My brew controller box

[Edak]

Awesome bargains!

 

[Camo6]

Can anyone recommend a suitable material for the mounting panel (correct terminology?) or a place to source them?

I though I had a decent sized piece of aluminum around but can't find it. Was thinking a thin piece of steel sheet? Part of a PC housing perhaps?

 

[Ditchnbeer]

I have finally upgraded my brewery controller and no longer brewing in the potato chip box!
I pump the mash up thru my HERMS coil which is installed in my HLT, the PID controls the element heating water in the HLT and I monitor the temp at the outflow of the coil going back into the mash tun. So I didn't want anything complex, and left enough room for future addons if needed. Main points of design are:

- wanted a non-metallic box so found a fibreglass box from tiboxaustralia (in Adelaide) on ebay. Easy to make cutouts for mounting components.
- temperature sensor cable, element cable and pump cable can all be unplugged from enclosure for cleaning etc
- one 10A circuit breaker for supply to element and another breaker for all other electrical components
- rotary switch controls pump and light for visual indication of ON status
- 2400W element heats approx. 18 litres of water in my HLT for sparging, so uses a normal 10A power point

Got a new man cave now so cant wait to get in there n brew with the new setup!

 

[Ditchnbeer]

Just got to add a cooling fan to top of box to move air thru unit over SSR (there is already an air filter installed at the bottom) and all finished.

 

[coopsomulous]

I have just started planning my control box here. All my PID's, SSR and RTD's have been ordered and Im now looking into cases. I dont have a single brew place at my house (the wife wont let me have one of the spare rooms ) and typically brew out the back and store all my gear in the shed. Because of this, I want my control case to be portable and be able to cover the electronics when in storage.

I have been thinking of using a pelican case with a panel on the inside. Bascally all the instruments and plugs would be on the inside for protection. To use, you would open the lid, plug everything in and off you go. This probably isnt the cheapest option, but we use pelican cases at work to carry instruments and such around and they are really good cases for protecting electrical gear.

Anyhow, has anyone here used a pelican case for their control case?

 

[Ratsathome]

Sorry to hi jack the thread but here is a pic of mine.
Still in the process of cladding the boiler and HLT. The mash tun was finished a while back.
Was using gas but worked out to expencive.
Changed to electric.

 

[mattlea266]

I have finally upgraded my brewery controller and no longer brewing in the potato chip box!
I pump the mash up thru my HERMS coil which is installed in my HLT, the PID controls the element heating water in the HLT and I monitor the temp at the outflow of the coil going back into the mash tun. So I didn't want anything complex, and left enough room for future addons if needed. Main points of design are:

- wanted a non-metallic box so found a fibreglass box from tiboxaustralia (in Adelaide) on ebay. Easy to make cutouts for mounting components.
- temperature sensor cable, element cable and pump cable can all be unplugged from enclosure for cleaning etc
- one 10A circuit breaker for supply to element and another breaker for all other electrical components
- rotary switch controls pump and light for visual indication of ON status
- 2400W element heats approx. 18 litres of water in my HLT for sparging, so uses a normal 10A power point

Got a new man cave now so cant wait to get in there n brew with the new setup!


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Hi all
Trying to find a cheaper option to the auber temp probe lines. I like the look of yours mate, any chance of a few more closeups and details on where to find them.
Its the last thing I need to add to my box. Not sure if my box is of a high enough standard for this thread. We will see how it finishs up.
Thanks
Matt

 

[Rieewoldt]

I have finally upgraded my brewery controller and no longer brewing in the potato chip box!
I pump the mash up thru my HERMS coil which is installed in my HLT, the PID controls the element heating water in the HLT and I monitor the temp at the outflow of the coil going back into the mash tun. So I didn't want anything complex, and left enough room for future addons if needed. Main points of design are:

- wanted a non-metallic box so found a fibreglass box from tiboxaustralia (in Adelaide) on ebay. Easy to make cutouts for mounting components.
- temperature sensor cable, element cable and pump cable can all be unplugged from enclosure for cleaning etc
- one 10A circuit breaker for supply to element and another breaker for all other electrical components
- rotary switch controls pump and light for visual indication of ON status
- 2400W element heats approx. 18 litres of water in my HLT for sparging, so uses a normal 10A power point

Got a new man cave now so cant wait to get in there n brew with the new setup!

Mine will be a very similar build mate. What size hlt and how are your heating times with 2400W?

 

[Camo6]

Managed to get a bit of work done on my controller today. Mounted the SSR's and heatsinks. Painted the mounting panel and added some DIN rails. Marked out the fascia and even managed to cut out the PID holes.
I also managed to dig a broken drill bit into it and had a burr bit go AWOL. Serves myself right for doing this the day after a big wedding (thankfully the beer was Henninger not VB!). Anyone got any tips for polishing scratches out of brushed stainless? I think it's either live with it or polish it to a mirror shine.
Now waiting on a decent hole saw for the LED's and switches, as well as some terminal strips from China. Sorry for the crappy pics:

 

[Camo6]

I thought I'd post this here to save starting another thread on controllers and Truman's helped me with some good advice for my own build.

I've just about got all my bits and pieces together and have started planning my wiring schematic. Can anyone see any obvious flaws with this circuit?
I'll be using two 10a feeds, each operating a PID controlled 2400w element and a kaixin pump.

I'll be getting an electrician in the family to do the final inspection and testing but I've been enjoying the knowledge I'm gaining from this project.

 

[Camo6]

^ Bump for the evening crowd.

 

[MastersBrewery]

The diagram looks good to me, and that's just from looking at similar setups for years now. Though there is one thing I'd look at; it need more lights I mean your going to all that trouble and 5 LED's is all you can fit in there? I feel Your not putting enough effort into the bling we all crave.

MB

 

[Camo6]

Haha! I haven't included the led strip which will surround the fascia and pulse to the tempo of any brew tunes playing. Actually I haven't included the 2 alarms and mute switches.
The only thing I've noticed is if one circuit trips then the mains light may or may not be illuminated depending on which rcbo drops. This is no biggie though as I'll be visually able to see if a PID turns off.

 

[Camo6]

Might as well keep the pics in this thread since it's been helpful to me looking at people's setups. Started on the wiring tonight:

 

[Judanero]

LED's pulsing in sync with beats = next level brewery bling. B)

 

[jonnir]

Just curious why people add circuit breakers in there control panels? Am I missing something?

 

[Camo6]

Just curious why people add circuit breakers in there control panels? Am I missing something?

Do you mean why not just rely on the main switchboard? I'm using RCBO's in mine. I figure it'll be safer if I was to brew on another premises with an unknown switchboard (unlikely, I know). It'll also save me walking out to the meter box if it trips which may limit the amount of beer I can drink on brewday.

 

[jonnir]

Fair call. I suppose the old saying buy once buy right.

 

[Ditchnbeer]

Mine will be a very similar build mate. What size hlt and how are your heating times with 2400W?

A bit late to reply but my HLT is 18 litres. Have to drain every last drop to get my volume in the boil kettle. Was a bit price conscious at the time of purchasing all my new equipment so I have to refill HLT once sparging is over to run hot water thru MT and HERMs coil for cleaning with PBW. In a perfect world I would have a 30 litre HLT.

Heating times I haven't actually measured. About 12 mins per 10 degrees with full HLT (18 litres) I think.

 

[Camo6]

Finally finished the wiring today. Fired it up tonight and so far so good. Now to install the probes into the rig and figure out how to program a PID! I better get some labels made up too. Big thanks to Truman for his help and for letting me bomb his thread. :beer: