Sparge control

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hypergolic

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Is there a way to automate the flow of wort during the sparge? I can see adding manual ball valves to the system to restrict flow but I was wondering if there was an automated way to do this. I can't imagine you would want to sparge with the full flow of the pumps.
 
Do you manually control the flow from the MLT to the BK then?

Yes and no.

MLT -> manual ball valve -> solenoid valve -> BK

The controller opens the solenoid valve. If necessary, I could adjust the flow using the manual ball valve. However, I've never found it necessary. I target a 45 minute sparge. I tend to get that with the manual ball valve wide open. Your mileage may vary.

In theory, with a continuous level indicator in the BK, you can calculate the sparge rate (say, once a minute?) and open/close the solenoid valve (or motorized ball valve) to control the flow rate. Or maybe you're pumping wort between the MLT and BK. You'd turn the pump on/off.
 
I would like to look at building a dual peristaltic pump to keep HLT to MLT synchronized with MLT to Boil flow. Should only require valves on the tank outputs for on/off control. Flow rate would be set via pump speed.
 
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