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Author Topic: Underground wort piping  (Read 9918 times)

Offline bo

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #45 on: December 01, 2011, 11:23:29 am »
Ah, overhead, hadn't thought of that. Everything's buried around here, so I doubt that would work, but it's indeed possible that they'll pay for running some of the line. Sounds like at this point I really can't do anything until I hear from the electrician... I'll be sure to report back with what I find out...

Good luck.

The only advice I can offer is don't scrimp too much on parts. Running a little heavier wire or buying a larger panel may cost a little more now, but to completely replace them later will cost a whole lot more.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #46 on: December 01, 2011, 12:04:54 pm »
You can look into aluminum wire, rather than copper.  You need to go with a thicker gauge, but it's still typically cheaper.

I'm not sure if you can use aluminum for distribution, I know it's used for main service lines.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline dak0415

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #47 on: December 01, 2011, 12:23:49 pm »
Phil,
Thirsty_Monk has a home grown electric brewhouse.  PM him and see how he controls his elements.  I think he has 6 in his kettle.
Dave Koenig
Anything worth doing - is worth overdoing!

Offline gmwren

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #48 on: December 01, 2011, 03:37:02 pm »
Taks a look at what it costs to develop 4-6 Kw of solar power.

You might want to clue Sierra Nevada in....

http://www.sierranevada.com/environment.html

I always thought the electric car plug in stations under the parking lot array were cool even if they remain largely unused.

Offline phillamb168

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #49 on: December 05, 2011, 02:28:49 am »
Back again - So an electrician here says the 100 Amp box doesn't sound right to him, that it's because you guys are thinking in American voltage. Can someone check my math? The heat sticks are 4500 watt 230V, and my power supply is 230V, the calculation for amps required is w/v * 1.2, right? == 23 Amps with safety margin. He said he wasn't sure because he said all houses here are on 60amp, even most big restaurants. 200 amp is almost never seen except for giant factories, and 100 amp is only really used for huge buildings. Does this sound right? I trust the guy, but I don't understand the theory and would like to.
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #50 on: December 05, 2011, 03:14:16 am »
Yes, he's right except that you are talking about 4 x 4500W elements, right?  So at 230V that's 92A with all of them running.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline phillamb168

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #51 on: December 05, 2011, 03:34:45 am »
Yes, he's right except that you are talking about 4 x 4500W elements, right?  So at 230V that's 92A with all of them running.

Does it matter that it's tri-phase and not dual phase?
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #52 on: December 05, 2011, 03:52:35 am »
Yes, you divide by 1.73 (sqrt of 3), so 53A ish.  So maybe a 60A circuit would be ok, if you didn't plan to run much else on it.  Btw, I could be completely wrong, I'd trust the electrician over me on this subject every day of the week. :)
Tom Schmidlin

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #53 on: December 05, 2011, 08:29:55 am »
I agree with Tom.  Trust the electrician.  Have a second guy look at it if you think you need another opinion.

I'm neither an electrician nor an electrical engineer.  I'm just going by the service size that's been required by our tenants, but that doesn't necessarily translate to what you need.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline phillamb168

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Re: Underground wort piping
« Reply #54 on: December 06, 2011, 06:38:09 am »
Just got off the phone with the "electrical consultant" (that sounds like a job, eh?) - he says if the house is already 3-phase, we can run a sub panel no problem, but if it's monophase we'll have to redo the run from the street. Thankfully it's only about 3-5 meters total so that won't be a headache if so. Now to price out 16mm cable run. Good thing is, quotes are coming in under 1500, which in real terms is less than 3k, still within budget.

Also for future readers, a GCFI is called a 'differential' in euro-speak. Learn something new every day! http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disjoncteur#Diff.C3.A9rentiel
I'm on twitter: phillamb168
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morticaixavier for governing committee!