The Brauduino (Matho’s Controller) Build/Advice/Question Thread

[SBOB]

pretty sure there is a setting regarding inhibiting/allowing pump during boil (or above a certain temp), which you will need to disable

 

[malt junkie]

On the hardware side there are a few things to check also. Obviously check your wiring of the circuit including the pump button. Without the element or pump plugged in, check the Pump SSR LED lights up when the pump turns on. (don't power the system with the enclosure open)

A picture of internal wiring would be very helpful.

 

[zwitter]

Hi Malt Junkie et al

There was no SSR for the pump in standard trim!

It can be setup to use the second SSR for the pump but was not the way we speced it in the beginning.

It is better to get a small 2A SSR if you want to go SSRs all the way. I posted a little guide on how to install a small SSR for pump.

James Zwitter




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[malt junkie]

Hi Malt Junkie et al

There was no SSR for the pump in standard trim!

It can be setup to use the second SSR for the pump but was not the way we speced it in the beginning.

It is better to get a small 2A SSR if you want to go SSRs all the way. I posted a little guide on how to install a small SSR for pump.

James Zwitter




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

On the hardware side there are a few things to check also. Obviously check your wiring of the circuit including the pump button. Without the element or pump plugged in, check the Pump SSR LED lights up when the pump turns on. (don't power the system with the enclosure open)

A picture of internal wiring would be very helpful.

oops see what happens when you got too many electronic toys!!!

As per Zwitter the relay is on board and no external indication given other than the front led display.

Note the pump Led is actually part of the circuit if it isn't correctly plugged in the circuit won't work.

More pic's please

 

[sluggerdog]

Hi Slugger,
I've not noticed an issue with mine, but I only usually measure during the mash. It is consistently within 0.5-1C at the top of the malt pipe.

How is the T piece situated? Could it be an air pocket that is insulating the probe slightly? If there is consistent flow, I would expect that the liquid temp would be virtually the same as in the kettle as I wouldn't think it would have time to cool, and you've said it's been fine before (is that also with a temp measurement?). My guess is an air pocket, but you'll have to say if that is possible.

Following this post from a while ago I brewed again yesterday where I had temp differences of up to 8c compared to my thermopen.

I decided to pull things apart and see what was going on.

The following photo shows the cause of all my issues. All that nasty built up gunk is hiding my temp probe, surprisingly beers have still been good even though they have been passing through this for I'm guessing a long while.

Anyway, after some reconfiguring my temp probe is now within the pot, I wish I did this the first time. It's reading with 0.1c of my thermopen. I also have fewer places for gunk to build up now.

 

[Mardoo]

Thanks for sharing that. Always good to know where to look!

 

[Kingy]

I checked my setup last week as my beers have been a little bit on the sweet side lately and haven't attenuated as they should and found it to be 3 ° out. I put it down to an air pocket in the t piece, I done a caustic clean as well and it got a fair bit of gunk out. Got a beer fermenting at the moment so I'll see how that goes. It might be time for a strip down and a good soak but after seeing that photo.

 

[buckerooni]

On the hardware side there are a few things to check also. Obviously check your wiring of the circuit including the pump button. Without the element or pump plugged in, check the Pump SSR LED lights up when the pump turns on. (don't power the system with the enclosure open)

A picture of internal wiring would be very helpful.

Thanks malkjunkie, tested this - powered on, no element/pump connected. LED lights up fine.

The pump does work fine when in auto, LED lights up etc, I even restarted my 'auto' program after this issue and the pump worked fine! might be some config around running pump at a certain temp? Will look through the setup again. I remember setting pump off when boil, maybe there's another config somewhere.

 

[buckerooni]

Hi brauduino builders

Wattage
Wattage. Equals volts multiplied by amps
So 2400 watts is 10 amps multiplied by 240volts
3600 watts is 15amps times 240volts
4800 watts is 20 amps times 240volts

Houses in most of Australia have a minimum of 2 power circuits. And neither may have more than 60% of the load in the house.

When we designed the controller the purpose of having 2 SSR and 2 inputs was so that we could run a second element on a different circuit.

My house has 4 power circuits. 2 in house and 1 in garage a nd the 40amp one for my welder.
I normally split my brewing across any 2 circuits. I have a 2400watt element and a chugger pump and that will happily run on 1 circuit. I use second circuit to run an over the side 2400watt element during boil. Chugger uses about 150 watts so one standard powerpoint can run single 2400 watt element and chugger etc.

I have a 50 litre pot but mainly do batches around 25 litres and 2400watt does a very poor boil. With the second 2400 watt i get a vigorous boil.

If 8 build another I would up the element to 3600 or 4800.

