About Time To Document This (Strut/Penrose/BCS-460 System)

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broncosmoker said:
looking good hyper, and a great helper there.

Side note: See there is nano over on your side of town trying to get going...Haff Brewery? I believe. My side just has a full brewery with Slanted rock..and $2 Tuesday's.Not that 4 miles to your side is a far trip lol.
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There are some folks in this neighborhood trying to start up County Line, their Kickstarter isn't going too well though. Haven't heard of Haff but they show up on Google, I'll keep an ear open. They're popping up left and right around here...

I like the $2 Tuesdays at Slanted Rock but I'm not a big fan of their beer. They have an awesome setup and I haven't tasted any flaws, they just have rather bland recipes. I wish they'd put the IPA on one of their nitro taps, I think I'd enjoy that enough to make the trek over.
 
For cutting steel electrical enclosures with a jig saw, we have always used the finest toothed blade you can find. I usually shoot for 2-3 teeth engaged in the cut thickness. This will greatly reduce having a bunch of chatter and shaking your arm off. I am also an ME and a machine designer. For some really cool labels, have you considered laser etching? You can buy stainless tags of various sizes for pretty cheap and with different finishes ranging in mirror polished down to rough brushed. You can buy them with either holes for riveting, or adhesive backed. My local laser guy can get his laser to etch in green, purple, or black. He can also scan any picture or graphics so you could use any font or logo you want. Small batch single run stuff like this he usually only charges me a setup fee of $50-$75. It may be a cool custom option if you can find something similar in your neck of the woods or online. I think the stainless labels with the flat black box would look badass.
 
TBBrewer said:
For cutting steel electrical enclosures with a jig saw, we have always used the finest toothed blade you can find. I usually shoot for 2-3 teeth engaged in the cut thickness. This will greatly reduce having a bunch of chatter and shaking your arm off. I am also an ME and a machine designer. For some really cool labels, have you considered laser etching? You can buy stainless tags of various sizes for pretty cheap and with different finishes ranging in mirror polished down to rough brushed. You can buy them with either holes for riveting, or adhesive backed. My local laser guy can get his laser to etch in green, purple, or black. He can also scan any picture or graphics so you could use any font or logo you want. Small batch single run stuff like this he usually only charges me a setup fee of $50-$75. It may be a cool custom option if you can find something similar in your neck of the woods or online. I think the stainless labels with the flat black box would look badass.
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I like the stainless idea, I think I'll have to see if anyone local does laser etching. I knew a guy in CO, not here though.

Definitely agree with you on the proper blade, I did it with a larger toothed blade and it shook like mad. But it's done :).
 
Definitely agree with you on the proper blade, I did it with a larger toothed blade and it shook like mad. But it's done .
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Find anyone with a cnc (even a hobby tabletop model) in your area, the labels are made from "tri-laminate" poly stock, you engrave the color on top showing the color in the middle of the laminate. Trophy shops normally have it too to make desk-door signs. If you can't find local, I have a antique (cantankerous) old bridgeport cnc I converted.

FOR the holes, (yes I know you are done) I have been using a plasma cutter with a template for about fifteen years now. Ten seconds per hole. HOLD the template, scribe with plasma torch, done. In Powerplants a jig saw vibration may knock offline relays controlling power and cities go black.

(thank you for putting me onto Chad for the filters, I will be in touch with him)
 
Dawai said:
Find anyone with a cnc (even a hobby tabletop model) in your area, the labels are made from "tri-laminate" poly stock, you engrave the color on top showing the color in the middle of the laminate. Trophy shops normally have it too to make desk-door signs. If you can't find local, I have a antique (cantankerous) old bridgeport cnc I converted.

FOR the holes, (yes I know you are done) I have been using a plasma cutter with a template for about fifteen years now. Ten seconds per hole. HOLD the template, scribe with plasma torch, done. In Powerplants a jig saw vibration may knock offline relays controlling power and cities go black.

(thank you for putting me onto Chad for the filters, I will be in touch with him)
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Trust me, if I had something else available I would have used it :). If I were to do it again I might have the eBrewSupply guys just sell me a pre-drilled enclosure, I'm guessing the cost difference would be smaller than the price of all the tools I used. That said it was still fun and a good learning experience.

Back on the build progress topic, I've been out of town on business all week and I'm trucking a motorcycle up to Seattle so we'll see if I make any progress this weekend. Luckily the wife starts up at work again Monday so the kids go to daycare and I have some time over lunch breaks to work. Someday I'll finish this :).
 
