Operating the 240V/30amp Brewing Power Controller
The 240V Tabletop Brewery Power Controller (BPC) is designed to give safe and easy access for heating water with 240V/30amp power (for instructions for the Wall-Mounted Touchscreen Power Controller see this link). Without it, one would either have to use 120V power to heat or plug a heating element directly into a 240V socket. Using 120V power (like is found in standard wall sockets) only delivers about 1500W power, and would take a very long time to heat water. On the other hand, plugging a 240V element directly into a 240V socket could cause electrical arcing which can damage the receptacle and even start a fire.
Using the Tabletop Brewing Power Controller (BPC) to operate the heating element is safe and easy on the equipment.
Operating your Tabletop Brewing Power Controller (BPC) is easy when you follow these simple instructions.
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1. Plug the large BPC plug into a 'NEMA 14-30' four prong receptacle on a 240V/30amp circuit. For most homes in North America, this is the same receptacle as is found behind an electric clothes drier. If you want to connect to a stove receptacle (NEMA 14-50) an adapter can be purchased here. |
2. To control power to the element with an Electronic Temperature Controller (ETC), for example during mashing in order to control the temperature of your mash, or during fermentation to heat your wort/beer, connect the small 'contactor' cord at the back of the BPC to the heating socket (marked with an 'H' on the white controllers and a red flame on the black controllers) on the ETC, and plug the ETC into a wall receptacle or one of the sockets on the BPC. The small cord lets 240V power through to the element by opening and closing a 'contactor'. The ETC is very useful for controlling the temperature during mashing, but not as helpful to control your boil (see step 5 for that). |
3. If power will not be controlled with an ETC (e.g. during the boil), plug the smaller BPC 'contactor' cord directly into a wall receptacle. This will close the contactor inside the BPC and allow power through to the element. For safety, when not using the element, the smaller contactor cord should be left unplugged. |
4. Plug the heating element plug into the box and twist to lock it. **It is recommended for additional safety that you have a GFCI on your breaker box, or install a spa GFI in between the breaker and the BPC. |
 5. To manually control power to the 5500W 100% stainless electric immersion heating element after plugging the small power cord directly into a socket, rotate the dial on the front of the box. (Pushing the dial in will turn power on and off.) The dial is a digital controller that can precisely regulate the power to the element as a percentage of output; turn the dial to 100% and the element will produce full wattage; rotate it to 50% and the element will only effectively produce half wattage. This is especially useful during boil, when you may want to limit the boil during hot break, or if you want to control the amount of water you want to evaporate—a lot of water to evaporate and you want a high boil, only a little water and you want a low boil. It is also very useful for heating the fermenter during fermentation where the full 100% will scorch the yeast on the element. During fermentation it is recommended to set the power output to less than 3%.
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Click here to go to the Brewing Power Controller Box product page
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us using the form on the 'Question?' page of the website.
12 comments
Hi Jordi,
Each 240V/30A Power Box is designed to power one 5500W heating element. If you are operating two elements, then you would need two Power Boxes, and two 240V/30A circuits.
Hi. I’m trying to build an electric RIMS system in Mexico, about 55 gal. So I’m checking on the elements that I should use. I saw that two elements were required, but the power boxes only have one output. Does this mean that I should get two of those? Could a single power box provide power for two 5500 elements?
Best regards