My all new electric BCS-460 brewery

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hammis

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So I lost my last brewery is a ****ty (no pun intended) sewer back-up a few weeks ago. While this sucks, i'm pumped to be able to build a better system with a higher level of control.

I've been toying with a few ideas and i think that my new system is going to be a BCS-460 controlled 2 vessel all electric system modeled similar to the counter top brutus with a few changes.

It will be a 2 vessel system, 1) HLT/Kettle and 2) MLT, run on 240V 30 breaker. I plan on having both manual and auto control settings, so if the bcs ever stops working i'm still able to brew. I'll be converting my old stand to accomodate the 2 vessels and new control panel.

P-J, could i get you to help me out with a wiring diagram for my new control panel?

This is what i have so far:

1) all controls will be housed in a 20x16x8 nema 4 control panel
2) i have a 12" windows based touchscreen panel pc i'm going to connect directly to the BCS-460 (its takes 120V input power)
3) i would like to have the option to control the element(s) manually and with the BCS
4) i want it to have an e-stop which would kill power to everything except the bcs and touchscreen panel pc
5) i'd like to be able to start the whole system up with a key switch
6) for now there wont be any electronic ball valves, but i might add them later
7) i also want to stay flexible so if i decide to upgrade the system back to a 3 vessel i will be able to do so

So far i have collected the following to begin work:

- 20x16x8 electrical enclosure
- 12" touchscreen panel pc
- 30a dpdt 120v coil contactors (2)
- 3 pos, maintained, NO switch (2), with 2 additional NO contact blocks for each (1 for the element in the HLT/Kettle combo, the second if i want to upgrade to a 3 vessel system)
- 2 position, maintained, NO switch (for chugger pump)
- mushroom e-stop
- 2 position, maintained, NO key switch
- green 120v LED pilot lights (3), one for each element and one for the pump
- blue 120v LED pilot light, for then keyswitch main power
- red buzzer/LED pilot light, for BCS timer alarms
- pushbutton, non-maintained, NO to reset BCS buzzer/timer alarms

I still have to get the BCS, SSR's and all the plugs for the elements, main power, temp probes and pump.

Thoughts?
 
This is what i have so far for a wiring diagram. I used my MS Paint skills to hack a drawing P-J had made (sorry P-J, please help). How would you wire in a keyswitch? That part I left out because I have no idea on how to do it. Please help.

BCS-460-wiring-2-4.jpg
 
This is what i have so far for a wiring diagram. I used my MS Paint skills to hack a drawing P-J had made (sorry P-J, please help). How would you wire in a keyswitch? That part I left out because I have no idea on how to do it. Please help.

Hammis,

Have quickest, easiest way to wire in a key switch is to use a contactor on the front side. Take a look at my kits to get an idea on how to wire it. With the draw your thinking, a 40a contactor will be plenty.
 
thanks for the suggestion. i also found another method on Kal's website.

Any suggestions on how to wire in the resistors? or where to get them from?
 
thanks for the suggestion. i also found another method on Kal's website.

Any suggestions on how to wire in the resistors? or where to get them from?


Honestly, never looked for them. I'm not a big fan of the design, but that argument has been beaten to a pulp. I would venture to bet, the best place to look in short distance is RadioShack. If you have a Frys, even better.

Ryan
 
so i made some quick changes. decided to add another DPDT for the estop instead of the grounding way.
P-J any help with the diagram would be greatly appreciated (PLEASE)

BCS-460-wiring-2-4.jpg
 
If you use DPST contactors you'll save more than twice the price on each one. Here is a ebay item #390297684730 for the folks I buy mine from. Best deal anywhere, don't know if they ship to canadia though.
 
hammis said:
so i made some quick changes. decided to add another DPDT for the estop instead of the grounding way.
P-J any help with the diagram would be greatly appreciated (PLEASE)

Looks pretty good as you have it for your goal. I definitely recommend keeping the pc and bcs isolated from the estop as you have done. That way you don't completely lose a batch if you hit the estop.
 