Figure 8 cable is just 2 wires attached next to each other and comes in lots of different sizes. The figure 8 i used was small and only for control signals to SSRs and to run the 12 volts. It was not big enough for the 240volt side of the SSRs.


Cheers

Zwitter
James

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I've got 2 x 4500w camco elements in my 100L pot. Ramps at 1 deg every 30 seconds running them at 80% with about 80L - I like alot! Did notice the unit gets a bit warm, are fans mandatory running this much power?

 

[malt junkie]

I've got 2 x 4500w camco elements in my 100L pot. Ramps at 1 deg every 30 seconds running them at 80% with about 80L - I like alot! Did notice the unit gets a bit warm, are fans mandatory running this much power?

Fans will prolong the life of your SSRs. I could show you some photos of melted SSRs, though there was a dodgy batch or two of Foteks that did that, even under small loads. The heat sink without fan will deal well with around 3600w, above this and your risking over heating the SSR/s.

 

[buckerooni]

good to know, where should these fans be mounted on the unit?

 

[malt junkie]

On the rear of the heat sink there are holes for an 80mm computer fan (12v)

 

[zwitter]

Hi Buckerooni

The SSRs will get warm but if they are too hot to leave a finger on the heatsink then I recommend a fan.
I ordered my fan on epay as it is an odd size. I put a little switch on the side of the controller to switch it on and off. I have a second switch that turns the control line for second SSR off as well as easier than switching 20A. Use that to control the boil if required.

James


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[malt junkie]

Hi Buckerooni

The SSRs will get warm but if they are too hot to leave a finger on the heatsink then I recommend a fan.
I ordered my fan on epay as it is an odd size. I put a little switch on the side of the controller to switch it on and off. I have a second switch that turns the control line for second SSR off as well as easier than switching 20A. Use that to control the boil if required.

James


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

2 x 4500w, it's going to get a little warmer than your or my 2 x 2400w!

 

[Mardoo]

Having trouble finding the post describing how to wire the fan into the controller. Anyone remember where that is?

Just bought a fan

 

[malt junkie]

Wire off the 12v supply that powers the board.

 

[micbrew]

yep , I can confirm having a fan is the shiz ...my heat sink does not even get warm ,,previously without fan ..hot baby hot

mick , is there a chance you can look at my other controller
I believe I need a new board and reflash ... after I zapped it

 

[malt junkie]

yep , I can confirm having a fan is the shiz ...my heat sink does not even get warm ,,previously without fan ..hot baby hot

mick , is there a chance you can look at my other controller
I believe I need a new board and reflash ... after I zapped it

sure we can sort something out. My Lael kit is in pieces on the dinning table while I work on V2.0. I have to say Lael put in a lot of work to get this done, I've really only fleshed some stuff out at this point, it's going to take me months.
Trying to get to town for the southern courage release, but have to see what the doc says. PM me over the weekend.

 

[zwitter]

Hi Micbrew

Shiz ?
Your spell checker seems to be defective!

James
Zwitter


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[micbrew]

yep............. ..shooda been ..........shizzle

not ta mention my grammatical errors

ha ha

mick

 

[Futur]

Is anyone having issues with the PWM power adjustment during boil?? In auto mode my controller starts the boil timer once the boil temperature is reached, then it just provides boil temperature adjustment and is a right pain in the ass/impossible to maintain the correct boil power using just boil temperature adjustments.

Any ideas??

 

[Futur]

I think it's related to the pump during boil setting. As soon as I disabled that I had PWM control return at the boil. It's slightly annoying if you want to do a no chill as if you want to pump the wort out you have to go into settings and enable the pump during boil and adjust the temp lockout to about 100C.

Wish there was just a pump lockout setting you can use without having the pump come on during the boil!

 

[Jase]

Hi All,

I'm not sure whether it is worthy of a poll, but I'm interested in finding out what size setup most have gone with. I'm not sure whether to create a single batch or double batch setup. I realise that at the end of the day, it is my decision, but I see pros and cons in both setups.

Cheers,
Jase

 

[malt junkie]

I went with a 100L main pot, a 35L MP and a 50L(odd)MP. About to put together a second system 50L keg with a BM20L MP. 35L odd malt pipe gives you a mild ground to do singles and doubles but your doubles won't stretch much above 1050.

 

[LiquidCurrency]

Hey gang. Just thought I'd share my finished product.
Finally done, however it took me so long that if I have have looked at building now, I probably would have just bought a Gainfather.
Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the final outcome.
Rough prices of components are as follows:
Lael controller $300? I can't recall exactly how much it was
Ss Brewtech kettle $280
Heat element $140
Brau magnetic pump $80
Brau original malt pipe and mesh plates $160 (I think)
Beermometer $80
Skin fittings $17ea
Various parts fittings couplings and cables $100

I also originally used a Bayou Classic (you'll see in some pics) boiler however it never survived the welding. It was an American built heap of thin cheap junk, and I suspect it was very low grade stainless, wasted my money on that pot, had to cut the legs off.

