Ace electric boilers?

[Jcdonnan]

What's the biggest grain bill anyone's ever mashed in their ace?? Wanting to do an imperial stout on thurs but it's a grain bill of about 11kg so guessing I'm gonna have to split it or do a smaller batch?

 

[BeerCat]

What's the biggest grain bill anyone's ever mashed in their ace?? Wanting to do an imperial stout on thurs but it's a grain bill of about 11kg so guessing I'm gonna have to split it or do a smaller batch?

I normally do half that but imagine 7kg would be fine.

 

[donchiquon]

I normally do half that but imagine 7kg would be fine.

+1 - I've done 7kg for a Sixpoint Resin Clone and it was fine. I'd estimate 8.5-9kg would be the limit.

 

[Jcdonnan]

I've got the grains here from geterbrewed customs kits, I'll try 8kg in the ace and do 3 kg on the stove, after the boil these should be ok to combine in the fv shouldn't they?

 

[BeerCat]

Hi all. Been watching some videos about the PID recently and found out it has an automatic mode and manual. You can restrict the output to suit the job so if your boil was over the top you can turn it down. Just make sure run is set to 0 and then press the AT/RUN button.
Although my PID is still not turning off when it hits target. Its going on and off like a yoyo. I have run autotune again but not made any difference. Afraid i have very little faith in this unit any more. I presume it turns off as soon as it hits target for everyone else. Could this unit be faulty?
I opened up the Ace today to see if i could wire up the smaller element like @gerbs did and ended up disconnecting g the 1600w one when i tried to bend it out of the way. Fixed that with a connection block then tried to connect the other one i fear i have chipped off too much of the insulation. Can anyone tell? I presume soldering is out of the question as it would just melt.

 

[Fil]

difficult to tell from a 2d pic but as long as the element core is isolated from the metal covering then it will be fine,

I dont know about soldering however? google provided this:_

Alloys commonly used for electrical soldering are 60/40 Sn-Pb, which melts at 188 °C (370 °F), and 63/37 Sn-Pb used principally in electrical/electronic work. 63/37 is a eutectic alloy of these metals, which: has the lowest melting point (183 °C or 361 °F) of all the tin-lead alloys;

Reason i checked was most element connections ive seen and ive pulled quite a few element housings out and apart hehe generally use mechanical connections, i would expect temps to remain well below 180C :)


you can probably ebay a heat proof non conducting epoxy to replace the cracked off ceramic, the same sort of stuff they back fill the SSRS with

Which Pid are you using, I use the sestos pids which seem pretty good to me,,

 

[BeerCat]

difficult to tell from a 2d pic but as long as the element core is isolated from the metal covering then it will be fine,

I dont know about soldering however? google provided this:_



Reason i checked was most element connections ive seen and ive pulled quite a few element housings out and apart hehe generally use mechanical connections, i would expect temps to remain well below 180C :)


you can probably ebay a heat proof non conducting epoxy to replace the cracked off ceramic, the same sort of stuff they back fill the SSRS with

Which Pid are you using, I use the sestos pids which seem pretty good to me,,

Aha the epoxy sounds like a good idea. Will look into it, didn't think the solder would work as its basically like one big soldering iron.
I will check out the Sestos PID. Came across these earlier http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PID-SSR-T...308461?hash=item3d23200e6d:g:dV4AAOSw-itXtLWt which i think you can also cool with like an STC. The have actual buttons as well.
Mine is an Inkbird which i think must be faulty. I have checked all settings and the auto tune has not even changed them. Switched back to the k type sensor it comes with and the same problems( and it reads 5c too low). Thanks for your help Fil. :hat:

 

[gerbs]

Beercat you have done the same as I did except I ground the connector block down a bit to get the screw further down the element stub, your stub does look slightly shorter than mine but as long as you still have some of the red material left you should be fine. If you have a multimeter put it on megohms and test the resistance between the terminal and earth,power off as course. Better still when you have finished get it PAT TESTED.

 

[BeerCat]

Beercat you have done the same as I did except I ground the connector block down a bit to get the screw further down the element stub, your stub does look slightly shorter than mine but as long as you still have some of the red material left you should be fine. If you have a multimeter put it on megohms and test the resistance between the terminal and earth,power off as course. Better still when you have finished get it PAT TESTED.

Thanks mate. If i do go ahead and mod it will get my sparky mate to test it for me. For my use seems to be needed to turn on every 10mins or so for 1 or 2 mins and then holds stable. I am doing it manually but i need to get an egg time as i keep walking off.
How easy would it be to replace the thermostat with a digital one?

 

[BeerCat]

I wonder how many of you have taken your pump apart? Mine was totally jammed. As soon as it was cleaned out i had no more problems with air blockages and worked perfectly. Considering drilling a hole in the lid for the pipe and possibly getting some SS piperwork. Another thing is quick unlocks, forget what they are called. Any ideas?
I managed to rip the fine mesh from my y strainer as well so hopefully next run will test it. Blocked up immediately when i tried it today.

 

[gerbs]

I would go down the stc1000 route with the probe in the mash, thermostats are not accurate. One thing though if you look at my pics the one shows my boiler covered in duct tape, that is holding in place three layers of the insulation you put on the wall behind radiators, my last brew was done in my garage at 5° and a mash time of 70 mins, at the start it was 67° at the end it was 67° I do also cover the top with towels and a cushion.

 

[Jcdonnan]

Would anyone kindly give me an idiots guide to do a recirculating mash in my ace boiler? Is it just pipe from tap to pump then back in top of boiler?

 

[Bigcol49]

Would anyone kindly give me an idiots guide to do a recirculating mash in my ace boiler? Is it just pipe from tap to pump then back in top of boiler?

