120v 20 amp heating element. Thank you for the step by step and explanations for dummys. It's very awesome thanks to you I can do this affordably. I put my element in a 2in to 1in NPT tri clamp and it goes right on my 13 gal milk can pot easy peasy.
Hey thanks for these vids George! I've recently built a 100 litre 'lektrikity whisky still after doing everything on gas for the last few years. This sort of info' is great to find! :o)
The bridge between the two screws on the duplex outlet is designed to break off, just grab it with a pair of pliers and bend it down toward the screws and it will break off clean.
Grrrreat video and explanation of electrical theory. Now if I can only find the components at your 2017 prices in the year 2020!!! Talk about inflation! Yikes!
If you are only using 14 gauge wire, you must use a 15 amp receptacle, not a 20 amp. A 15 amp receptacle does not have a horizontal slot. That is a safety feature to prevent accidentally plugging in an appliance that would exceed 15 amps (which would utilize the horizontal slot on the 20 amp receptacle. That's why electrical codes do not allow using 20 amp receptacles on 15 amp circuits.
You can use a 20 amp outlet on a 15 amp circuit, you cannot use a 15 amp outlet on a 20 amp circuit. You can plug 15 amp plugs into 20 amp outlets with no trouble becouse the circuit is still 120 volts ac.
George does the sir take the place of a fuse if you used a knob to turn up heat or lower heat not using a pid , kind of like a portable electric heater ?
Thanks George for taking something that is intimidating to someone with very little electrical knowledge and making it very understandable. A question I have is that your demonstration was with a 1500 watt element. Is 1500 watts enough for a 4-5 gallon wash? I want to stay at 120 volts if I can.
HELP HELP HELP...... I don't know if George is answering emails any longer. My question has to do with the SSR relays. In one video where he was describing the very BASIC controller, He used an SSR-25-VA relay.. However, in most, if not all of the others, he used the SSR-40-DA.. My understanding is that the DA if for DC input whereas the VA is AC. Since we are not feeding the controller with DC.. I'm confused. The only DC in the controller is the little converter for the computer fan. Any electrical types out there??? HELP HELP HELP
Sorry, newbie here and loving the info but I have a question. If you're using 14awg wire and it is rated at 15 amp, wouldn't that be a weak link in the system? Of course, not if you are using the 1500w element but for the 2000w it wouldn't cut it, right? Your switch and outlet is 20amp so wouldn't you need 20amp (12awg) wire to them just incase you wanted to bump up the element to 2000w someday?
Exactly. I mention this in one of the videos. 14 AWG is fine for 15 amps and the 1500 watt element. If you ever want to increase that to a 200 watt element (it draws 16.6 amps) you should use 12 AWG.
Wait a minute on the video EAVALUATING YOUR CIRCUIT WITH ONE HEATER ELEMENT you said that to determine the amperage the formula was (E/R = A) but on this video on minute 10:30 your saying that (P/E = A) are these two the same thing? Thanks
You can set the parameters for cooling instead of heating. If this is a Mypin press the set button for about 5 seconds and continue pressing it until you see "heat" when you do change it to "cooling". That's it. The Inkbird is a little more involved but generally the same way. Let me know if you need me to talk you through that one. George
You can wire it directly to the PID and set the temp for your alarm. I would add a power off switch just before the alarm so you can turn it off. Resetting it will require you to reset the temperature on the PID. George
I have not added a rheostat to any of these for the water pump. I believe the best method of controlling the water is by restricting the flow with a needle valve as opposed to controlling the electricity. Restricting the flow on these small pumps does not harm the inner workings - if you shut off the water flow completely, it will just run without any restriction on the motor (like free spinning), sometimes called cavitation. To reduce the electric flow is a bit more complicated and could reduce the life of the pump. The PID can control multiple elements but not separately. It is not capable of controlling different temperatures to different elements. If you are running multiple elements at the same temperature one PID can do that otherwise you will need a separate PID for each element. Hope this helps. George
Barley and Hops Brewing I'm going to use a 1/4 sump pump I had in my closet, new in box, with 55 gallon barrel for reservoir, should take a while to heat up. I'm using a 20 gal copper from stillz.
When you say 1/4 you do mean 1/4 HP. Am I correct? If so, that is way overkill but it will work. The 55gal reservoir is a great idea, when it does start to heat up just toss in some ice. Glad all is working well. Good luck Happy distilling George
I am not aware of any retailer that does but I am sure someone in this community can build you one and ship it to you. Anyone out there willing to do business with Scott? George
I just assembled my first PID controller by following these videos. You rock George for making this so simple!
So glad it helped. Enjoy your new controller.
George
George, I was excited to stumble upon your channel. I've been marathon watching all the videos. I was at a loss how to convert my still to electric with a PID. "how do I get the water heater element into the pot?", I asked myself. after scouring the internet without knowing the name of the part I was looking for. It's called a Universal Water Heater Element Adapter Kit. it costs about $6 at Home Depot or Amazon. basically you cut a hole in your pot and bolt this threaded adapter around the hole. I hope it helps you or your viewers. Cheers!
Thank you for these clear and simple videos. I now feel confident to build my project.
This is mostly magic to me I can understand its a fancy thermostat 🤷♀️ i orderd all the stough to build a 2000 W 120v 20 amp heating element. Thank you for the step by step and explanations for dummys. It's very awesome thanks to you I can do this affordably. I put my element in a 2in to 1in NPT tri clamp and it goes right on my 13 gal milk can pot easy peasy.
