Boiler Voltage Controller

[Alside101]

Done 4 brews in it now, I find the grainfather app is great for copied recipes from beersmith...then you just press start session and off you go, the 2nd time I used it as a brew in a bag with the grainbasket added, that was a very smooth brew day with everything controlled from the app.
got a few things to figure out, i.e the grain basket legs aren't long enough to clear the element.
Then I am fully set up for a one vessel system.

You should start a thread on your setup! I spent ages trying to figure out how to build a pid controller for my system. I never thought about using the grainfather one

 

[underpressure]

Hi nobbynormal @Nobbynormal I'm looking at something similar for my Burco. When you say join the earth wire what do you mean by that? Thanks Mike

 

[Brewnaldo]

Wee bump here, for the clever sorts on here, I am looking to get hold of a power regulator for my digiboil, but have seen elsewhere that you cant just plug one of these into a power controller or it will somehow mess up the control circuitry. Does anyone know if that is indeed the case or if there are any off the shelf products that can do the job without needing to rewire?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Sorry but I build my own controllers so I can’t really comment on the commercial ones.
If I wanted to go that route I would probably look at one of these; however I’d throw away the solid state relay it comes with and replace it with a proper one from RS, digikey etc. At the very least if you use the one supplied make sure it’s mounted on something fireproof.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

This would probably be a suitable SSR: KSI240D25-L | i-Autoc 25 A Solid State Relay, Zero Crossing, Panel Mount, SCR, Triac, 280 V ac Maximum Load | RS Components
You’ll need to mount it on a decent heat sink e.g.: WF210000 | Solid State Relay Heatsink for use with Single Phase Relay | RS Components

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Note that essentially this sort of controller replaces what’s currently inside your boiler so I don’t think you can get away without doing some rewiring. Sorry!
Essentially you just need to open it up and connect direct to the heating element. This is easy on older boilers that just have a mechanical thermostat (you just turn that up high so it’s always “on”) but it sounds your “digiboil” might be an electronic system. An external controller will not play nicely with that.

 

[Brewnaldo]

Note that essentially this sort of controller replaces what’s currently inside your boiler so I don’t think you can get away without doing some rewiring. Sorry!
Essentially you just need to open it up and connect direct to the heating element. This is easy on older boilers that just have a mechanical thermostat (you just turn that up high so it’s always “on”) but it sounds your “digiboil” might be an electronic system. An external controller will not play nicely with that.

Cheers. Looks like I am way ouf of my depth here