Hi!

The overall system is silicon hose from the ball valve tap on the ACE to the inflow on the pump. The outflow from the pump has another ball valve tap; this is the flow control. From there silicon hose into the top of the ACE.

The method: Both taps closed; attach the hose from the ACE tap to the pump inflow. Open the tap on the ACE. Gradually open the flow control until the pump is primed, i.e, when wort flows out of the outflow. Close the flow control tap and attach the hose that goes into the top of the ACE. Switch on the pump and open the flow control until wort is flowing gently back into the top of the ACE.
Magnetic drive pumps can be run fully primed with no outflow, but they must never be run dry.

I've posted a short video of the "wet" run of the system (it's the HLT, not the ACE, but shows the configuration).
https://youtu.be/Qz1uzcsa0mI

 

[Fingathing]

Can anybody tell me if you can run the ace boiler on an Inkbird ITC-308S? I tried today to use them both to keep sparge water at temp. I set the target for 76ºC and at about 40ºC the Inkbird bleeped, showed "Err" and shut the boiler off and rest all of it's settings. I tried twice with same result and end up just using it as a thermometer. My Ace boilers thermostat is way out. My boiler is the 1600w version so is below the Inkbirds 2200w rating. Any ideas?

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
The manual suggests that ER displayed is a sensor fault.
"Sensor Fault Alarm: when temperature sensor is in short circuit or open loop, the controller will initiate sensor fault mode, and cancel all the actions. The buzzer will alarm, LED displays ER. Buzzer alarm could be dismissed by pressing any key. After faults solved, the system will return to normal working mode."

 

[Jcdonnan]

Hi!

The overall system is silicon hose from the ball valve tap on the ACE to the inflow on the pump. The outflow from the pump has another ball valve tap; this is the flow control. From there silicon hose into the top of the ACE.

The method: Both taps closed; attach the hose from the ACE tap to the pump inflow. Open the tap on the ACE. Gradually open the flow control until the pump is primed, i.e, when wort flows out of the outflow. Close the flow control tap and attach the hose that goes into the top of the ACE. Switch on the pump and open the flow control until wort is flowing gently back into the top of the ACE.
Magnetic drive pumps can be run fully primed with no outflow, but they must never be run dry.

I've posted a short video of the "wet" run of the system (it's the HLT, not the ACE, but shows the configuration).
https://youtu.be/Qz1uzcsa0mI

Brilliant cheers, will be getting this sorted soon.

 

[donchiquon]

Would anyone kindly give me an idiots guide to do a recirculating mash in my ace boiler? Is it just pipe from tap to pump then back in top of boiler?

I've gone for the same set up as @Bigcol save that my temperature probe is tee'd into the outlet of the ACE.

I've found that I can connect up all the tubes and open the valves fully (in no particular order) for the pump to prime. I do however have to gently tip the ACE forward in order to clear any air that gets trapped in the horizontal parts of the outlet.

 

[donchiquon]

Can anybody tell me if you can run the ace boiler on an Inkbird ITC-308S? I tried today to use them both to keep sparge water at temp. I set the target for 76ºC and at about 40ºC the Inkbird bleeped, showed "Err" and shut the boiler off and rest all of it's settings. I tried twice with same result and end up just using it as a thermometer. My Ace boilers thermostat is way out. My boiler is the 1600w version so is below the Inkbirds 2200w rating. Any ideas?

I agree with @Bigcol. Sounds like an error. I use that Inkbird without issue on my 1600w ACE as an HLT.

 

[BeerCat]

@Bigcol & @Donchiquon Thought i would let you know since i took my pump apart and cleaned it out(no easy job) i can recirculate with ease. No wonder if was hard to bleed before. Was totally blocked up. I modified the Y strainer i bought by ripping out the small micron mesh and now seems to work fine. Was only my first run though and doubtful if its necessary. It took my slow brain a while to figure what you mean to tipping it to release the air. Now its unblocked just shoots out. Still contemplating drilling a hole in the lid to put the hose through to minimise heat loss. I will get my leccy mate to test my work on wiring up the smaller element as well sometime soon.

 

[donchiquon]

@Bigcol & @Donchiquon Thought i would let you know since i took my pump apart and cleaned it out(no easy job) i can recirculate with ease. No wonder if was hard to bleed before. Was totally blocked up. I modified the Y strainer i bought by ripping out the small micron mesh and now seems to work fine. Was only my first run though and doubtful if its necessary. It took my slow brain a while to figure what you mean to tipping it to release the air. Now its unblocked just shoots out. Still contemplating drilling a hole in the lid to put the hose through to minimise heat loss. I will get my leccy mate to test my work on wiring up the smaller element as well sometime soon.

Funny how tricky some of these single-point faults can be to track down. I've had my pump apart to clean it a couple of times, but it was the trapped air in the modified outlet valve that stuffed up my first dozen attempts at recirculation.

My last 6 have been fine including a DIPA and chocolate-coffee stouts both with 7kg grain bills. I've been getting about 80% efficiency.

I'm going to see if I can find the grain limits of the ACE next week and do a 35L brew to fill 2 kegs with an 8.5kg grain bill. 22L of mash water and 28L of sparge. That's got to be close to the max!

I've been thinking about fitting the return tube into the side or lid of the ACE, but I'm always taking the lid off the check the sparge which would make a lid fitting a nuisance. I'm thinking a slightly larger hole at the edge of the lid would allow it to sit properly on the top of the ACE whilst allowing me to take the lid on and off without disturbing the flow into the top of the mash.

Having said all that, the top of the mash is still spot on temperature, so the recirculation seems to prevent any temperature loss. I just don't like the idea of an open mash!!