Great videos I bing watch them all day
Hey thanks for these vids George!
I've recently built a 100 litre 'lektrikity whisky still after doing everything on gas for the last few years.
This sort of info' is great to find! :o)
ive got to say I realy love yore videos, they helped me alot and also looking forward to the next ones to come :) with kind regards from Norway
excellent video, very informative looking forward to the next one
The bridge between the two screws on the duplex outlet is designed to break off, just grab it with a pair of pliers and bend it down toward the screws and it will break off clean.
Grrrreat video and explanation of electrical theory.
Now if I can only find the components at your 2017 prices in the year 2020!!! Talk about inflation! Yikes!
If you are only using 14 gauge wire, you must use a 15 amp receptacle, not a 20 amp. A 15 amp receptacle does not have a horizontal slot. That is a safety feature to prevent accidentally plugging in an appliance that would exceed 15 amps (which would utilize the horizontal slot on the 20 amp receptacle. That's why electrical codes do not allow using 20 amp receptacles on 15 amp circuits.
You can use a 20 amp outlet on a 15 amp circuit, you cannot use a 15 amp outlet on a 20 amp circuit.
You can plug 15 amp plugs into 20 amp outlets with no trouble becouse the circuit is still 120 volts ac.
fantastic video
The 2 screws on top of the SSR ACV.. will work with AC or DC,,saw another vid where he had a DC fan connected??
Thank you George!
George does the sir take the place of a fuse if you used a knob to turn up heat or lower heat
not using a pid , kind of like a portable electric heater ?
Thanks George for taking something that is intimidating to someone with very little electrical knowledge and making it very understandable. A question I have is that your demonstration was with a 1500 watt element. Is 1500 watts enough for a 4-5 gallon wash? I want to stay at 120 volts if I can.
Absolutely. The 1500 watt will do just fine.
George
HELP HELP HELP...... I don't know if George is answering emails any longer. My question has to do with the SSR relays. In one video where he was describing the very BASIC controller, He used an SSR-25-VA relay.. However, in most, if not all of the others, he used the SSR-40-DA.. My understanding is that the DA if for DC input whereas the VA is AC. Since we are not feeding the controller with DC.. I'm confused. The only DC in the controller is the little converter for the computer fan. Any electrical types out there??? HELP HELP HELP
Sorry, newbie here and loving the info but I have a question. If you're using 14awg wire and it is rated at 15 amp, wouldn't that be a weak link in the system? Of course, not if you are using the 1500w element but for the 2000w it wouldn't cut it, right? Your switch and outlet is 20amp so wouldn't you need 20amp (12awg) wire to them just incase you wanted to bump up the element to 2000w someday?
Exactly. I mention this in one of the videos. 14 AWG is fine for 15 amps and the 1500 watt element. If you ever want to increase that to a 200 watt element (it draws 16.6 amps) you should use 12 AWG.
Wait a minute on the video EAVALUATING YOUR CIRCUIT WITH ONE HEATER ELEMENT you said that to determine the amperage the formula was (E/R = A) but on this video on minute 10:30 your saying that (P/E = A) are these two the same thing?
Thanks
OmegaMetalic No...if you do some algebra....P equals v^2/R
How long is the k probe in feet George? Great video👍
The one I use is 3 meters (around 9 feet). They come in many different lengths and it all depends on what you like.
George, how do I make a pid control cooling .The opposite of heating since it turns on when temp gets high rather than low.
You can set the parameters for cooling instead of heating. If this is a Mypin press the set button for about 5 seconds and continue pressing it until you see "heat" when you do change it to "cooling". That's it.
The Inkbird is a little more involved but generally the same way. Let me know if you need me to talk you through that one.
George
Where can I get a good 120v PID?
Hi George,
How can I wire a pid with an alarm which I can acknowledge/reset?
You can wire it directly to the PID and set the temp for your alarm. I would add a power off switch just before the alarm so you can turn it off. Resetting it will require you to reset the temperature on the PID.
George
Do you have a vid for installing rheostat to controls the water pump, also will the PID control 2 elements and how do we beef up the input
I have not added a rheostat to any of these for the water pump. I believe the best method of controlling the water is by restricting the flow with a needle valve as opposed to controlling the electricity. Restricting the flow on these small pumps does not harm the inner workings - if you shut off the water flow completely, it will just run without any restriction on the motor (like free spinning), sometimes called cavitation. To reduce the electric flow is a bit more complicated and could reduce the life of the pump.
The PID can control multiple elements but not separately. It is not capable of controlling different temperatures to different elements. If you are running multiple elements at the same temperature one PID can do that otherwise you will need a separate PID for each element. Hope this helps.
George
Barley and Hops Brewing I'm going to use a 1/4 sump pump I had in my closet, new in box, with 55 gallon barrel for reservoir, should take a while to heat up. I'm using a 20 gal copper from stillz.
Should I restrict intake water or the cooling line
Also could the alarm side of the PID be used with a second relay to control the pump
When you say 1/4 you do mean 1/4 HP. Am I correct? If so, that is way overkill but it will work. The 55gal reservoir is a great idea, when it does start to heat up just toss in some ice.
Glad all is working well.
Good luck
Happy distilling
George
Can you buy these already made up if so where from thank you
I am not aware of any retailer that does but I am sure someone in this community can build you one and ship it to you.
Anyone out there willing to do business with Scott?
George
Do you have a video with a PID working a still
Here is one of a few we have.
czcams.com/users/edit?o=U&video_id=wp6sSgfNAC4
Thought you retired George