A few updates to the build progress. Built my new stand this weekend, pictures below:

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so below are some more pictures of progress on the control panel. I've been slowly working away at it for a week. All the holes were drilled and the hole for the control panel and heatsink were cut. MOst of the guts are arriving within the next week so i'll be able to start wiring soon. Going to prime and paint it this weekend.

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What kind of monitor is that and how is it held in place? That was how i wanted my panel initially but wasnt sure how to go abou it
 
The panel is made by Proface, model number: PS3650A-T42S. Its 12.1". I got it on ebay for $200, they usually go for a significant amount more than that (I got super lucky). As for mounting it, there are special clips with screws which hold it in place. Unfortunately my unit came without the clips/screws, so i've had to gerry-rig something, i'll post a picture later on.
 
So i've pretty much ordered everything I need and now i'm just waiting for the last few parts to show up. While waiting for the guts to show up I completed some work done on the control panel exterior. I finished drilling the rest of the holes ie. all the bottom connections. I also primed and painted the enclosure. Next step is to order all of the tags and finish wiring up the guts, hopefully I can get most of the wiring done this weekend.

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This is what I've been designing. But my touch screen has to interface with a lap top or tower so it can talk to the BCS. Does your touchscreen have a processor or grahics card built into the touchsreen. I was planning on having a hidden mini to work as the interface but htis ould be easier.
I have almost all the parts too start(except the BCS) so when i get home from afghanistan i can have a build fest.
Here is my wiring diagram.

View attachment CONTROLLER.pdf

View attachment PANEL.pdf
 
i checked out the monitor it is all self contained, that is cool. something else to buy for the brewery.
 
rspiger said:
i checked out the monitor it is all self contained, that is cool. something else to buy for the brewery.

With as cheap as many of the Android tablets are getting; I think we'll start seeing people use those soon. Seems like that's the route that I would go given that it's essentially a touchscreen LCD with web browser and wifi for $100 or less.
 
Very cool man, excellent drawings and diagrams. Yeah I had thought about going the android tablet route but I wanted to be able to mount whatever I got in the actual enclosure and from the research I did there are very few which have an rj45 port. I also got the unit I have SUPER cheap so I decided to go that way. I received all the remaining parts this week (minus one stepdown inverter) so this weekend is going to be a big weekend of wiring and getting stuff done so I can start programming the BCS. I'll post more pictures on sunday of my progress.
 
Now that Brewer’s hardware purchased BCS I know Darrin will get the components back in stock, and the BCS web site will get revitalized. I'm over here until May so I’ll be watching your build with much interest and envy. Many photos if you can. Everyone’s input has allowed me to design my system
 
One thing I noticed is I uploaded my original diagram, it has some flaws here is the correct version.
This design is different than most because I'm using on off pushbuttons instead of three way selectors. It takes more sss'rs but I think it looks cleaner on the control panel.
The buttons and the screen are all flush mount. They are mounted in an 18 x 20 piece of SS, bent in to a slanted console. It mounts to the side of my brew bench. The table has a 6 inch back splash, so the panel bolted on to the table blends right in. Or least it will when I get home to build it. All the ssrs and other wiring is in an enclosure mounted under the brew bench on a hinge so it swings dun for access. I just need to be home to put it all together. But here I have plenty of time to design ahead of time rather than my build on the fly technique.

View attachment CONTROLLER.pdf
 
I didn't realize brewers hardware bought out bcs, that's crazy. I'll definitely keep the updates coming. Good luck across the pond, stay safe.
 
Thanks guys, the forum keeps my interest up in breweing, it gives me plenty of time to plan and design. And buy parts.

:mug:
 
Here is notice for Brewers hardware,

Big announcement! Brewer's Hardware has acquired the assets of Embedded Control Concepts, and will be the exclusive provider of the BCS series temperature controllers. We are very excited for this new direction for the product. Brewers Hardware offers world class brewing equipment, and we're extremely happy that they've chosen to add the BCS into their offerings.

