The Brauduino (Matho’s Controller) Build/Advice/Question Thread
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nothing wrong with that, the plugs are rated to 20A so makes sense to wire internally for 15-20A use in the future so that should that day ever come you dont need to rewire itLiquidCurrency said:
Looking at yours, I'm wishing I had used slightly more flexible 2.5mm cabling (i just used some tps+earth I had lying around which made neatly bending/routing the cables a bit trickier)
LiquidCurrency
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Yea I thought about using that too. The 2.5 TPS is nice and rigid in that it bends and sets neatly and stays that way.SBOB said:nothing wrong with that, the plugs are rated to 20A so makes sense to wire internally for 15-20A use in the future so that should that day ever come you dont need to rewire it
Looking at yours, I'm wishing I had used slightly more flexible 2.5mm cabling (i just used some tps+earth I had lying around which made neatly bending/routing the cables a bit trickier)
I did use it on the pump relay too which, even for flex, i found a bit rigid for the plug at the board. Just need to be delicate with it when opening.
Hi Liquidcurrency
Quote"
Yea I thought about using that too. The 2.5 TPS is nice and rigid in that it bends and sets neatly and stays that way.
I did use it on the pump relay too which, even for flex, i found a bit rigid for the plug at the board. Just need to be delicate with it when opening."
The Pump circuit in the Brauduino is a relay so a mechanical switch with contacts rated at 5A. The reason for using a relay and not an SSR is that the SSRs only switch AC power and do not work with DC power. So any one using the LBP on 12 volts can still use our controller.
If you plug even a 2000W element into the pump outlet and switch the relay on you may well burn the relay contacts. The relay can be replaced but not a good idea.
2.5 wire (from twin and earth TPS) is really not suitable for the connection to the little green connector to the relay. if you see the photos of mine you will see I used thinner flexible 240v wire as you would find in a power cord from any electrical device. the flex will save risking the plug coming off or putting strain on the PCB.
the 5A on the relay will switch power for march 809, Chugger etc on 240v and also if wired for 12v will switch power for LBP etc. If anyone needs assistance to wire for 12v pump then let me know and will provide information.
zwitter
Quote"
Yea I thought about using that too. The 2.5 TPS is nice and rigid in that it bends and sets neatly and stays that way.
I did use it on the pump relay too which, even for flex, i found a bit rigid for the plug at the board. Just need to be delicate with it when opening."
The Pump circuit in the Brauduino is a relay so a mechanical switch with contacts rated at 5A. The reason for using a relay and not an SSR is that the SSRs only switch AC power and do not work with DC power. So any one using the LBP on 12 volts can still use our controller.
If you plug even a 2000W element into the pump outlet and switch the relay on you may well burn the relay contacts. The relay can be replaced but not a good idea.
2.5 wire (from twin and earth TPS) is really not suitable for the connection to the little green connector to the relay. if you see the photos of mine you will see I used thinner flexible 240v wire as you would find in a power cord from any electrical device. the flex will save risking the plug coming off or putting strain on the PCB.
the 5A on the relay will switch power for march 809, Chugger etc on 240v and also if wired for 12v will switch power for LBP etc. If anyone needs assistance to wire for 12v pump then let me know and will provide information.
zwitter
ramu_gupta
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Hey zwitterzwitter said:
Would appreciate some information about best practice for wiring up a LBP.
That's some tidy wiring! What did you use to loop the ssrs on the 12v side?LiquidCurrency said:Still need to point to point test but pretty much done!
ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1447032013.957051.jpg
ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1447032061.873080.jpg
The switching of the pump power is done via the relay on the board (connecting the left to the right side of the plug connection on the board for the pump). If you want to wire the pump outlet to be only 12V then wiring only 12 V through this will provide you with a switched 12V source you can use for the LBPramu_gupta said:
The following should be taken with whatever grains of salt you feel comfortable with, with respect to getting advice of a random person on a forum regarding electrical work:
Assuming you want to connect it using the same plug/sockets on the back, you could do the following (I'm assuming the 12V transformer is capable of running the LBP, I'm sure Zwitter will clarify if it isnt)
For the socket you are going to use for the pump outlet from the box:
- Wire the N to the -ve output from the 12V transformer (12v side)
- Wire the L to the right output of the pump connector/relay on the board
- Wire the Ground as normal (though I dont think the LBP has a ground/earth connector)
- Wire the +ve from the 12V transformer (12v side) to the left output of the pump connector/relay on the board
Now when the pump is called to run the pump relay will switch/activate and 12V will be present on that socket.
