Starting an Electric Brew control panel for AG brewing

[sjp770]

Just wondering about the colour? The rest of the line is fine.

 

[Crouch]

What about the colour worries you ... looks like hop oil to me

 

[sjp770]

Cool. It was a purple tinge that got me thinking.

 

[sjp770]

So its all done and pouring. Still working on the carbonation but I have a bigger issue, the beer is a lot more bitter than I'd like. Is there anything that can be done at this late stage?

 

[mofox1]

You could blend it with another brew (obviously one that is much less bitter).

No idea how feasible this is once kegged and carbed. I've only done it half/half mixed in the jug from two separate kegs.

 

[Crouch]

I've found that some of my beers that are bitter to start with, mellow after some aging ... or after the first 5

 

[Hawko777]

 

More purchases today:

From eBay

20x Quick Blow Glass Tube Fuses 250V 7A 5 x 20mm DF006 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270790388404 AU $2.99
5 x PCB Panel Mount Fuse Holder AC250V 10A for 5 x 20mm http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161341635371 AU $2.67
AC 220V LED Pilot Indicator Signal Lamp Black Blue http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/290913976365 AU $3.73
3 1/2 Blue LED Digital AMP Panel Meter + Shunt AC 50A http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/370412412396 AU $25.57
3 1/2 Blue LED Digital Volt Panel Meter AC 700V http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/370412413897 AU $18.18
Round Red Cap 6P Terminal DPST Momentary Push Button Switch AC 220V http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161342158983 AU $3.96
2x Green LED Accident Indicator Pilot Light Lamp AC 220V http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111367509449 AU $4.26 ea.
AC 220V 22mm Panel Mount LED Power Indicator Pilot Signal Light Lamp Red http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161240463910 AU $1.81
2pcs 220V 240V 22mm Flash Light Red LED Active Buzzer Beep Indicator AD16-22SM http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110943667649 AU $4.99
2x Thread Connection Yellow LED Signal Indicator Pilot Light AC220V http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400729386114 AU $4.57 ea.


From Aliexpress

2x (1)10 Position/Pole 20 Hole Screw Terminal Blocks Covered Barrier Strip 600V 15A
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6133682594.html
Usd $0.90 ea

3x 220VAC 80A DPDT Power Relay Motor Control Screw Mount
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6133682595.html
US $9.50 ea

 

Hi
R U sure they are the correct Relay's?
Those ones are 28vdc coils whereas the items on ElectricBrewery.com state to use 240vdc coil.
I'm in the process of ordering so please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sjp770]

Look back through.. I corrected it. Maybe mods can remove that link? I'll find the real link I sent on in a PM and report back.

Edit: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/220VAC-80A-DPDT-Power-Relay-Motor-Control-Screw-Mount/1482936491.html

 

[mofox1]

Hi
R U sure they are the correct Relay's?
Those ones are 28vdc coils whereas the items on ElectricBrewery.com state to use 240vdc coil.
I'm in the process of ordering so please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Build it however you design it. I went with 240VAC coils, but then as opposed to SJP I'm not doing any low volt stuff (with the exception of the pid SSR output of course).

Make sure you know what each component does, and how it fits into the whole picture.

All my stuff is yet to be assembled... About $600 or so worth of parts, all as mechanically and electrically tested as I could manage, just waiting for me to finalise the layout (to work around existing posts etc in the panel).

Hopefully I'll do a build thread to do it justice, if people aren't sick of these by now!

But yeah, take your time, plan it right. And good luck!

 

[sjp770]

Agreed. I wish I didn't have the metres in mine. You can see the changes I did re layout and connectors (two 10A sockets). Remember you can make it do anything you want.

 

[sjp770]

So the third brew came out today. I'd say I got about 36L out in the end. ABV is 5.2%, bitterness is under control but it tastes quite grainy.. Like the smell of the pilsner grain I used. The other brews didnt have that and were more "beery"..? Will it settle out over time?

 

[sjp770]

Bit of an update, its been a while but the last brew I spoke about above went down really well. Took a keg to a 1st Birthday party and all the Dads loved it. Even some of the mums! Comments like "I'd buy this" or "I dont drink beer but this is amazing". It really made sharing it worthwhile. The whole keg went in only about 2 hours.

I finally have another brew on, this session was much better as I didnt spend half the day making sure everything was triple cleaned and perfect until everything after the boil stage. I also bought 8m of Heavy duty silicone tubing which was better than the light duty stuff.

Before i brewed I also installed sight glasses and calibrated it. SO much easier fly sparging.

Next improvements will be a propper 70L stainless pot for the boil stage. Also maybe a 30L one for smaller batches.

Pumps need to be replaced, I had to back flush multiple times while mashing.

 

[sjp770]

Got a Citra Smash brew through the other day. Turned out amazing but the ABV was about 6.5% due to me just rounding up the grain amount to 10kg of Marris otter. Great to drink but after about 2-3L in a session it hits you. I have a 75L SS Brewtech boil kettle on order which will mean I'll be able to increase the grain (there is space in the mash Tun) and increase the final boil volume to make more use of the big 64L fermenter. I'll aim for 4-5% next time but I'm going to do the same Citra Smash... Might dry hop with galaxy though.

Got the go ahead to start a brewery shed next year too just need to make it pretty and open onto an outdoor entertaining area.

Also worth noting I acquired a D size O2 bottle for fermentation aeration. Wasn't that expensive and the tradeflame bottle had failed on me after one or two uses.

 

[sjp770]

Oh, and I ended up with two stainless keg king pump Tops after a shipping error so there's that too