Many customers have noted here on the forum, and emailed me directly about BCS availability concerns. Unfortunately we haven't had the time or resources to keep up with the demand. With the new arrangement, I'm happy to say that this will no longer be an issue.

As for me personally, I'm not going anywhere. I will be helping to manage the transition in a consulting role. For the sake of nostalgia, I've attached a picture of one of the first BCS user interfaces. Its come a long way, and all because of great customer feedback from BCS users like you. I can't wait to see where it goes from here! Thank you for your continued support
 
Another pay day and another order from Brewer’s Hardware.
I ordered 40’ silicone tubing and the rest of my fittings. The only good thing about being over here is I can save my beer money to buy beer making equipment. I noticed that Darrin has now listed the BCS 460 for sale now and the BCS 462 available on 1 Nov!! Also ECS has posted the latest update for the BSC.
So many parts to buy before I get to brew!!
:ban:
 
Very cool, I used to used silicone tubing but found it too floppy so I switched to the high temp thermo plastic, personally like it much better. I know I've been slacking with updates, I will try and gone some pictures and stuff written this weekend. 95% of the wiring is done and I've worked out on paper how I want the programming for a brew day to go. So I'm hoping to get that done and programmed by the end of the weekend as well as getting the rest of the mechanical stuff completed. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to run a trial with some water and see if it all works.
 
so below are a few pictures of various stages of wiring within the control panel. its currently mounted on a swivel LCD tv mount, but you cant really see it in the pictures, i'll try and take a better photo later.

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and here i used the Kal method to mount the heating element and covered the cable with braided hose. turned out pretty good

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sorry about the sideways pictures, not sure why it keeps doing that. I've also included the code i've written up for the BCS. I worked on programming it today and got it all uploaded onto the unit, i think it all makes sense. There was one post in specific on the ECC forum which helped me a great deal.

View attachment BCS program.pdf
 
So finished off the last few items on my list over the last few weeks and got all the final wiring done yesterday. I turned it on yesterday and everything seemed ok, so since everything seemed to be in working order i thought it would be a good idea to do a water trial today. Before doing the trial i had to update the web interface on the panel PC (it has an old version of IE on it). While in the process of doing this, i heard a pop in the panel and everything except the blue main power light died. first reaction, OH **** !!!!! after disconnecting the power i opened it up and started looking around, i was hoping it was one of the quick blow fuses for either the BCS or the panel. So i changed the fuse, connected the power and tried to turn it on again. The blue Main power light turned on but nothing else happened. So now I'm thinking to myself, ok time to see where there is and isnt power flowing. So with a pen style voltmeter i quickly started testing wires and low and behold it looks like i somehow blew the coil on the first contactor (the one which lets power into the enclosure and goes to everything else). So that was a HUGE relief. Now the question remains how did i blow the contactor coil???? Thoughts? I had a similar setup on my old system and never blew the coil, maybe it was just a faulty contactor, cuz if i'm not mistaken the coil should last for something like a million throws. If anyone has any other ideas please advise.

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What was the contactor coil rated voltage? It was rated as 120V (or mis labeled) and powered with 240V - done deal.

Edit: Or just plain bad component.
 
P-J thanks for the quick response, it was labeled as a 240V contactor with 120V coil. If the key switch which activates the coil is pulling voltage from one of the input legs could it be that it drawing more than 120V?
 
P-J thanks for the quick response, it was labeled as a 240V contactor with 120V coil. If the key switch which activates the coil is pulling voltage from one of the input legs could it be that it drawing more than 120V?
I believe if the coil was powered from one line of the 240V power and Neutral the contactor was defective as 120V was being delivered to its coil.

Before you order a new one, just meter the coil input power to see what is being delivered. It just takes a moment and you will know for sure.

P-J
 
ok thanks P-J, i'll check it out tonight and see what the multimeter reads
 
So i checked out some of the wiring with a multimeter and the coil hot to neutral leg read 120V so it makes me feel a bit better. When i checked continuity of the coil it read infinity, meaning it is actually pooched. So i guess i'll be ordering a new relay and hopefully everything will be ok once that gets replaced.
 
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