Breweries and Introduction

Brewer's Friend 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
J

Jonathon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
69
Reaction score
2
Location
Australia
Hey guys,
I have been visiting HBT for a while now and thought I would introduce myself. Im an electrician from Australia and have been all grain brewing for the last 2 years. I must admit i have done alot more building than brewing.

These are my two Rigs, The first is a 50L all electric, RIMS, fully automated brewery.

3 * 3.6kw elements
8 * actuated valves
4 * temp probes
USB io card
custom interface written in VB.
P1010098.JPG

software.bmp


The new system has a 180L capacity all stainless with triclover fittings and electric HERMS system controlled by an SLC500 PLC with scada interface. It has a tipping mash tun for easy spent grain removal. Around %80 finished another month and it should be a goer....

gallery_4393_159_614075.jpg


P10503277.jpg


Cheers..
 
AWESOME! Another forum user to be completely jealous of!

J/k - Welcome to the forums, well welcome to actually "talking" on the forums. You seem to be a very good person to become great friends with. :mug:
 
REAL FREAKIN' NICE..... already on the verge of getting my new system in operation, then some jerk comes in and sucks the damn wind right out of my sails. :(
Bloody awesome and impressive system, but I still hate you! :D
 
Great system!

How much automation did you put into your computer stand?

Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
Thanks for the warm welcome guys, opening a brewpub or similar is definitely a long term goal..
few more pics

mash tun tipping:
P5030025.JPG


New control cabinet
09032009(003).jpg

09032009(001).jpg
 
After looking at that setup, I can't decide whether to cry or **** my pants. Maybe both.

Amazing setup, man. You just made 99% of this forum insanely jealous. Welcome aboard! :mug:
 
It is hard to determine the scale of your vessels on first pic of your second setup. Do you have a pic with your new setup next to a standard keg?

180 liters is just under 50 gallons. Damn, you Aussies drink a lot of beer!:cross:

My 10 gallon batches (~1.054) takes about 23 lbs of grain. So 180 liters would take a little more than 2 x 55# sacks of grain.

Now show us your grain silo(s), fermentation setup and your serving setup!:mug:
 
Man, and all this time I've just been jealous of the people who have their simple three-tier setups.

Then YOU come along and post these pictures... I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you have to die now.
 
That is freakin' awesome. I gotta know what valves you are in the using in the first picture of the 50L.
 
ClutchDude said:
That is freakin' awesome. I gotta know what valves you are in the using in the first picture of the 50L.
Click to expand...

They are Honeywell VC6012 240v valve actuators. Used for HVAC normally i think.

bernerbits: Id rather not die, its not finished yet...
 
WOW, finally someone has built a professional looking plc control system for a homebrewing system in a Stainless steel console cabinet. Looks like you are going to be using pneumatic actuators for the valving, pneumatics going to mount in console or in external enclosure.
 
kladue said:
WOW, finally someone has built a professional looking plc control system for a homebrewing system in a Stainless steel console cabinet. Looks like you are going to be using pneumatic actuators for the valving, pneumatics going to mount in console or in external enclosure.
Click to expand...

Yes the actuators are pneumatic, the valve block for these is mounted just not plumbed up yet. If you look at the control cabinet picture the valve block has 8 modules and is in the middle right of the board.
 
Damn nice build bro! I built PLC's for a living for about 4-5 years, you did a great job. Where are you getting the AB SLC500 cards and chassis? How many thermocouple cards are you using, and if you don’t mind me asking and how much did they cost you. I can’t seem to find a cheep place to buy them. I was thinking of going w/ GE but I really like the AB programming software. Are you going to be using any touch screens? Would you be willing to shoot me an I/O list so I can see what you are doing?
Again GREAT build.
Cheers
JJ
 
Jaybird said:
Damn nice build bro! I built PLC's for a living for about 4-5 years, you did a great job. Where are you getting the AB SLC500 cards and chassis? How many thermocouple cards are you using, and if you don’t mind me asking and how much did they cost you. I can’t seem to find a cheep place to buy them. I was thinking of going w/ GE but I really like the AB programming software. Are you going to be using any touch screens? Would you be willing to shoot me an I/O list so I can see what you are doing?
Again GREAT build.
Cheers
JJ
Click to expand...

