Electric brewery plans - need help

Finished wiring my enclosure finally...

Snaked the shielding from some spare coax cable for the RTD wires inside the box:






Then I wanted to put some sleeving on the RTD wires outside the box. This is mostly for some level of protection, plus it just plain looks better:


Solder on the RTD wires to the disconnect:


Slide the sleeving on:


Secure with shrink tubing:


Do the same on the other end, and this is a before and after:


Now to wire this guy into the enclosure:


[Continued on next post]

Secured the big guy to the bus bars:


A look inside:


...and the panel:




Then I put on my vinyl lettering:








Next, I get to work on the keggles...

TB

woah...very very nicely done!!!!!

Looks great!

Thanks for the comments, guys.

quick question for you...

If I were to follow the circuit diagram you used but with the addition of a third PID used simply for monitoring temperature, would I need to add an extra 25a breaker?

Thanks!

From the Auber Instruments manual, the PID consumes less than 2 watts. There's no reason you would need an additional breaker for that, however, you should protect it with another 1A fast blow fuse.

What's the 3rd PID going to monitor in your case?

TibersomeonewillchimeinifI'mwrongBrew

sounds pretty good, thanks!

nothing special, just the mlt.

I picked up a Blichmann Brewmomitor for my MLT. You might want to consider something like that for simplicity rather than another PID.

The way I see it, if your HERMS coil is efficient, and you have an adequate dial thermometer in your MLT, then you should be able to monitor your mash temp very well without the need for additional wiring and components.

TB

Nice job TB! Ive followed this thread since you started, and you've come a long way. So tell me about this vinyl lettering you have there. If you talked about it before then I missed it. Where did you get it?

MrSaLTy said:

Nice job TB! Ive followed this thread since you started, and you've come a long way. So tell me about this vinyl lettering you have there. If you talked about it before then I missed it. Where did you get it?

Click to expand...

Thanks!

I contacted my local sign/graphics shop and told them what I wanted. We emailed back and forth a few times and I ended up with the final product you see. I didn't talk about it on this thread before, so you didn't miss anything. I thought it would add a professional touch and be nice and clear to read. It was really easy to apply and is supposed to be pretty robust and last a while. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Erik

There is also this very interesting alternative in identifying your control panel, which I happen to have found on Kals website: http://www.signsbannerstags.ca/

I also have some pre-cut vinyl lettering for control panel labeling and it would be cheaper than having something custom done as long as it covers all the functions you have.

What size are your vinyl letters, Bobby? And where did you get them?

I had a bunch made up..

Bobby, are the letters white or black?

Bobby_M said:

I had a bunch made up..

Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I did. Gave the guy at the sign shop a PDF of the text I wanted (looked kinda like yours, Bobby), and he made it into vinyl cutouts with adhesive on one side. Wasn't too expensive, either.

TB

Got a lot done this weekend.

Got my enclosure mounted on the wall, mounted the pumps onto the stand, made my plug wires for the elements, and took care of a few other odds and ends.

It looks badass in my basement now. I must say.

TB

Reelale said:

Bobby, are the letters white or black?

Click to expand...

The ones I had made up are black. I've got about 10 left. I'm still waiting to see pics of completed panels from people that have bought some off me.

TB You are doing an awesome job and I love your attention to detail. I know you said you will be posting your parts list but I was wondering if you could tell me where you got your temp probs. You and the guys at The Electric Brewery have them and I just think they look really sleek, I love that you can take the lead of each end when it isn't in use and store the cable.

Thanks again if you have time to track down the seller on them.

Bean said:

TB You are doing an awesome job and I love your attention to detail. I know you said you will be posting your parts list but I was wondering if you could tell me where you got your temp probs. You and the guys at The Electric Brewery have them and I just think they look really sleek, I love that you can take the lead of each end when it isn't in use and store the cable.

Thanks again if you have time to track down the seller on them.

Click to expand...

Sure thing - I got them from Auber Instruments www.auberins.com. They are the liquid tight RTD with 4" probe 1/4" NPT. They come with just some clear plastic wrapped around the 3 wires (2 red 1 white), the probe/disconnect on one end, and the 3 spade lugs on the other. I cut the lugs off the end, put on some braided sleeving, soldered on another disconnect (that will plug into the enclosure) and secured with shrink wrapping. The trickiest part was soldering really tiny wires to a tiny connector by myself. You will notice any shaking in your hands when you're doing work that small!

Anyway, glad you like my progress. I'll keep updating and taking pictures when I can.

TB

^^
Note that if your are planning on getting the 2inch RTDs, the disconnects are no longer included. They have replaced it with a flexible spring which is ok but slightly less interesting than what they previously offered.

Thanks TB and P-J for the ideas & drawings! This thread has really been a huge help for me in planning my own system.

TB, is there any chance you have a part number for the SSRD's you got from Tyco? Im looking on their website and the ones they have look different.

