High volume kit and power supplies (UK)

[hoppyscotty]

So the home brew consortium I'm a part of is looking to increase pridcuction volume and looking to get a 65ltr brewzilla which has a max electrical load of 3.5kw which will draw upto 15A so breaching the UK socket limit of 13A. What have people who've got similar systems with similar power requirements done to be able to run such systems off their domestic power supplies? Thanks

 

[MmmBeer]

I suggest you get an electrician to fit a fused spur of suitable duty for it. This is assuming you are planning to brew in the same location each time.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I'll certainly be getting an electrician in but just curious as to what the solution might be and what others have had to do. I suspect I'll need a dedicated circuit direct from the consumer unit with its own circuit breaker. I think the 65ltr Brewzilla has two plug sockets split across the three elements, so can split the load across two circuits.

 

[MmmBeer]

A quick first step would be to check what sized fuse your ring main circuit is protected by. If adequate for the system, plus all the other items likely to be in use at the same time, then you should get away with two plug sockets.

I would be cautious about boiling a kettle, or putting any other high load items (toaster, iron, fan heater etc.) on at the same time on that circuit though.

 

[cheeseyfeet]

Out of interest have you sourced the brewzilla?

I've tried to get one for ages but it would seem that UK stockists are no longer carrying it because of the power requirements.

All of the larger systems seem to be 3kw now, which suits domestic supplies.

 

[BlackRegent]

An alternative is to get a second Brewzilla if you have one already (or two if you don't) and run them in tandem. That would also have the advantage of being able to run different batches at the same time. I run a 35L Brewzilla and a Klarstein Fullhorn (which is 2.5kw by itself) in tandem running into different sockets and I've had no problems at all so far. I understand that's essentially how the Brewtools sytems work - they come supplied with two leads to plug into separate sockets.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I haven’t got one yet but a Few places saying they’re getting stock in a number of weeks time so was just thinking of ordering and waiting on back order. Hope they haven’t stopped stocking them. Can’t remember if it’s the grainfather g70 or brewzilla 65 that had the elements split across two plugs. That would be fine for me as I can just get a completely separate ring main in the garage if I needed to. But another brewzilla 35 is an option I guess but then I’d have 5KW total load if I were to run them together so not sure if that solves the problem.

 

[stripeyjoe]

You could brew in the bathroom and jerry rig the power supply to the shower... Sure it will be fine!!

 

[Gerryjo]

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[RoomWithABrew]

My Guten 70litre needs 15amps as well. Down here you can get 15 amp domestic sockets, slightly different plug on the 15 amp side so you can't fit it in a normal socket. You can fit the normal plugs in the 15 amp socket. Luckily the brew room ( laundry ) had a dedicated circuit with the correct cable rating I needed and all I had to do was fit the special socket.
If I was back in the UK I'd be thinking of a supply cable rated high enough in a way like the cooker circuit or the circuit to an electric shower and then either fit the Caravan style socket and matching plug rated for the higher current or wired directly in as per a cooker. With an RCD.
The big vessel does mean you can do big beers easily and obviously more than double batches, with two 35 litre systems you will be doing twice the work and cleaning and find that efficiency goes down with high grain bills.

 

[Gerryjo]

My Guten 70litre needs 15amps as well. Down here you can get 15 amp domestic sockets, slightly different plug on the 15 amp side so you can't fit it in a normal socket. You can fit the normal plugs in the 15 amp socket. Luckily the brew room ( laundry ) had a dedicated circuit with the correct cable rating I needed and all I had to do was fit the special socket.
If I was back in the UK I'd be thinking of a supply cable rated high enough in a way like the cooker circuit or the circuit to an electric shower and then either fit the Caravan style socket and matching plug rated for the higher current or wired directly in as per a cooker. With an RCD.
The big vessel does mean you can do big beers easily and obviously more than double batches, with two 35 litre systems you will be doing twice the work and cleaning and find that efficiency goes down with high grain bills.

A 2.5mm T&E for a standard ring circuit is plenty as within 15m of your fuseboard it will carry up to 20A.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Whatever I've got is right I'm pretty certain. Especially as it only goes to the one socket so the max it draws is 3.5 kw and then only for a short period of time. It's a much heftier wire than the ring main for the lights or other sockets. You have to know that I'd say building standards not as good down here as in UK. Not uncommon for houses to be clad onto 4x2 frame and then next layer is plasterboard. No insulation in walls, ceiling or floor. Double glazing only recently in code as well. So I'm pretty cautious when I look at stuff down here. I think the UK plugs are the only style that are fused worldwide, but I stand to be corrected.