Wire the plug to suit (N to the -, L to the + ) using whatever external cabling you feel suitable for the LBP. for the LBP however you intend to wire it)
if you look at the board side image you will see that they have taken two wires out of each of the +/- connectors on the heater plug.Ferg said:
Then each wire is run into one of the +/- connectors on the SSRs (so technically there is no loop as each is being driven/switched directly from the board)
LiquidCurrency
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That's true. I decided not to loop at the SSR's, and to run pair for each relay. Not sure why, I think I just found it neater.SBOB said:
I prefer not to loop too much. Continuous looping can cause over loading on the cable at the start of the loop circuit, would take a fair few SSR's to do this however.
Hi ramu_gupta
SBOB has described the correct way but is a little confusing.
Basically the realy on the PCB is just a switch. When on the two terminals are connected together. The power supply (it is not a transformer) is rated to deliver 2Amps. The PCB and arduino Mega and driving the SSRs etc uses only a fraction of that. The LBP says it draws 0.67 amps so should be fine using the internal supply. Would probably drive 2x LBPs but would need to be mindful that the extra draw will create additional heat in the controller.
You can use the pump socket supplied and use the active and neutral pins. Then it is just a matter getting polarity correct. V- to the pump socket, V+ to the relay plug and other side of relay plug to the other pin of the pump socket.
I would still connect the earth to the socket and to any metal of the pump as appropriate.
Or can add additional socket if you can find the space on the back of the controller.
Zwitter
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SBOB has described the correct way but is a little confusing.
Basically the realy on the PCB is just a switch. When on the two terminals are connected together. The power supply (it is not a transformer) is rated to deliver 2Amps. The PCB and arduino Mega and driving the SSRs etc uses only a fraction of that. The LBP says it draws 0.67 amps so should be fine using the internal supply. Would probably drive 2x LBPs but would need to be mindful that the extra draw will create additional heat in the controller.
You can use the pump socket supplied and use the active and neutral pins. Then it is just a matter getting polarity correct. V- to the pump socket, V+ to the relay plug and other side of relay plug to the other pin of the pump socket.
I would still connect the earth to the socket and to any metal of the pump as appropriate.
Or can add additional socket if you can find the space on the back of the controller.
Zwitter
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ramu_gupta
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Thanks zwitter... looking forward to giving it a go.
For someone who failed Electrical Engineering 101, can you clarify what's actually going on in the box?
From my limited understanding:
The SSRs switch the heating elements on/off (which are instructed by the PCB (or the Arduino? This part I also don't know)).
Given that the pump is such a small load, it is switched on and off by the PCB (no requirement for a 20A SSR).
The power supply transforms 240V to 12V to power the PCB (in theory this could be removed and a USB connection from a computer provided directly to the Arduino?).
The aux power and aux heat don't need to be wired up if you aren't going to use them (but maybe best to do it now for future-proofing).
Additionally, could the aux heat switch be configured to operate a solenoid valve?
From my limited understanding:
The SSRs switch the heating elements on/off (which are instructed by the PCB (or the Arduino? This part I also don't know)).
Given that the pump is such a small load, it is switched on and off by the PCB (no requirement for a 20A SSR).
The power supply transforms 240V to 12V to power the PCB (in theory this could be removed and a USB connection from a computer provided directly to the Arduino?).
The aux power and aux heat don't need to be wired up if you aren't going to use them (but maybe best to do it now for future-proofing).
Additionally, could the aux heat switch be configured to operate a solenoid valve?
The Judge said:For someone who failed Electrical Engineering 101, can you clarify what's actually going on in the box?
From my limited understanding:
The SSRs switch the heating elements on/off (which are instructed by the PCB (or the Arduino? This part I also don't know)).
The SSR's work by
- When an active 12v signal is received on the control side, they switch the power on the load side. So in this case the control side is a 12v signal from the Arduino board and the load side is the 240v connection
This 12v signal can be constant, or in the case of the heater control from the Adruino board, switching on and off at a fast/controlled rate to PWM control the heating element
The wikipedia entry on SSR's provides plenty of basic info to understand how they work
Given that the pump is such a small load, it is switched on and off by the PCB (no requirement for a 20A SSR).