No updates as of late :(

Sold a motorcycle, bought a motorcycle, rode the hell out of said motorcycle, did some work travel, harvested and dried my hops, brewed a few beers, etc. Been a busy August. I've got a minor procedure later today that's going to limit my activity this weekend, that should allow me to get the enclosure painted and stuffed, then wiring. Once that's done I'll start up on the kettles, hopefully next week. Maybe...
 
Finally a bit more progress. Motorcycle season is coming to an end, so I'm finding time again :).

Power cord finished:



Took a closer look at the enclosure and decided not to paint it, the paint on there is not bad and I'm just not that concerned about the look, more the function. Heat sink is in:



And the SSR's:



"Fancy" labels (we'll see if I get motivated enough to replace the sharpie):



And made up the element wires:

 
Got some wiring done this week, ground and neutral run:



And started on the network connectors (totally new to me), I think I did alright:



It works fine, checked it when playing around with the BCS tonight, no issues. Looks like the BCS is good too, I'll have a bit of a learning curve but it appears doable enough.
 
Wow.

His cable is fine, and it appears he's using 568-B already.

WiringCat5OutletB.gif


Btw, it doesn't matter which wiring standard you use as long as both terminations for any segment conform to the same standard. You could bury 568-B home runs in the walls but use 568-A patch wires at either or both ends and everything will work just fine...

Cheers!
 
Also remember that the pinouts on the connectors vary by vendor.
 
Sorry for the late replies, taking longer than I would have hoped :cross:.

landshark said:
How did you get the 10% off at Strut Fittings?
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Coupon code SAVE. Easy peasy.

day_trippr said:
Wow.

His cable is fine, and it appears he's using 568-B already.

WiringCat5OutletB.gif


Btw, it doesn't matter which wiring standard you use as long as both terminations for any segment conform to the same standard. You could bury 568-B home runs in the walls but use 568-A patch wires at either or both ends and everything will work just fine...

Cheers!
Click to expand...

luhrks said:
Also remember that the pinouts on the connectors vary by vendor.
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It is 568-B, verified on the cable. Worked fine when testing out the BCS with just the wall wart. The temp probes are all 2 wires on pins 1 and 8 so I was able to cannibalize the other half of the cable for those connectors. So I think I'm good :D.

As for a real update, I've been busy. GABF and the like:



I've also been hard at work wiring, just about done. All I have left is the blanking plate for the 6th hole in the ethernet wall plate and the pump outlets (leaving them off until I get the ethernet plate all finished). Nice little rats nest:



Should be buttoned up by tomorrow. Then I have to bite the bullet and start drilling stainless. My least favorite part...
 
Control panel is done. Feels good man. Threw the twist lock connectors on the pumps so those are more or less done too. Running out of things to do that aren't drilling stainless...

Worked on the stand a bit too, dropped the legs so it's at a nice height and more stable. Pic:



Did this in the process:



Meh, cheap Chinese junk anyways, I'll replace it tomorrow. Probably with more cheap Chinese junk. Then I somehow managed to break a filter wrench and a strap wrench changing my whole house filter, long story. Not a good night for tools in this house.
 
So the stainless drilling was...actually not that bad at all. Got a 1/2" and 1/4" bit from Lowes (Dewalt Cobalt, not cheap but they're good for stainless) and went to town. The odd thing was the 1/2" was way easier than the 1/4", both sans pilot holes (bits have a nice pilot point). All drilled and ready to start punching and assembling (HLT pic as it's got a bunch of holes):



Had to pause halfway through to chase down some neighborhood hooligans that were out smashing lightbulbs. I caught up to them quickly on my dirt bike and gave them a good deal of swearing and the like. Hopefully I scared them enough that they don't come back this way.

Might try to punch more holes today, we'll see. I've got this to keep me busy tonight:



Happy Halloween!
 
I was able to find some time to punch the final holes and get some fittings installed:



The conduit punches are pretty amazing, they just chompa chomp their way through and make an easy clean hole. Wish I had more reasons to use them.

One more note, in Kal's write up he mentions that you can probably use a hand drill to put the big holes in the element boxes. I disagree, I couldn't find a way to keep the hole saw from walking and ended up with holes way off target. As they're not super functional I'll probably just grind until I have enough clearance for the back of the element, but for those going this route, either use a drill press or devise another method, I'd try to dissuade you from the hand drill method.
 
Nice work! And I might have to borrow the punches from you sometime, I've got a smaller kettle I'd like to convert into a eBIAB to do smaller batches.

