Ace electric boilers?

Lowcliff said:

Just read the post- would it not be better to drain through 1/2 a gallon and sparge this by hand then when its clear connect the pump, sorry if I,m way off with this. I,m a complete novice

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The problem was the filter, remove that and it worked. That is until my pump died. Using half a gallon is not enough to get clear wort in my experience. The pump does it in about 15mins.

BeerCat said:

The problem was the filter, remove that and it worked.

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Hi!
You're using just the false bottom, I believe. I've got 1 metre of braided ss, but I'm thinking that it may be better to have nothing on the tap and depend on the false bottom to form a good grain bed.
Colin

Bigcol49 said:

Hi!
You're using just the false bottom, I believe. I've got 1 metre of braided ss, but I'm thinking that it may be better to have nothing on the tap and depend on the false bottom to form a good grain bed.
Colin

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I think your better off without the braid. Pita to clean and will slow the flow. The pump you ordered will be a lot more capable than my solar.

BeerCat said:

@Bigcol49 What pump do you have? I found my solar worked best flat out. When i slowed it down i became less confident and also didn't sound good when the motor ran on reduced current. I found out the magnetic pumps are controlled by flow, you don't need to reduce the voltage. My pump probably blew as i was running it at 2A instead of 1A. Could this be the cause? @fil

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Fwiw Im still using my lil brown solar pumps, i have invested in expensive replacements but they keep on going..
Im no electrician, but i dont think a overrated psu could be an issue in fact an overrated psu (amp/miliamp wise) is what you want, the device you use will define its maximum and peak draw in miliamps or amps and the psu should equal or surpas it Otherwise you run the risk of burning out the underrated psu as the device attempts to draw more power than it can supply. And i appoligise for my awkward explanation i am not an electrician after all.

to drive my pumps i use a 2a ebay tattoo gun psu, i ebayed a nice ss clad one with 2x 1/4" mono jack power outputs (switch selectable) and a LED display of its output voltage, for pumping the kettle to the fv via a straight tube cfc with about 1.5m head (max) 8v drives a comfortable 2-3l per min which is ideal for chilling to strike temp.

when recirculating the mash i agree its wise to let the grain settle,
when using a biab bag instead of a solid malt tube any suction the pump applies to the liquor will be forced to suck down on the grain mass becaus the bag and grain mass can form a seal against the pot wall. inserting a tube down the bag side can eliviate this.




afaik when a lower or limited voltage is supplied it limits the devices capacity to draw full amps?? - again no electrician.. and too lazy to google atm

Hello All,

I just picked up the Klarstein Beerfest Mash Kettle which I think is the same as the ACE off ebay. Maybe I should have done a bit more reading and got the ACE. Anyway does anyone else have this kettle? It seems to have a 2500 watt element and another keep warm 85watt. I'm not sure if that is the case or not but it would be good for mashing if the keep warm was really a nice low 85 watts.

Thanks

chor808 said:

Hello All,

I just picked up the Klarstein Beerfest Mash Kettle which I think is the same as the ACE off ebay. Maybe I should have done a bit more reading and got the ACE. Anyway does anyone else have this kettle? It seems to have a 2500 watt element and another keep warm 85watt. I'm not sure if that is the case or not but it would be good for mashing if the keep warm was really a nice low 85 watts.

Thanks

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Looks good to me mate. 2500w is decent and the 85 will probably keep the mash temp stable. You could mod it to reduce the amount of power during the boil as you will probably get a lot of boil off with that.

I am in urgent need of a new pump if anyone can point me in the right direction? Something not too expensive. Ordered one but its nearly a week late and seller wont respond. Not impressed i bought from the UK cos i thought would be here fast. Would of been quicker to buy from China. I am desperate to test my new system out. I found this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Qual...id=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=322369300973 not the cheapest but fast delivery but its rated at 0.5A so i guess i would have to reduce the voltage or blow it up? Here are the specs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Qual...id=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=322369300973

Probably going to end up with 2 pumps so i always have a spare. Seen the brown ones for less than £10 but they are away til mid Feb.

Hi, BeerCat,
To misquote Sir Laurence Olivier, "Is it food safe?"
There's no mention of that in the specs.

BeerCat said:

I am in urgent need of a new pump if anyone can point me in the right direction? Something not too expensive. Ordered one but its nearly a week late and seller wont respond. Not impressed i bought from the UK cos i thought would be here fast. Would of been quicker to buy from China. I am desperate to test my new system out. I found this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Qual...id=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=322369300973 not the cheapest but fast delivery but its rated at 0.5A so i guess i would have to reduce the voltage or blow it up? Here are the specs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Qual...id=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=322369300973

Probably going to end up with 2 pumps so i always have a spare. Seen the brown ones for less than £10 but they are away til mid Feb.

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That's a pain....I've been there too!

I got my type 2 pump from Angel Homebrew - powerful but still relatively cheap compared to some of the chunkier options. I've just checked though and they are out of stock

I've heard good things about this pump http://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/products/brew-pump-3000 but no direct experience.

Despite upgrading I never had any issues with my cheapie pumps - brown solars or the black plastic versions. I just figured that given the bits of grain etc it was probably worth spending a bit more for something a bit more powerful.

donchiquon said:

I've heard good things about this pump http://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/products/brew-pump-3000 but no direct experience.

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Hi!
I fancied that pump but plumped for the (slightly) cheaper Type 3 from Angel Homebrew - not as powerful as the Type 2, but at least it's in stock! I haven't used it yet, so can't comment.

donchiquon said:

That's a pain....I've been there too!