Yes, the PCB contains the relay which is activated when the pump is required
(much lower current requirements and no requirement for any fast switching PWM control either which would likely be both too fast and wear our the relay.. regular relays arent designed for that kind of switching)
The power supply transforms 240V to 12V to power the PCB (in theory this could be removed and a USB connection from a computer provided directly to the Arduino?).
This, along with supplying the voltage for control of the SSRs (via the Arduino board)
The Arduino board can be powered from the USB port (like when the system isnt powered up) but I dont believe this would provide the voltage/current required to operate the ssr and pump relays (someone else can clarify that one for you)
The aux power and aux heat don't need to be wired up if you aren't going to use them (but maybe best to do it now for future-proofing).
Nope. These are unrequired but you may as well wire them up now (or should I say your electrician should) as the extra time is minimal in the scheme of the project
Additionally, could the aux heat switch be configured to operate a solenoid valve?
As they are both controlled from the same 12V source the current board would not have the control outputs to provide you with a third 'control' signal
And you would also need to write the code for this control outputs operation also
Hi Judge
(Sorry SBOB)
The Arduino Mega is basically a computer on a single board. It has a processor, memory for program and inputs and outputs. This is where we load the ArdBir software.
The Brauduino "shield" the bigger green PCB is the bit we have that converts the signals from the Arduino into signals big enough to drive SSRs, relays, LEDs etc.
The shield board only has enough inputs and outputs for the current design. The Arduino Mega has lots more memory and inputs and outputs that have no connection to interface electronics at this time.
You could control other valves, hop droppers etc but will need some extra electronics and have software written to drive it.
There are possibilities for the second SSR and plug and sockets if you never want a dual element system. It would be possible to use the second SSR to drive the pump but at this time it is better to concentrate on the standard build
As to USB to power it sort of works but will not run the SSRs and relay as they use the 12v. The Usb only runs the Arduino and some other bits like the LCD.
Also it could create dangerous situations as far as isolation and not a good idea at all.
Zwitter
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(Sorry SBOB)
The Arduino Mega is basically a computer on a single board. It has a processor, memory for program and inputs and outputs. This is where we load the ArdBir software.
The Brauduino "shield" the bigger green PCB is the bit we have that converts the signals from the Arduino into signals big enough to drive SSRs, relays, LEDs etc.
The shield board only has enough inputs and outputs for the current design. The Arduino Mega has lots more memory and inputs and outputs that have no connection to interface electronics at this time.
You could control other valves, hop droppers etc but will need some extra electronics and have software written to drive it.
There are possibilities for the second SSR and plug and sockets if you never want a dual element system. It would be possible to use the second SSR to drive the pump but at this time it is better to concentrate on the standard build
As to USB to power it sort of works but will not run the SSRs and relay as they use the 12v. The Usb only runs the Arduino and some other bits like the LCD.
Also it could create dangerous situations as far as isolation and not a good idea at all.
Zwitter
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
A quick update - slugger dog sent his unit to me to check out. Finished marking last night and started checking it out. Basically, it looks like there are 2 issues to be aware of.
#1. The SSRs are designed to go DC side to DC in the center so that the AC points are far away from each other. Make sure you notice that the + and - for the dc are on opposite sides where they meet in middle and wire them appropriately.
#2. There seems to be an issue with ardbir 2.8.3 that prevents the heat from switching on. The same behaviour is not present in v 2.6.7 which is what most units shipped with. I'll try to figure out what is going on this weekend.
#1. The SSRs are designed to go DC side to DC in the center so that the AC points are far away from each other. Make sure you notice that the + and - for the dc are on opposite sides where they meet in middle and wire them appropriately.
#2. There seems to be an issue with ardbir 2.8.3 that prevents the heat from switching on. The same behaviour is not present in v 2.6.7 which is what most units shipped with. I'll try to figure out what is going on this weekend.
Hey gang,
So for the guys that have wired this already and used 2.5mm cable, what spade connectors did you use?
The real question I`m asking, I can only find atm 4.8mm for max 2.5mm cable, how`d you fit 20Amp rated cable into that whole? I`m all for tight holes but this one seems a little too tight.
I can find 6.8mm which will do it, did you use that and squash the sides down?
Marksy
So for the guys that have wired this already and used 2.5mm cable, what spade connectors did you use?
The real question I`m asking, I can only find atm 4.8mm for max 2.5mm cable, how`d you fit 20Amp rated cable into that whole? I`m all for tight holes but this one seems a little too tight.
I can find 6.8mm which will do it, did you use that and squash the sides down?
Marksy
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