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Message |
    
Nephalist
Member
Username: Nephi
Post Number: 204
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 71.134.197.30
| | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 03:58 pm: | 
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I use a bucket heater to heat mash/sparge water. I refrigerate the runoff till the next day when I boil. I'm using the bucket heater to heat each cold bucket of a 10 gal batch individually, after which I transfer to my boil kettle and start heating with propane. I'm close to an electric brewery, I just need to add another bucket heater and I can bring 12 gal to a boil in the kettle.
I have a storage room in my apartment complex that I'm using. There are two outlets on opposite sides of the room. How would I find out if they are on different circuits (I believe two bucket heaters were too much for 1 outlet. I can get the heater specs if need be.) |
Will Hearne
Junior Member
Username: Will
Post Number: 32
Registered: 01-2009
Posted From: 4.255.55.220
| | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 05:15 pm: |
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One easy way is to plug a lamp into one out let. Turn off circuit breakers till you find the one that turns off the lamp then move the lamp to the other plug and see if it is still off. If so both plugs are on the same circuit.
Yes there are wires inside the tubing on a water heater element that are mineral insulated to isolate them from the water. Will |
Will Hearne
Junior Member
Username: Will
Post Number: 33
Registered: 01-2009
Posted From: 4.242.186.154
| | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 05:37 pm: |
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When you start flipping off circuit breakers you might want to turn off your computer. Some times they don’t like to be shut down suddenly like that. Also let every one else know what you are doing. Somw wives get mad when the TV goes off unexpectedly.
(Message edited by Will on October 17, 2009) |
Nephalist
Member
Username: Nephi
Post Number: 207
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 71.134.197.30
| | Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 05:52 pm: |
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One catch. I don't know where the circuit breakers are for the apartment storage room. I could start turning them off, but I'd be turning off apartment's electricity. |
Patrick C.
Advanced Member
Username: Patrickc
Post Number: 925
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 99.170.160.145
| | Posted on Sunday, October 18, 2009 - 12:16 am: |
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Do you mean you don't know where the breakers are, or you don't know which is for the storage room? If you just have to figure out which is which, the easiest way is to just switch them off until you find the right ones. For a storage room I would be suprised if they are on separate circuits, unless it is under the apartment and the circuits go to separate rooms. Can you run an extension cord from another room?
The "wrong" way to do it would be to just plug in the two heaters and see what happens.  If the circuit is 20A, you should be OK with two 1000W heaters (only 17A). Make sure that anything else in the apartment on the same circuit is turned off. |
Bob Boufford
Intermediate Member
Username: Bobb
Post Number: 445
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 96.52.216.245
| | Posted on Sunday, October 18, 2009 - 05:25 pm: |
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N., Do you have access to the circuit breaker panel inside your apartment? Or is it outside the apartment with other surrounding apartments? If it's a shared panel, need to be careful not to turn off the neighbours' power. :-(
Otherwise, if your panel is inside the apartment, this would be a good time to start marking all the circuits in your apartment on the panel, following Will's suggestions. I like to use a cheap clock radio turned up loud instead of a lamp. |
Nephalist
Member
Username: Nephi
Post Number: 208
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 71.134.52.236
| | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 01:12 am: |
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This is a separate room, far away from my apartment. I know where the electrical meters are, but there is no ID on them. There's about 15 of them. If I were to plug in two heaters, the circuit breaker would blow, correct? If not, I might start an electrical fire? I wondered if there was some device that one would plug into the outlet to let you know how much juice was being drained from it so I could decide if the first bucket heater was already draining it. |
Kevin Kowalczyk
Advanced Member
Username: Itsfunbrewingbeer
Post Number: 784
Registered: 10-2007
Posted From: 98.212.3.11
| | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 02:09 am: |
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Get the circuit breaker to blow by sticking a wire into the outlet. Make sure it's a thick wire and insulated--make a "C" shape with it, and stick each end of the C into the outlet. You'll trip the appropriate breaker---you shouldn't harm anything by doing this, this is what breaker is designed to do--trip when the circuit is overloaded. This way you won't go through all the breakers trying to figure out which one it is. Oh and plug the lamp into the other outlet like someone else mentioned. If it goes out when you trip the circuit on the 1st outlet, it's on the same circuit. Good luck. |
Paul Muth
Intermediate Member
Username: Pjmuth
Post Number: 473
Registered: 10-2002
Posted From: 72.154.55.159
| | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 12:20 pm: |
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Wow. Talk about playing with fire. Do not do the short it out and trip the breaker trick. Not a good idea for many reasons.
Go here ebay.com and buy the CIRCUIT BREAKER TRACER FINDER for $13.99 with "buy it now".
The plus side is that you will never again struggle trying to identify breakers in your power panel. |
Nephalist
Member
Username: Nephi
Post Number: 209
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 162.116.29.68
| | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 06:22 pm: |
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Thanks Paul. Sounds like just what I need. Now to find someone nearby who owns one.
Kevin, your cojones are bigger than mine. I wouldn't dare try that. |
Paul Muth
Intermediate Member
Username: Pjmuth
Post Number: 474
Registered: 10-2002
Posted From: 74.227.157.50
| | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 08:23 pm: |
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Wish you were closer. I'd loan you mine. NO.. I'd come over and check it out for you. This way you would know if it was a single 15 amp or 20 amp circuit or 2 circuits. Oh well...