I got my type 2 pump from Angel Homebrew - powerful but still relatively cheap compared to some of the chunkier options. I've just checked though and they are out of stock

I've heard good things about this pump http://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/products/brew-pump-3000 but no direct experience.

Despite upgrading I never had any issues with my cheapie pumps - brown solars or the black plastic versions. I just figured that given the bits of grain etc it was probably worth spending a bit more for something a bit more powerful.

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Thanks mate i just checked AngelHomebrew and they have a type 1 in stock. Will call them tomorrow and see when i can get one pronto. Maybe cancel the other order and get a cheap brown one as well. I have just ordered one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272336785...49&var=571195753012&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT which should hopefully stop the pump blocking. Brew builder also sell them, they are called y strainers.

BeerCat said:

I have just ordered one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272336785...49&var=571195753012&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT which should hopefully stop the pump blocking. Brew builder also sell them, they are called y strainers.

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Hi!
I was planning on using a y-strainer just before the pump, but have been advised that it may cause a problem - it, too, could get blocked with debris, which means stopping the pump, opening the strainer and cleaning the filter. You would need isolating taps on both ends - more expense! Let us know how you get on.
I'm almost ready to get the system up and running - control box almost complete and I'm hoping to have a "wet" run with the pump later today.

Bigcol49 said:

Hi!
I was planning on using a y-strainer just before the pump, but have been advised that it may cause a problem - it, too, could get blocked with debris, which means stopping the pump, opening the strainer and cleaning the filter. You would need isolating taps on both ends - more expense! Let us know how you get on.
I'm almost ready to get the system up and running - control box almost complete and I'm hoping to have a "wet" run with the pump later today.

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That looks awesome Col. I did wonder about the strainers getting blocked so i guess we shall see. Hopefully not but you never know.
Could you run us through your box, what all the switches are for etc. Looks like a really pro job. I see you have a variable pot in there just wondering how you wired it in the end. Did you add any fans? Still not sure what to do with mine, if to mount it outside as fil suggested. Problem is i doubt i would be able to cut a straight line so...

Hi!
This is the inside of the control box - incomplete at the moment. I did toy with the idea of mounting both heat sinks outside the box but plumped for an extraction fan, as that would also get rid of the heat generated by the voltage regulator. I've mounted the SSRs and heat sinks directly over the fan to get maximum cooling. I have yet to drill inlet holes into the sides and bottom of the box.
My son reckons that I should have the fan blowing cool air into the box, but I think that would make the interior warmer rather than cooler.
I've bought 2.5mm wire which, on reflection, is too thick - I should have gone with a slightly lighter gauge.
On the original picture, the PID on the left controls the mash tun via the voltage regulator and the PID on the right controls the HLT. The switches are power switches for the two PIDs, the fan and the pump.
The green LEDs wil light up when the PID sends power to the corresponding socket, simply to give a visual indication of when the element in the mash tun and HLT is on.

Really nice looking job that. Good idea about the fan. I

The next problem i have is connecting the PT100 sensor. I have changed the sensor type to 20 for PT100 and i am getting error code "orAL"? Not exactly sure if i have the sensor wired correctly as this one has 3 wires and 2 are blue. Any ideas? I cant really follow the wiring diagram tbh.

Hi!
I'm connecting the three wires according to this diagram: http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx316/BigDave1970/PID%20wiring_zps7m9m9rwb.jpg
I have read that some probes also need terminals 3 and 4 connecting to each other.

Bigcol49 said:

Hi!
I'm connecting the three wires according to this diagram: http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx316/BigDave1970/PID wiring_zps7m9m9rwb.jpg
I have read that some probes also need terminals 3 and 4 connecting to each other.

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I believe its 4 and 5 you need to connect if you using a 2 wire sensor (k type) although i remember trying it but it is not necessary.
I have tried connecting this pt100 every possible way i can and now starting to think its faulty.

According to the instructions its either a sensor fault, wrong graduation mark selected( which i presume is the Sn sensor input) and wired wrong.

Their instructions say red to 3 and the blue to 4 and 5.

I could throw this at the wall right now, its sending me nuts.
And ideas? @fil

BeerCat said:

I believe its 4 and 5 you need to connect if you using a 2 wire sensor (k type) although i remember trying it but it is not necessary.
I have tried connecting this pt100 every possible way i can and now starting to think its faulty.

According to the instructions its either a sensor fault, wrong graduation mark selected( which i presume is the Sn sensor input) and wired wrong.

Their instructions say red to 3 and the blue to 4 and 5.

I could throw this at the wall right now, its sending me nuts.
And ideas? @fil

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Hi BeerCat

Just a thought...Have you selected the right sensor option in the PID options?....it's not always set to the K type.

BeerCat said:

I have changed the sensor type to 20 for PT100

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Hi!
The online manual suggests that it's type 21 for PT100. Have you tried that?

Bigcol49 said:

Hi!
The online manual suggests that it's type 21 for PT100. Have you tried that?

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Its working thank Odin. I did start to think the numbers in the manual may be wrong. Says 21 is for a cu50 and 20 is pt100 on here http://pmod79883.pic31.websiteonline.cn/upload/itc-100_manual_v1_1w57.pdf

Strange hey, i would of wasted more much more time before i got round to trying different numbers. Cheers Col, thanks for your help.:hat:

For anyone interested 3 is red and 4&5 are blue. Seems to be reading about right for room temp but will calibrate later.