Ace electric boilers?

[donchiquon]

Hi!
I like the look of your dimmer set-up.
The fleabay blurb says it's a voltage regulator, so using the Watts = Amps x Volts (all that I can remember from O-Level Physics - sorry, Mr. Stankley!), by reducing the voltage, the wattage of the element will fall, giving a gentler heat. Is that the idea?
Colin

That is exactly the plan but I paid even less attention in class so don't even recognise the equation!

If it works then I will box it up properly and integrate a PID as an upgrade from the Inkbird temperature controller that I am currently using.

 

[aterroba]

Hi, I am new to the thread and thanks to everyone's input I decided to go ahead and buy one. I got it delivered today and even though the ad on ebay says 1600W and timer, I got an old model with 2500W and no timer. Do you think I should return it and get one of the new models instead?

 

[user 5969]

It depends if your going for maximum capacity if you are then 2500w will be very powerful and you risk boil overs if your not careful. You could always manage the power with a voltage controller about £6 of eBay. I'm going to try and rewire my element so it uses the full 2500w to help speed up the boiling process then turn it off when it gets to a rolling boil. You could always have the elements on different switches if you've got the skills. Again I don't think your missing much with the timer but if that's what you wanted and they haven't sent it then you should tell them they may give you a discount if your happy to keep this one as the timer versions are more expensive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[donchiquon]

Hi, I am new to the thread and thanks to everyone's input I decided to go ahead and buy one. I got it delivered today and even though the ad on ebay says 1600W and timer, I got an old model with 2500W and no timer. Do you think I should return it and get one of the new models instead?

You might want to pop the black plastic base off (3 screws) and double check that both element are connected up. Mine was sold as 1600w but labelled up as 2500w.

When I checked only the 1600w element was wired up. The 900 had been snipped.

If you're lucky enough to have both wired up I would carefully disconnect the 900w and wire it in to a separate switch (for getting to the boil only) or as suggested use a variable voltage switch to take the power down during.

My 900w element was cut too short to reconnect.

Enjoy the ACE. It's a great bit of kit. Loads of potential for different mashing and sparging methods!

 

[aterroba]

Thanks a lot guys. I will open the base to double check.

My plan was to do small 1-2 gallon batches, so the risk of boiling over will be small.

 

[nigelnorris]

Thanks a lot guys. I will open the base to double check.

My plan was to do small 1-2 gallon batches, so the risk of boiling over will be small.

I reckon you might lose close to a gallon during a 1 hour boil with the 2500, so be careful with such small batches.

 

[Wrongway]

Has anyone seen or got a picture of the wiring with the plastic base removed. I am just wondering how easy it is to rewire.

 

[BeerCat]

Brewed a Porter last night and got 61% efficiency using the bag. My main problem was not having a spoon long enough to reach the bottom. Its a very tight fit using the bag and i reckon a good stir would sort things out and get me up to the 70's. What do you guys use?
This i am sure is why recirculating is a good idea and i admit i forgot to do it. Something for next time.
Still cant believe how clear the wort is, looks like its been made up from a kit.

 

[donchiquon]

Has anyone seen or got a picture of the wiring with the plastic base removed. I am just wondering how easy it is to rewire.

Here you go. You can see in the second pic how short the 900w element has been clipped.

 

[donchiquon]

Brewed a Porter last night and got 61% efficiency using the bag. My main problem was not having a spoon long enough to reach the bottom. Its a very tight fit using the bag and i reckon a good stir would sort things out and get me up to the 70's. What do you guys use?
This i am sure is why recirculating is a good idea and i admit i forgot to do it. Something for next time.
Still cant believe how clear the wort is, looks like its been made up from a kit.

If you're not able to stir up the grains at the bottom of the bag then I would have thought this would definitely decrease efficiency.

I use a Hambleton Bard Stainless Steel Beer Paddle - Google should pop a few up. Perfect for the job.

It's also worth having a go without the bag as recommended by @Tony1951 - even without the recirculating this definitely upped my efficiency.