Thanks mate..
I got the SLC rack and processor locally on ebay abot $350 aussie. Im using a 4 channel ptd100 card that was purchased from an American seller on eBay also for around USD$100, ill try and find details but eBay especially in the US has a lot of gear. I would stick with AB for sure. If you PM me your email i can send you the io list when I dig it up. I have written a HMI interface in Visual Studio that talks to the SLC and I'm yet to purchase a touch screen to run it on.
 
Boy you have some great looking rigs!

What kind of beers have you done with it? Have you found it lacking in ability or difficult in getting it dialed in?

If you have some time, can you take some close up pix of both rigs and details, and describe their operation? Some of the other members of HBT have done the same, and it has been very educational.

Thanks!
 
VFib said:
Boy you have some great looking rigs!

What kind of beers have you done with it? Have you found it lacking in ability or difficult in getting it dialed in?

If you have some time, can you take some close up pix of both rigs and details, and describe their operation? Some of the other members of HBT have done the same, and it has been very educational.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hey mate ,
I have brewed mostly Pale Ales in the smaller system and some dark ales, repeating the same recipe to check reliability which once set up and tuned is very repeatable. The all stainless system is not operational yet. I have more pics and will post them with more description soon as I put the Tig down...

Vern,
Its a 1928 Chev Roadster owned by my Dad since he was 17 and rebuilt to original condition, still driven almost weekly, do you have pictures of your Chevs? Dad would love to see them.

Cheers Jonathon.
 
Jonathon is in Australia and built a cool brewing system. Dr Kharma is in Sweden, building a cool brew system.

I guess it can be said that foreigners have cool brew systems.

Nice job. Look forward to seeing some action shots of this bad boy.
 
McKBrew said:
Jonathon is in Australia and built a cool brewing system. Dr Kharma is in Sweden, building a cool brew system.

I guess it can be said that foreigners have cool brew systems.

Nice job. Look forward to seeing some action shots of this bad boy.
Click to expand...

Cheers mate,

That's how we roll down under..! :rockin:
 
What are the chances you could share some of your VB code with us and explain your whole setup on the first rig? I'd love to build something like it.
 
Pez said:
What are the chances you could share some of your VB code with us and explain your whole setup on the first rig? I'd love to build something like it.
Click to expand...

Hey Pez,

I would be more than happy to share some of the code, id prefer if people had specific areas in the code they are interested in as there is around 100 hours of coding and I'm not willing to give it all away . :eek: As for a explination ill work on that, too much going on in the shed at the moment.

Cheers
 
Jonathon said:
Hey Pez,

I would be more than happy to share some of the code, id prefer if people had specific areas in the code they are interested in as there is around 100 hours of coding and I'm not willing to give it all away . :eek: As for a explination ill work on that, too much going on in the shed at the moment.

Cheers
Click to expand...

ACK! Super secret Aussies!
 

Similar threads

B
For Sale 10 Gallon 220V Electric Brewer HERMS - Idaho
Replies
0
Views
513
Boisebeer
B
A
For Sale Complete 15 Gallon Electric Brewery for sale - central Texas
Replies
0
Views
598
audiophool
A
T
For Sale Complete Turnkey Professional grade Brew set
Replies
5
Views
1K
leoatslt
L
adamyoung
Indiana 20 Gallon (1/2 BBL) Electric HERMS Brewery w/ Stout Tanks & Kal Clone Controller, Plus Extras
Replies
1
Views
1K
adamyoung
adamyoung
adamyoung
For Sale Stout Tanks eHERMS 20-gallon electric brewery setup
Replies
9
Views
2K
adamyoung
adamyoung
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top