StillSmart

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-08T15:44:08+00:00

Easydrinker wrote:
If you connect to a fused spur then you are limited to a (usually) 13Amp limit.
Most UK domestic installations use 30Amp,Ring Mains,thus upping the Available power on each ring to more than 6Kw Most domestic modern power circuit breakers are actually 32 Amp.
Of course you would have to allow for any other appliances,on the same circuit being in use when you fired up a large electric boiler with two elements,or you may get nuisance tripping.
A 30 or 32 Amp cooker spur would work if hard wired.

Robert.

Ha ha! I knew if I pointed my limited electrical knowledge here (my stuff is more electronic based) that someone with more than just my vaguest clue would chime in

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sun Feb 08, 2015 3:44 pm

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-08T14:09:05+00:00

If you connect to a fused spur then you are limited to a (usually) 13Amp limit.
Most UK domestic installations use 30Amp,Ring Mains,thus upping the Available power on each ring to more than 6Kw Most domestic modern power circuit breakers are actually 32 Amp.
Of course you would have to allow for any other appliances,on the same circuit being in use when you fired up a large electric boiler with two elements,or you may get nuisance tripping.
A 30 or 32 Amp cooker spur would work if hard wired.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Sun Feb 08, 2015 2:09 pm

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-08T10:57:53+00:00

aidanmac wrote:
I'm no Sparks but AFAIK you can't run two 2Kw elements on the same 13Amp domestic circuit because they'd be trying to draw 16Amps. You'd have to run each one on a different circuit AFAIK

AM

You're probably right Aidan. Which is why I was alluding to also the use of "cooker" spurs. They're usually on a 30 amp dedicated one, but don't usually have a plug socket as they're intended for hard wiring an electric cooker too.

There's likely gonna be some technicalities to be worked out like this, but I'm of the view that it's not insurpassable.......

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:57 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-08T10:49:46+00:00

I'm no Sparks but AFAIK you can't run two 2Kw elements on the same 13Amp domestic circuit because they'd be trying to draw 16Amps. You'd have to run each one on a different circuit AFAIK

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:49 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-08T10:37:16+00:00

For the power circuit thing, most UK domestic supplies have "cooker" circuits, which are generally 30 amp, which as I understand it would be fine for a 5.5kw element.

Whether you'd need anything special for the actual connection, I don't know. Some electric heaters, when used on a "normal" 3 pin plug, long term, show some blackening/burning on the live pin socket indicating some arcing/burning.

In any case, if the boiler can take 2 elements, you can just use both to get the heat up nice and quickly, then reduce to one through a power controller to maintain the temperature..... surely ?

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:37 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-06T18:26:58+00:00

I'm sure You can up your power if you get a electrician to upgrade Your consumer unit circuit breaker and
Wiring to a dedicated ring in shed or socket, I had my one
Done a while back for lathe n milling machine to workshop
there is also a small consumer box in workshop my cable is
armour type, main breaker is 45 amp my sockets 32 amp in shed I'm sure it's 40 amp and 6 for the lights.

Statistics: Posted by ikonos — Fri Feb 06, 2015 6:26 pm

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-06T08:05:30+00:00

Was just going to say I think LLoyd is the SD originator in China but just as I was typing we had a power failure. All OK now though, just one of those things.

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:05 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-06T07:36:27+00:00

chill wrote:
Yes, there is an Aussie that goes by Fester living there that is the local "source".

Fester is a Texan Not Aussie

Statistics: Posted by Capt-Cudellez — Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:36 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-06T07:18:30+00:00

we had to block out China, they stole a lot of content from our site. >:(
Sorry!

https://www.stilldragon.org/discussion/ ... iller-more

The milkcans are made in China, all of our equipment is. This is no secret at all, it is the reason we call ourselves StillDragon. But there is more to it:

We are known for outstanding quality, we are the ones, that have made many innovations, that are now copied a lot. We invest much hard work and effort to get the best possible product for our customers, that is why, we carefully choose our factories and don't go only for the cheapest price. Perhaps customers don't see the difference at first glance, but in the long term there is one!

Buying in China can be hit and miss, with us, you have all the convenience of European law and quality, approved products + fair prices!

And, not to be forgotten: customer service is on the first place of the list for us.

Statistics: Posted by Sunshine — Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:18 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-06T02:05:11+00:00

Yes, there is an Aussie that goes by Fester living there that is the local "source".

Statistics: Posted by chill — Fri Feb 06, 2015 2:05 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-06T01:59:23+00:00

@Sunshine: I just tried to hook into your website to see what your milkcan boiler looked like. It is blocked from China. I would assume the can is made here anyway.

Statistics: Posted by RumJohn — Fri Feb 06, 2015 1:59 am

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-05T23:23:01+00:00

I suspect that Ice is looking to satisfy his own needs and brewing capacity,and 3Kw will be fine.
Maybe add a power controller?
Any more power than that and he will need a big brew shed to provide the needed.
A quicker/faster turnaround with a powerful still calls for a bigger/faster supply of ferment,unless it seldom is fired up.
There's moon-shining,and there's moon-shining!

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:23 pm

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-05T22:15:00+00:00

Anavrin wrote:
A 5.5kw element will only speed up the heat up time, you won't even need half that power to run the still once it's up to temp, so I'd say go for 3kw.

--------------------

Of course that depends what he puts on top of it, a bubble plate still or a 3" packed column could absolutely handle 5.5kw.
But to run an element that size your really looking at a dedicated circuit and industrial 40amp connections.

Statistics: Posted by Capt-Cudellez — Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:15 pm

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-05T21:07:06+00:00

Hi Guys

3kw is 12.5 Amp so you can get away with it in a normal plug socket, I have a 3kw immersion element in my 50 litre boiler, takes an hour, maybe a little longer on full power to heat 30-40 litres depending on starting temp, then I drop the power dramatically for a spirit run.

A 5.5kw element will only speed up the heat up time, you won't even need half that power to run the still once it's up to temp, so I'd say go for 3kw.

Statistics: Posted by Anavrin — Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:07 pm

Re: Help I'm spending money again.

2015-02-05T18:03:20+00:00

Domestic power supplies in the UK and Ireland are identical and, as far as I know, 3Kw is the max on any one system because the system is 240v AFAIK

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:03 pm