As you can see it wasn't the cheapest of builds as I used more premium end of parts however it certainly came in under the original Brau price. I'm a Mechanical Fitter and an Electrician and when I looked at the Braumeister's I just couldn't see $2500 worth of hardware and software. I was originally going to build a manually operated machine however came across Lael's kit which was great timing.

I'm yet to christen it (although I have cooked a sous vide with it) as I've only finished it this week and am just working out the boil off rates etc.

I also have no idea on how to drive it! Is there a manual for this thing? How do I program the time and temp settings?

It needs a name too. iBrew? Thoughts, suggestions?

Anyhow have a look at the pics. Happy to answer any questions.
Chris

 

[terragady]

How SSRs are attached to heatsinks? Is there a space between ssr metal plate and heatsink or you covered it somehow? I am doing a new build and I do not have space for heatsink inside but I am not really shure how I can put it outside that way that all metal plate from SSR will touch heatsink.

 

[lael]

Beautiful piece of work! Yes you can select manual, and change the temp to match the setting you want. If you haven't already, run through the config on the unit.

Hey gang. Just thought I'd share my finished product.
Finally done, however it took me so long that if I have have looked at building now, I probably would have just bought a Gainfather.
Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the final outcome.
Rough prices of components are as follows:
Lael controller $300? I can't recall exactly how much it was
Ss Brewtech kettle $280
Heat element $140
Brau magnetic pump $80
Brau original malt pipe and mesh plates $160 (I think)
Beermometer $80
Skin fittings $17ea
Various parts fittings couplings and cables $100

I also originally used a Bayou Classic (you'll see in some pics)

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1488027518.178314.jpg

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1488027518.178314.jpgboiler however it never survived the welding. It was an American built heap of thin cheap junk, and I suspect it was very low grade stainless, wasted my money on that pot, had to cut the legs off.

As you can see it wasn't the cheapest of builds as I used more premium end of parts however it certainly came in under the original Brau price. I'm a Mechanical Fitter and an Electrician and when I looked at the Braumeister's I just couldn't see $2500 worth of hardware and software. I was originally going to build a manually operated machine however came across Lael's kit which was great timing.

I'm yet to christen it (although I have cooked a sous vide with it) as I've only finished it this week and am just working out the boil off rates etc.

I also have no idea on how to drive it! Is there a manual for this thing? How do I program the time and temp settings?

It needs a name too. iBrew? Thoughts, suggestions?

Anyhow have a look at the pics. Happy to answer any questions.
Chris

 

[lael]

Cut a hole in your box, so that the SSR goes through, and then make sure your heatsink is larger than that on all sides, with enough space to tap into the heatsink through another set of holes in the box, and then screw it in. heatsink through box. mounting screws - box wall - heatsink.

How SSRs are attached to heatsinks? Is there a space between ssr metal plate and heatsink or you covered it somehow? I am doing a new build and I do not have space for heatsink inside but I am not really shure how I can put it outside that way that all metal plate from SSR will touch heatsink.

 

[terragady]

@lael

ups, I have a signle heatsink which is exactly same size as SSR. I will have to figure something out thanks for help!

 

[eviltabouleh]

That is glorious!

Hey gang. Just thought I'd share my finished product.
Finally done, however it took me so long that if I have have looked at building now, I probably would have just bought a Gainfather.
Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the final outcome.
Rough prices of components are as follows:
Lael controller $300? I can't recall exactly how much it was
Ss Brewtech kettle $280
Heat element $140
Brau magnetic pump $80
Brau original malt pipe and mesh plates $160 (I think)
Beermometer $80
Skin fittings $17ea
Various parts fittings couplings and cables $100

I also originally used a Bayou Classic (you'll see in some pics) boiler however it never survived the welding. It was an American built heap of thin cheap junk, and I suspect it was very low grade stainless, wasted my money on that pot, had to cut the legs off.

As you can see it wasn't the cheapest of builds as I used more premium end of parts however it certainly came in under the original Brau price. I'm a Mechanical Fitter and an Electrician and when I looked at the Braumeister's I just couldn't see $2500 worth of hardware and software. I was originally going to build a manually operated machine however came across Lael's kit which was great timing.

I'm yet to christen it (although I have cooked a sous vide with it) as I've only finished it this week and am just working out the boil off rates etc.

I also have no idea on how to drive it! Is there a manual for this thing? How do I program the time and temp settings?

It needs a name too. iBrew? Thoughts, suggestions?

Anyhow have a look at the pics. Happy to answer any questions.