And that pumpkin ale was awesome!!!
 
ejluttmann said:
Nice work! And I might have to borrow the punches from you sometime, I've got a smaller kettle I'd like to convert into a eBIAB to do smaller batches.

And that pumpkin ale was awesome!!!
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Glad you guys made it over to have some, need to free up keg space as I'm sure I'll be brewing like crazy when this thing is done.

The last bit here has gone really quick. Installed all the fittings aside from the coil on the kettles today, they look like little R2D2's now:



Also, as mentioned above, the hole in the box needed significant rework and is now ugly. Luckily it's nice and hidden. Boxes drying overnight:



Not a ton left, if I can install the elements tomorrow I'll be doing some leak testing. Then install the HERMS coil, trim the sight glasses and put on the stickers, mount up the pumps and chiller on the stand, and once the power outlet is installed sometime next week, start experimenting with some water batches. Damn near exciting!
 
Alright, I'm at a loss. Can't get the damn compression fitting ferrules to clamp onto the coil. Any advice? I'm using big wrenches and torquing as hard as I can with no luck.
 
Never mind, some strong arming and it looks to have sealed :).

Leak Testing:



Wiring:



Outlet is going in soon, need to mount the pumps and the chiller to the stand but I'm awful close to testing.
 
MrFeltimo said:
Nice work mate,
Is that a moterbike and sidecart in the picture?
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Yeah, that's my old Ural Tourist. I sold it a few months back, fun bike but a lot of upkeep and I never rode the thing. Replaced it with an 08 Yamaha WR250R which has been a hoot.

The 2014 Urals are supposed to all be fuel injected, once they work out those kinks I may buy another, the sidecar was a blast to own.
 
Yep, I've done the sous vide several times, as well as water bath canning for my wife. Because I do BIAB I have a steamer/strainer insert I use that keeps everything above the element :)
 
More updates, buttoning up the build portion:

240V plus a pair of 120's for whatever else needs plugged in (laptop, TV, etc.):



The thoroughly enthralling task of calibrating/stickering the site gauges:



Kettles and panel moved to their new home:



Anyone have a guess at the weight of the HLT with the coil and all the fittings (no water)? It's a beast.
 
Yea, my 20 gal eBIAB kettle weights far more than I thought it would, noticeably more with the BIAB basket, element, two valves and all the tri clover fittings :)
 
Same old story, busy busy busy :D.

Finished this though:


Mounted it here (Hose routing to the fermenter will be a bit odd):


Mounted up the pumps too:


I did actually plug it in and flip the switch. Lights came on, nothing exploded. Power switch is good, e-stop is good, element switch looks good, might have an issue with the wort pump switch wiring. Couldn't get the damn computer talking to the BCS, though I didn't give it too much time. I wanted to use a former HTPC running Vista (barf) that decided it doesn't have a wired network card anymore. Tried next with an XP Netbook that I had previously successfully connected, again no dice. I'll get it working, hopefully this week. Sort out the switch issue then water batch. Maybe before 2014 :D.
 
Another hour in the garage and the BCS is still giving me no love. 3 computers, 3 cables, no dice. Figures that since I understand the mechanical and electrical sides of this, the computer based stuff would be the trip up.
 
hyperboarder said:
Another hour in the garage and the BCS is still giving me no love. 3 computers, 3 cables, no dice. Figures that since I understand the mechanical and electrical sides of this, the computer based stuff would be the trip up.
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Are you using the BCS-finder utility to locate the IP address? When I had a problem with no communication to the BCS I found that this utility helped me locate it and then I could enter that address directly into my browser and connect.
 
ChuckO said:
Are you using the BCS-finder utility to locate the IP address? When I had a problem with no communication to the BCS I found that this utility helped me locate it and then I could enter that address directly into my browser and connect.
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Originally I tried the direct connect method which was giving me no love. This afternoon I blew the dust off an old WRT54G and plugged the BCS and laptop into that. Bingo, problem solved. Now to get programming and whatnot.

Related question for those more in the IT know than I am, when I plug into the router the PC maintains the wireless connection to my home network (different network) but it kills my internet. Any way around this? I want music while I'm brewing.
 
hyperboarder said:
Related question for those more in the IT know than I am, when I plug into the router the PC maintains the wireless connection to my home network (different network) but it kills my internet. Any way around this? I want music while I'm brewing.
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Check out the IP address of the IPv4 Gateway in the properties of each of your two network adapters (both wired and wireless). The address should be for the router that is attached to the internet modem.
 

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