# BIAB pid controller help



## snails07 (13/8/15)

I've recently got myself a little 20 litre crown urn to make the move into BIAB from extracts and have a few questions.

I'm thinking that my ideal setup will be something like:

Fill the urn
Flick the switch on my controller
Water heats to strike temp
Add the bag and grains
Controller keeps the temp steady for pre-defined time
Alarm/LED goes on after time is up
Wort then starts to heat up to boil temp automatically
Remove bag and drain
Continue boil for pre-defined time
Switches off automatically after time is up

So my questions are obviously around how to control the temps and get it to move from startup to strike temp to boil and then switch off.

I basically want to flick the switch and all temps are controlled automatically from start to finish.

So i know that i will need PID, temp probe, SSR and ????

Can a pid go through multi step stages like I've described or do i need to add something else to make this happen. Arduino perhaps?

Any pointers in the right direction appreciated.

Cheers


----------



## paulyman (13/8/15)

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/69155-the-brauduino-matho%E2%80%99s-controller-buy-thread/

Check out the thread above, it is for the Brauduino, which is an Arduino based controller that emulates the Braumeister PID controller.

I have one for my 50L 1V internal RIMS and it is great. Lael is currently putting together the latest batch so you could PM and see if he has a slot available.


----------



## Bribie G (13/8/15)

Unless you have some recirculating system, all you will achieve during the mash is to create a hotspot at the base of the grains, whilst the mash at the top will cool down.
I've been BIAB for six years now and I just lag the urn well, ending up with one degree loss over the typical mash.

You could no doubt use a temp controller to bring strike water to temperature and sound alarm, do the mash manually, then after hoisting the bag bring wort up to the boil, sound alarms for the various hop additions and switch off (with alarm) when boil is finished.

Nowadays I use "ok google" for my alarms. 

Quite a few threads on recirc systems that might help.


----------



## paulyman (13/8/15)

I forgot you will need to recirculate with a pump, otherwise you will cause stratification.


----------



## paulyman (13/8/15)

Looks like Bribie beat me too it.


----------



## snails07 (13/8/15)

Thanks guys.

@paulyman I am wanting to put it all together myself. So more wondering which individual parts i will need. Cheers

@bribieg thanks that makes sense. I was hoping to avoid lagging the urn, but also wanting to avoid a pump. I guess it's one or the other though.

So if i go down the path of lagging the urn, will i need an arduino or similar to control the different stages and the alarms?


----------



## anthonyUK (13/8/15)

I use a Sestos one for fire and forget mash temp setting.
They are pretty simple devices to build as shown in my diagram.







In use - I no longer recirculate like this as I couldn't see any benefit.


----------