 

[Wrongway]

Here you go. You can see in the second pic how short the 900w element has been clipped.

The wiring looks straight forward so any mods should be easy enough. Seems to be using fairly standard wire as far as I can tell.

Still perched on the fence with these, trying to decide if I should save up for a Grainfather.

 

[nigelnorris]

My none too technical approach was just to lift the bag up and wiggle it about a bit, seemd to do the trick. I've since bought a long handled stirrer from ebay.

 

[nigelnorris]

I'm hoping someone posts a way to get the 900 into play. My timer's not much cop so it wouldn't be a sacrifce to repurpose it to control the second element.

 

[donchiquon]

Hi Wrongway, I have just purchased this ACE boiler too, to make my own Grainfather, which is still a work in progress, i've read that the timer isn't very good and you are better of getting a wall pluggable one which can handle 10A the old version with the timer has a 2500W element and the new one has 1600W element (which is still the 2500W but not connected underneath - i'm considering rewiring this up if the terminals aren't too short to increase boil up temperatures).

I'll post some photos soon when it all starts coming together!

Look forward to seeing the pics. I think you could put something very neat together for a fraction of the price of the GF.

I've currently going down the route of testing external PIDs and temperature controllers and probably using the ACE as part of a 3 vessel system as I have plenty of space.

I worked out that for about £450 I could end up with an ACE HLT, an ACE recirculating mash tun, a 50l induction kettle, and the induction hob. Including pumps and pipes!

 

[user 5969]

Ordered so far;
Ace Boiler - £95.99
TS5 Mag pump with power and fittings - £64.70
Inkbird 308S - £27.99
2 x 2mm Perforated plate - £14.00
Stainless Grain holder inner Sleeve - a few owed beers to my welder friend.
So that's where I'm at now a total of £202.68
Just need to decide on the chiller, I've got a stainless coiled immersion chiller which I used on my old set up, but am considering either a counterflow (like the grainfather) or a plate exchanger. Cant decide which or to just stick with the immersion chiller... any ideas?

 

[BeerCat]

Help! Mine has sprung a leak. Slowly dripping out of the bottom but i cant locate the source. Lost about 2l of water last night. Had a sack of grain sitting next to it so i am very glad they have a plastic liner. The only thing i can think of is the tap but i suspect its not that.

 

[nigelnorris]

My none too technical approach was just to lift the bag up and wiggle it about a bit, seemd to do the trick. I've since bought a long handled stirrer from ebay.

Meant to link that post up, here's mine, the perfect size for the ACE. It's a good solid piece of plastic, doesn't conduct heat so the bit your holding won't burn you, and it's the full height of the boiler with the false bottom in so it won't get lost if dropped.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181730365617?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[donchiquon]

Help! Mine has sprung a leak. Slowly dripping out of the bottom but i cant locate the source. Lost about 2l of water last night. Had a sack of grain sitting next to it so i am very glad they have a plastic liner. The only thing i can think of is the tap but i suspect its not that.

The tap can be a bit tricky to do up tightly, and would be my number one suspect for a leak....

 

[Bigcol49]

Here you go. You can see in the pic how short the 900w element has been clipped.

Hi!
Just running an idea up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes.
Would it be possible to drill and tap the end of the cropped element for a small screw to attach an electrical feed?
Just received my ACE but too busy at moment to investigate "under the hood".

 

[mishking]

Just done my first brew in the ace boiler. only my second all grain kit.

So i did a Timothy Taylor landlord recipe kit and enjoyed every bit of the brewing process.

I must of cocked something up because i ended up with 18 ltrs at about 1.060 instead of 23ltrs at 1.042.

I mashed about 20ish litres at 66c then sparged with about 11ish ltrs at 77c so i had about 26 litres pre boil.

I measured the 26 ltrs in my coopers fv but when it was tipped back into the ace it fell quite a bit under the max line, im sure i read on here that the max line is about 25ltrs? So this could explain why i was short.

Apart from user error the ace was right up to the job.