I'm in the process of building an Electric Home Brewing based on Kal's design on http://www.theelectricbrewery.com. The major difference between his design and my design is that I'm going with PLC/HMI controls versus a control panel. I'm a chemical engineer and design and implement control systems for a living so such a project is right in my sweet spot.
For controls purposes, I've chosen a Direct Logic DL06 PLC. I've been wanting to try one of these cheap PLC's for years, so this is the perfect project to give it whirl. If I don't like it, I'm going to swap it out with an older Allen Bradley SLC500 I have laying around at work.
The other control difference I'm implementing is to use a Cascaded control loop on the Mash Tun Temperature control. The Mash Tun Temperature Control Loop will set the HLT Temperature, which in turn will control the HLT Heating element. This is a very similar setup that I use in full size industrial applications. Of course, I can always put the HLT Temperature Control Loop in Auto versus Cascade and just control HLT temperature.
Here is the panel I'm building for this brewery.
Here is the Wiring diagram:
Finally, here is the I/O wiring diagram:
Feel free to provide any tips or let me know if I overlooked something.
Unfortunately, the Blichmann Brew Kettles are on back order so it will probably be the end of April or Early May before I get this project complete.
The last thing I'm working on is picking out the HMI. I'm thinking about a panel mounted HMI, but may also just put the software on a laptop powered by the external outlet on the side of the cabinet. This way, I have a programming node/HMI on the same PC.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
For controls purposes, I've chosen a Direct Logic DL06 PLC. I've been wanting to try one of these cheap PLC's for years, so this is the perfect project to give it whirl. If I don't like it, I'm going to swap it out with an older Allen Bradley SLC500 I have laying around at work.
The other control difference I'm implementing is to use a Cascaded control loop on the Mash Tun Temperature control. The Mash Tun Temperature Control Loop will set the HLT Temperature, which in turn will control the HLT Heating element. This is a very similar setup that I use in full size industrial applications. Of course, I can always put the HLT Temperature Control Loop in Auto versus Cascade and just control HLT temperature.
Here is the panel I'm building for this brewery.
Here is the Wiring diagram:
Finally, here is the I/O wiring diagram:
Feel free to provide any tips or let me know if I overlooked something.
Unfortunately, the Blichmann Brew Kettles are on back order so it will probably be the end of April or Early May before I get this project complete.
The last thing I'm working on is picking out the HMI. I'm thinking about a panel mounted HMI, but may also just put the software on a laptop powered by the external outlet on the side of the cabinet. This way, I have a programming node/HMI on the same PC.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.