Well, my control box is well under way. The Boil Kettle PID and SSR and mounted and wired. As are the switches for both PIDs. Working with a 30a 240 circuit is both a blessing and a curse. Having a 4500w element is fantastic, but working with 10ga wire is a pain in the ass.

My power cable finally arrived, and it is MASSIVE. I knew it was going to be rather large, but I'll admit, I was absolutely shocked how large it actually is. The 17' cable and the GFCI weigh roughly 10 or 15 pounds. I was planning on hard wiring the cable to the control box, but due to the weight of the cable, I purchased 30a twist-loc connectors.

The iPhone is there for a size reference.

So ten days ago, I brewed my first batch on the new system. I used our old control box to maintain the mash temp, and the new one to drive the HLT/BK. There were a few hiccups and discoveries along the way, but overall, everything ran very smooth. I'll have a fully documented (read: photographed) rundown of the brew day on the new system soon.

P.S. Stay tuned, the first two IPAs in my clone series are under way. You can always see what's on tap or fermenting on my What's On Tap page at the top