Mash Rig Control Center

[Tony]

now all i need is a mash rig stand to sit it all on. :angry:

I will get it built one day. I just hate welding

This is to be the brain for my brewing, mine is no good any more, its pickled

It has a 45 amp solid state relay to run the 3600W element in the HLT, 2 temperature controllers, one to keep the HLT temp constant and the other will measure the mash temp as it exits the mash ton and either run it through the heating coil in the HLT or bypass it automaticly via solenoild mounted on the side.

I can also switch it to manual and over ride the temp controller and run it through which ever way i choose regardless of the mash temp

gee i cant wait to get this baby up and running. It will really make brew day more fun. Well for me anyway

cheers folks.

tony

 

[Hoops]

Oooooooooh sexy :wub:
That is exactly how I was thinking of doing my HERMS system, so I will be very interested in more info (total cost, parts required etc)

Hoops

 

[delboy]

holy crap

he has done what the big boys do automation
will this take the fun out of brew day ?

nice one hope it dose the business
now you have a semi commercial set you will be brewing more than mercsown.

del

 

[Goat]

I'm gunna need the tissues over here....

Nice work !

 

[kirem]

Very nice job.

What are those solenoids? Brand model price supplier etc?


K

 

[Tony]

ummmmmmmmm cost.............

begged, borrowed and ........... well it would not have happened if i didnt work with this stuff every day.

the omron temp controllers are about $250 each, same for the solenoids roughly.

they are units with faulty alarm relays that are no good for work.

I removed the blown relays and got them working again. perfect for the mash rig i thought.

the solenoids came off some obsolete plant that got removed.

a mate of mine has a fried who fixes industrial air conditioners and has leftover solid state relays.......... i love freebees

the rest was lying around in our "surplus electrical bits and pieces area"

1 to 1.5 thousand i recon to buy all new.

like i said, im lucky to work with it all day and to know how to wire it all up.

patience waiting for the parts to pop up is good to.

cheers

 

[vlbaby]

Looks pretty good. Soon you'll be able to just sit back on brew day and flick the on switch, and voila!

Isn't it amazing how one can get hooked up in the engineering side of homebrewing. Its very addictive.

Good stuff!

vlbaby.

 

[Tony]

well i do have an engineering diploma in industrial electronics

i just cant help myself

cheers

 

[PhilS]

Excellent piece of work there Tony. I was going to ask if you are involved in the panel/cubicle wiring side of things, it certainly shows.

There is just as much fun playing with automation as there is in manual work I reckon. You must be proud to say "I built it myself!"

 

[Ross]

Tony,

You've come a long way from the set-up I saw earlier this year - But it still made bloody good beer... :super:

 

[big d]

looking the goods tony.just hope it being automated doesnt take away to much of the fun in brewing.
yep im jealous.

cheers
big d

 

[warrenlw63]

they are units with faulty alarm relays that are no good for work.

[post="88146"][/post]​

LOL! :lol: They didn't get a bit of help along the way with the "faultiness" did they?

BTW Setup is looking impressive.

Warren -

 

[AndrewQLD]

Top stuff Tony, full automation, way to go. I'm jealous.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

WOW... an electrician that ACTUALLY does neat wiring on his own equipment, not many of them around.

Nice setup....I shall check it out in a few weeks when I come down and catch up for a beer...


Did you ever work out how to control the element using an SCR or Triac. I started to work on out but the trigger circuit gave me a head ache...

 

[Justin]

Nice panel Tony. Good work. Very neat and professional looking.

I'm currently building one myself, will most likely be a bit simpler but then it might not either. Really depends what ebay can turn up for me.

What I was hoping you might be able to help me with is where to buy those rotary switches you've used for your AUTO/OFF/MANUAL control. I can not for the life of me find them. I've tried Dick Smiths, Jarcar, Altronics, RS Components etc and I just can't find them. I'm really only after one or two so it kind of makes mail order a bit expensive-if I can find them-but I'd really like to find some.

I'd like to have the ON/OFF/ON functions in a switch rated at 10 Amps so I can flick the power between my hand held element and back to the HLT-never having both on at any one time.

I'd appreciate any help you can give on the matter. I'm at a loss.

Cheers mate. Justin

 

[Asher]

I like it tony.....


After running a very similar system for a couple of years now I find the only manual tweaking I do is where you have the solenoid valves on the HLT....

Once the HLT temp is set (slightly higher than desired mash temp) and I'm ready to recirculate my mash to step up the temp I begin by pumping all the wort through the coil, then as the temp in the tun increases I need to bypass some flow to get required return temperature. So on-off solenoids here will limit control IMO
I have thermometers at the outlet of the mash tun & on the return line just after the heat exchange in the HLT. this way I know when the whole mash has been recirculated by checking the tun outlet gauge and can constantly monitor the return(desired mash) temp and tweak it by utilising the bypass ....

What are your thoughts/plans here?

Asher for now

 

[delboy]

justin have you tried WES COMPONANTS in sydney here is ther phone number 0297979866.they also stock gutsy solidstate relays as well.

cheers del

 

[Justin]

Cheers mate. Will give them a try.

FWIW I'll drop that stuff in the post today. Didn't get to the post office earlier in the week.

Cheers mate.

 

[Tony]

Justin

Go into a big electrical products like lawrence and hanson etc and ask it they can source "KRAUS & NAIMER" switches
They would be perfect for what you want (the same as the one for my pump)

I found one in a catalogue with 3 positions, 1 off 2 on the plate and can get in 10 amp rating part no. CG4 A210-620 E
Or 20 amp rating part no. CA10 A210-620 E

Asher, i will have the temp probe mounted at the outlet of the mash ton and a dial guage at the return point to keep an eye on both temps. I think this is needed because if you overheat it it will overheat the whole mash before the system picks up the raise in temp at the bottom.

Stu.... the triac control got canned for now. It can be done but too much buggering around and it is not really needed in a little home brewery like nime. I will have the solid state relay hooked up to the element and this will do good enough.

cheers

 

[Trough Lolly]

Nice work Tony,

Pants are out to.......here!!

TL