Here's the SSRD from Tyco:
http://www.tycoelectronics.com/catalog/pn/en/1-1393030-4?RQPN=SSRD-240D25

This one should work, right?

TIA

shuie,

Please keep in mind that the SSRD units are very expensive. ($100 range) I believe he is now using single SSRs in his setup. They can be secured from auberins.com at a reasonable price ($15 - $20 range). He is also using contactors to isolate the 240V power from the elements.

Tiber_Brew, would you want me to change the drawing to show the actual setup?

Thanks, P-J. That's what I thought I was seeing.

Do you know if these are the SSRs?
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=9

I started ordering everything this morning so I'll call auberins and ask them to add the SSRs & heatsinks to my order.

shuie,

You certainly can use those. You can also use the 40 Amp SSR for a little extra margin. They only cost $4 more each. I believe that is what he is using.

Indeed, I'm using 40A SSRs from eBay. Those SSRs from Auber Instruments are practically the same as I'm using.

I decided that I wasn't comfortable using the 25A SSRDs from Tyco, and sprung the extra $19.98 for standard 40A SSRs from eBay. For one, I didn't like the connectivity, two, I thought I'd take the opportunity to upgrade to 40A capacity (not that that will make a huge difference, but, WTF).

Here's the Tyco SSRD:


P-J, go ahead and update the wire diagram for the SSRs instead of SSRDs if you want. I didn't have any problem with interpreting the diagram for my SSRs rather than the duals, but it'd be nice to have the record. You're the man.

TB

Putting on the sleeving for the element cables:


Wiring the plug:




Got the pumps mounted:


Here's my ugly ass wiring the 50 amp outlet:


No pictures of wiring the 50A GFCI breaker in the service panel, but I'm just as ugly while doing that.

It lives!!


I may not even have to calibrate the RTDs. They appear to match each other, and the actual temp of my basement. I had to setup the PIDs to recognize the RTD inputs, since the default is K-type thermocouples:


More updates soon...
TB

Ok. It now shows SSRs as single units instead of duals.



(click on the image for a full size diagram)

It lives!!

Click to expand...

Great looking control panel.
No need for Christmas lights this year

P-J I like your schematic presentation style, no electrical knowledge required.
Very impressive

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

ClaudiusB - Thank you very much for that.

Tiber_Brew - All I can say is "WOW"! That setup is looking just awesome & I'm really pleased that I could be of some assistance in your fabulous build. BTW - have you tested your EPO? It should be an instant kill for the entire system.

Thanks, P-J!

Yes, I did test the EPO, and it works beautifully.

TB

Tiber_Brew said:

Thanks, P-J!

Yes, I did test the EPO, and it works beautifully.

Click to expand...

Excellent! Thanks. This has been a fun trip for me. I can only imagine your trip.

where did you get those element plugs? i looked everywhere before i used those pre made dryer lines.

Do a search for "NEMA 10-30" Which is the official designation for a 3-wire, 240 volt, 30 amp plug.

I found this one: (I didn't price shop, just the first one I found)
http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=4745

That's exactly my plug, and exactly where I got it. Thanks, Sweetsounds.

So I tried coiling my 50' 1/2" SS tubing, and that was an epic fail.

There are more kinks in this thing than...well...you can fill in the punchline.

I'm not sure whether it's salvageable or not. And these things aren't cheap.

I'm either salvaging this SS coil, or going with copper. If I can get my hands on a tubing bender, I'll give that a shot. I'm worried about cold working those kinks and ending up with rips in the SS leaking my sweet wort into the HLT.

I'm open to any suggestions if anyone has any. Thanks!

TB

Tiber_Brew said:

So I tried coiling my 50' 1/2" SS tubing, and that was an epic fail.

There are more kinks in this thing than...well...you can fill in the punchline.

I'm not sure whether it's salvageable or not. And these things aren't cheap.

I'm either salvaging this SS coil, or going with copper. If I can get my hands on a tubing bender, I'll give that a shot. I'm worried about cold working those kinks and ending up with rips in the SS leaking my sweet wort into the HLT.

I'm open to any suggestions if anyone has any. Thanks!

TB

Click to expand...

Good Luck.

Here is a thread with some discussion on bending SS tubing:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/need-tips-bending-ss-tubing-153799/

After several attempts, I managed to bend up some siphon tubes I can live with (there are some pics in the thread). I have yet to try a hex coil.

What where you coiling it around and how did you try to do it?

I have hand done 2 coils and never had a bad problem... Hopefully the coil can be saved.

A bender will help with sharp bends but not with coiling.

First we tried coiling it around a corny keg. It kinked right away, so we stopped that. Then we tried by hand, then by hand/foot, then tried adding the use of zip ties. Nothing seemed to prevent the kinking. The coil is still about 15" diameter, so we've got more coiling to do. I think if we cold work the kinks much more we'll end up tearing the SS.

Is 1/2" copper much easier to recoil?

Thanks guys
TB