(Message edited by pjmuth on October 19, 2009) |
Vance Barnes
Senior Member
Username: Vancebarnes
Post Number: 3836
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 66.32.140.15
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 01:39 am: |
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I know someone (not me I swear) that tried Kevins method. I suggested a lamp and flipping breakers. It ended up tripping something on one phase of the power on the GA Power side. Several office units were out a phase for a day. Don't recomend it for several reasons. |
Kevin Kowalczyk
Advanced Member
Username: Itsfunbrewingbeer
Post Number: 785
Registered: 10-2007
Posted From: 98.212.3.11
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 02:03 am: |
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I know "someone" who used to do it in high school with a paper clip sandwiched in between pages of a textbook for insulation. No harm came of it, other than it would really piss off the teacher in the adjacent classroom on the same circuit who would have to stop class to reset the breaker.  |
Doug W
Intermediate Member
Username: Pivorat
Post Number: 372
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 151.163.2.8
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 11:47 am: |
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Kevin,
Today you are likely to be labeled a educational terrorist and be hauled out of school in cuffs and shackles with CNN and the local news present |
Paul Edwards
Senior Member
Username: Pedwards
Post Number: 1796
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 76.252.5.0
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 11:52 am: |
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Here's another place that's a little cheaper than the ebay store source Paul M listed:
http://www.cripedistributing.com/sperry-cs500a-circuit-breaker-finder-p-3703.htm l
For me shipping was $8.14 bring the total cost to $18.14 as opposed to $18.98, and I'll have it quicker. Lowes' had a similar one, but it was over $30.
Our house is 85 years old and has had wiring added/subtracted over the years (we call this place a "museum of construction technology"). I'd been meaning to buy one of these gizmos to trace everything. |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 10820
Registered: 01-2002
Posted From: 24.141.103.148
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 01:21 pm: |
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It's $40 for such a tester at Blowe's here in Canuckistan. I'll have to order the one Paul E. recommends and have it sent to a US address. Our 52-year-old house has only 100 amp service. We don't pop the main breaker, but with three refirgerators (one for brewing), a big-screen plasma TV, two microwaves and two teenage girls who are constantly drying their hair it's sometimes a challenge to find an outlet that won't blow a branch fuse (all but the kitchen circuit are 15 amp) or breaker. |
Kevin Kowalczyk
Advanced Member
Username: Itsfunbrewingbeer
Post Number: 786
Registered: 10-2007
Posted From: 98.212.3.11
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 01:28 pm: |
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Doug, please note that I said "someone" tripped the breaker. And "someone" never got caught,but if they were to be caught today, the Christian Brothers at "someone's" high school would take care of it the old fashioned way. |
dhacker
Senior Member
Username: Dhacker
Post Number: 1828
Registered: 11-2002
Posted From: 72.4.22.214
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 02:24 pm: |
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The Sperry device is worth every penny . .
I have 200 amp service in the main house and another 200 amp service in the brew house with an over-sized transformer on the utility pole . . every wire run by ME! All 120v circuits are 20 amp, and the 240s are sized to application. Not a single extension cord cause you've never seen so many wall outlets in yer life!  |
Paul Edwards
Senior Member
Username: Pedwards
Post Number: 1799
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 76.252.4.196
| | Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 07:40 pm: |
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My Sperry CS-500A arrived USPS Priority mail about 20 minutes ago. That's only 3 days after I ordered it online, and it was shipped to Indiana from Idaho.
This is a very nifty little tool!!!
Now we can update the fuse/breaker info for this old house. |
Paul Muth
Intermediate Member
Username: Pjmuth
Post Number: 477
Registered: 10-2002
Posted From: 72.154.55.203
| | Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 09:11 pm: |
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Paul,
That is excellent! Now you know what you need to do. Get busy and then let us all know what you think about it. I know you will be pleased. |
Patrick C.
Advanced Member
Username: Patrickc
Post Number: 927
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 99.170.160.145
| | Posted on Friday, October 23, 2009 - 02:37 am: |
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How does the circuit tracer work? Does it send some kind of high frequency signal back down the line that the handheld unit picks up when you palce it over the breaker? |
Paul Edwards
Senior Member
Username: Pedwards
Post Number: 1801
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 76.252.4.196
| | Posted on Friday, October 23, 2009 - 11:53 am: |
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Patrick,
Yeah, that how it works. The transmitter plugs into an outlet.
Then you hold the receiver over breakers or fuses, and it will beep and the LED will flash when it detects the signal. The receiver has a sensitivity setting so you can pinpoint exactly which breaker or fuse the outlet is connected to.
At it's highest sensitivity setting, you may get the beep from adjacent breakers or fuses, depending on how the wires in the panel are routed. So you dial back the sensitivity wheel on the rcvr until you pinpoint just one breaker or fuse.
My wife and I will be able to easily map out the panel with her up in a room plugging the transmitter into each outlet and me down at the fuse panel. We'll use walkie-talkies to converse. |
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