building an electric kettle
i've finished my 15 gallon electric kettle. it runs off of 240VAC -- i plug it into my oven receptical in my apartment. ian saxton and i built a computer to control the power of a 6000W water-heater element -- you input a target temperature and the computer varies the duty cycle based on a thermistor sensor. once the target is reached, the computer holds the temp until it receives further instructions. it works great -- i use it for heating mash/sparge water and for boiling 10 gallon batches. running full blast, it boils up 13 gallons of wort in about 15 min.parts list:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| 15 gallons SS keg | $20 on craigslist |
| 240VAC/50 amp SSR | $13.49 on ebay |
| 6000W 240VAC low-density water heater element | $11.90 on ebay |
| 3 NEMA 14-50P 240VAC plugs (2 male, 1 female) | $20.40 on ebay |
| 16 char. back-lit LCD | $4.50 |
| 3 momentary switches, 1 toggle | $5.50 |
| 30A double pole switch (main power) | $8 |
| PIC-18F252-I/SP microchip | free :) |
| 240VAC->10VAC/0.1 amp transformer | $3.00 |
| Rectifiers/LEDs/Capacitors/Resistors | $5.00 |
| Thermistor (temp. probe) | $0.75 |
| 25 ft 10AWG 4-wire cable | $40 |
| TOTAL | $132.54 |
before i built the cart:
boiling a 10 gallon batch:
boiling a 5 gallon batch:
the control box:
inside the control box:
a close-up inside the control box:
humble beginings...
Upcoming Peformances
· Joachim Goßmann and I will be designing audio for a virtural reallity installation by Ruth West presented at SIGGRAPH in August.· On tour with the The GO Duo March 24th-31st.
· The Arditti String Quartet will premiere string quartet no. 1 for amplified string quartet during their residency at UCSD in March of 2007.
· Percussionist Matt Jenkins will perform open end for vibraphone and eight channel electronics at the UCSD composition juries on Februrary 18th, 2006.