new hlt build - finally completed

[ryanshelton]

Not dumb questions at all, if you've not done this kind of thing before its far better to ask than plough blindly on!
The simmerstat is the original rotary knob power control fitted to the burco - visible in the 4th picture with lots of wires coming off it.
Power switch was: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/ip65-rated-dp ... -red-n32bq

Best photo for the wiring is probably the one with the red camping foam in it, sorry the cover is screwed on the controller it hides the connections numbered 1-6

It's beginning to sink in now after looking at the photos again and again. It looks very neat with the display mounted in the hlt. Think I'll be getting mine out the shed and having a look sooner than I planned!

Just 1 last question, I'm assuming the power switch you got form maplins is the main 'on/off' switch?

[lord groan]

Yup, you can see in the photos that I've pulled the white mains power lead further into the base - in order to reach the switch. The live and neutral from mains cable go straight to the switch, both get switched, from the other side of the switch live and neutral go to the controller, with the neutral also going to the element. The switch itself is illuminated whenever the burco is switched on at the wall, then when the switch is on, the controller is powered and lights up.
hth

[ryanshelton]

Thanks for your help mate, gonna give it a go what did u use for the sight glass?

[lord groan]

Ryan - The wisdom seems to be polycarbonate tube all the way, but after searching for polycarbonate tube at a sensible price I finally gave up when I read up on acrylic tube , it is food grade and stable up to about 105c. As I'm never intending to run the HLT above 80-85c I realised the acrylic would do fine, there are lots more suppliers of acrylic than polycarbonate so I ended up ordering a 40cm length of 15mm outside diameter, 9mm inside diameter tube from here;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLEAR-ACRYLIC ... OU:GB:3160

I have also tried setting the temp controller to 101c to see if I could get a rolling boil, I did, and the sight glass was absolutely fine, of course it is on the outside of the burco so it is cooler and never gets close to 100c even in a boil.
So far so good with acrylic tube!

[Fil]

the acrylic will be way more brittle and susceptible to knocks, might be worth investing a quid in a length of closed cell pipe insulation to slip on when not in use to protect it

[themadhippy]

is that normal flex under the boiler as its only rated for 60c,something like http://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/600 ... n?ref=list would be a better choice

[ryanshelton]

Cannot find anything to undo this screw. Been to diy shops etc and nothing. Any ideas?

[Fil]

mole grips pinching the screw lip perhaps, failing that if its big enough u could drill out the centre and use a counter threaded bolt extractor??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/22130380 ... =95&ff19=0

[Blackaddler]

Hmm, that's a new one. If it was me, I'd take a sharp chisel [and hammer] to it, at an angle in a point of the triangle, and and see if it'd drift round.

[lord groan]

is that normal flex under the boiler as its only rated for 60c,something like http://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/600 ... n?ref=list would be a better choice

The flex is the stuff that came on the burco originally. I'm assuming it'll be ok because it has been fine in the base of the burco up to now while it has been used as a boiler. I've added a double thickness of camping mat foam to the base of the hot water tank to insulate the space underneath, plus I'm running at at 80c or less
Time will tell

[ryanshelton]

Got it out now guys, bit of force, what seemed like a million different screw drivers and patience.

Right, this is the inside of my burco,

The white wire is the incoming supply which will need to go to my switch.

Then the L and N will go from the switch to the temp controller. The N will also go to the element and the E to the earth point.

Then the L will need to go from the temp controller to the L on the element.

Am I on the right track? Anything to be aware of from the photo?

[ryanshelton]

Another question for you, did you not find the thermowell leaked if it was only pinched at the end? I would guess water would get anywhere so even the smallest gap would leak?

[lord groan]

Hi Ryan, I pinched the tip of the tube but then ran a little silver solder over the end to seal it properly, you're dead right that it would leak if it was only pinched. I soldered the tip, the join between 6mm and 8mm tube and where the 8mm tube is inserted into the drilled brass plug, I used a homemade washer fitted inside the boiler and then leak tested by filling the boiler and leaving it overnight on a dry surface.

As for your burco wiring, what you're saying sounds right, It's a bit difficult to tell from the picture what is live and neutral because of the woven thermal shielding but it looks as if the L and N wires coming in both go through the safety cutout in the middle, with the L? (red) then going to the element and the N? (blue) going via the power temp control to the other terminal on the element. If it was me I'd keep the safety cutout in use, the only difference to my wiring diagram above would then be that the L and N wires from the mains stay connected to the safety and from there go to the L and N on the mains power switch, after that my diagram kicks in.
I'd keep the safety cutout in place because my setup doesn't actually have one! This means if I drain my boiler dry and leave the element uncovered without switching the power off, the element can still come on and may overheat dramatically!
Not good
I'm mulling over fitting a small float switch in series with the thermal probe, hoping that if the probe is disconnected by the float switch opening, the controller may have the wit to switch itself off for safety reasons
not sure if that'll work though
hth

[minesapint]

I have just found this topic and was wondering about the siting of the electronic temperature controller.
There does not appear to be any ventilation in the walls of the base of the boiler.
Did you have any troubles with the electronic temperature controller overheating ?
I have lost the instruction leaflet that came with my controller and was wondering about the specified operating temperature for locating the unit.
It must get very hot inside the base of the boiler when it is going full boil.
I should think that after two years any problems would have shown up by now.
Cheers.

[Fil]

its a hlt, so set to circa 70c for strike and less than 80C generally for the sparge i would imagine..

to double up as a boiler a bypass on switch would probably be best to bypass the controller completely as its redundant if the pots used for boilling

to control the ferocity of a boil a power controller to limit the power to the element would be better suited than a temperature controller which simply turns off the element when a target temperature is used, tho in most cases the boil in urns is adequate or a little weak if anything needing some partial lidding in some cases so a controller to limit the power wouldnt be much use..

generally stc1000 type boxes can opperate in temps upto 50 or 60C, so if a problem a coulpe of 1" air vents would probably cool the base area enough if you build a combination hlt/kettle with a temperature controller and intend setting the boil by setting a temp like 120C ..