Electric Enclosure for Control Panel

Petrolhead · Aug 25, 2020

I am looking for an electrical enclosure to use as the basis for the control panel of my electrical brewery. I have to check on size but something around the 600H x 400W x 150D. They all seem to be quite expensive, cheapest about £70, is this the going rate or is there somewhere I should be sourcing from?

Many thanks

crowcrow · Sep 20, 2020

Would something like this work? Really Useful Storage Box 22 Litre

That seems quite large for a 'project box' - I use far smaller project boxes from Aliexpress for Arduino and other projects

aamcle · Sep 20, 2020

I use a large Tupperware box.

cheeseyfeet · Sep 21, 2020

I think that you really want a metal box for a control panel if you're controlling your elements through it. For heat transfer, durability and you can earth it.

Many have an IP rating which is good if it will be in a steamy environment - although this is usually negated by drilling holes into it for PIDs and buttons!

I'm sure that I got mine a few years ago from eBay and paid about £40, a quick search turns up -

Panel

AdeDunn · Sep 21, 2020

Plastic can work fine. That one is a project box, with a sealing gasket. SSRs go on a heatsink, routing the heat produced out of the box. Metal housings you need to make sure you earth the housing too though, otherwise you increase the risk of getting a jolt of it. Cabling inside I used the wires out of actual kettle leads (as in ones rated for heat), I also put an inline fuse on both the PID and on the element (lower amp on the PID as more sensitive).

I don't use this any more obviously, as not using my eBIAB any more as bought a Klarstein machine. I just wanted to illustrate that it can be done on a budget, as that ran for ages, only time it failed was when a cable worked loose from a terminal, I replaced the terminal blocks with the choc type ones not long after.

cheeseyfeet · Sep 21, 2020

Absolutely agree that plastic is very serviceable and useable, my first control box was in a plastic enclosure.

My point about durability is what makes me recommend metal now, as the control box is on the wall of my garage it's had it's fair share of knocks and bumps from pot lids, ladders, clumsy bastards etc.!

On the point of terminal blocks, I have really big 60A nylon terminals blocks in my controller, I wish now that I knew about those neat Wago ones ...

AdeDunn · Sep 21, 2020

Yeah, they're much easier to use for sure, and made it much easier to tidy up the cabling. lol

Not that it matters any more, as it's gone up the loft. lol

My box used to get put away after each brew day. No garage or utility room here, so I was brewing on top of the cooker. A right PITA to be honest. Hence I'm outside in a gazebo these days, with my all in one.

Electric Enclosure for Control Panel

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