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Hoping to tap the keg of knowledge and get some thoughts on how I should proceed.

I've got an electric brewery set up in my basement but missing one key ingredient. Electricity. I don't have room in my panel to run another 240v circuit, so that's off the table.


I was originally planning on cutting a hole through an interior wall into the laundry room from the brewery space. Through the hole I'd pull a generator cable which would plug into the dryer outlet, with the other end connecting to my panel. This will work but running a temporary cable through a wall cavity is a code violation from what I've read.

Other options inclide:

-Wire another dryer outlet on the wall in the brewery space and wire both outlets to a transfer switch. (These switches seem expensive)

-Run pvc conduit between the two walls with a duckbill plate on either side and pass the cable through that. (I think this is still a code violation but sounds a little safer as the cable is better protected and easily pulled through.)

-Wire a male L14 plug in the laundry room and a female L14 on the brewery side. Connect the dryer outlet to the male L14 and the panel to the female.

Any other options I'm not considering here? I'm guessing this is sort of a unique situation but if anyone has suggestions id love to hear them.

Thanks

How far is your dryer outlet from your panel without going through walls?

I plug my panel into my dryer outlet too. I have a GFCI spa panel beside the outlet, I plug the spa panel into my dryer outlet when I brew. The spa panel is hardwired to my brew panel which is roughly 12 - 15 feet away (that cable is in the ceiling).

What size batches are you brewing. I'm doing 5 gallon batches with two 120v outlets/elements on different circuits. Might be easier than trying to get 240 as long as you have two different 120v circuits.

Well, it's a code violation (not to mention foolish) to run a temporary cable through a wall. But what's wrong with running a permanent cable (ie, proper 30A cable, stapled, fastened to outlets at both ends)?

It's odd, and it wouldn't be acceptable in new construction (a drier should be on its own circuit), but I'm not certain there's anything illegal about it.

Rob's solution, though, is totally acceptable--the only awkward part is that most drier outlets are not very accessible.

samuwilliam wrote:Hoping to tap the keg of knowledge and get some thoughts on how I should proceed.
Other options include:
-Wire another dryer outlet on the wall in the brewery space and wire both outlets to a transfer switch. (These switches seem expensive)

You could always use something like this as your switch between two "dryer" outlets.

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B003AUIRNY/ref= ... Wzb23GA133

I have a 25ft cable from my dryer outlet to my controller and I brew outside. When I brew I just unplug the dryer and plug in my controller. The nice thing about this is I didn't need anyone to certify it because its not a modification. The GFCI is next to the outlet. If you want pics just let me know.

Thanks for the info everyone. I also posted this on HBT and got quite a few repspnes there as well for those that may be interested. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=635658

I'm heavily invested into 240v, 15 gallon setup so 120v is not really an option.

It seems I could, in theory, wire a second dryer outlet off the first without breaking code, however, without a switch there's a good chance someone would try to run the dryer while I'm brewing and trip the breaker. Not the end of the world but annoying.

The switch posted looks like it would do the job but it's expensive in my mind at $100+ bucks.

Wiring an outlet in each room and connecting through the wall with a proper wire seems like a good idea but I can't seem to find the right outlets. In my mind I'd need a male outlet l14-30 in the laundry room and a female l14-30 in the brew space. That way I can connect to the dryer outlet to the l14 -30 in the same room then connect the panel to the other l14 in the brew space without ending up with the business end of 240v sticking out.

Ive got 25 ft of gen cable but would probably need closer to 50 to snake all the way between rooms without going through walls or ceiling joists.

Ugh... Decisions decisions...

Put in split breakers to liberate space in your panel


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