Automated Gas Valves

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Drifter

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I am looking into using furnace valves for controlling temperature on my HLT and brew kettle. I have the temperature controllers and T/C's

Could some one recommend a pilot valve to use with the system.

Or would it be better to light the burner and use a proportinal valve to control the flow of gas???
 
Here are a couple questions about the hardware you have and what you might be able to do.
Are you using high pressure LP burners (10+ PSI), low pressure LP (13" WC), or Natural gas (4"WC).
What is the temp controller output on/off relay, 0-5 VDC, or 4-20 MA
With furnace valves you are limited to Natural gas or low pressure LP type burners and on/off operation. With high pressure LP there are few options for pilot safety valves and most folks have gone the electric ignition route with solenoid valves for on/off operation. If you are determined to vary the fire rate there are devices called mass flow controllers that will electronically vary the gas flow in response to a 0-5VDC or 4-20MA signal. I have 2 of these devices in operation on the phase 2 brewery but would say that they require high pressure(10+ PSI), multiple output power supplies, and a much more involved design and control scheme than most folks want to do. There are PWM low pressure furnace valves available but price and control methods are more than most want to deal with.
 
I also want to make a temp control set up for my burner...Is there a good thread on here for design..or could you expand on your design for someone with limited background
 
Are there any other options for High Pressure systems? I am looking to vary the fire-rate of my system as well. I have looked around and found this PID, which looks decent enough, but now I am looking for valves. I am not interested in using a Mass Flow Controller. I am interested in controlled on/off operation of a High Pressure Propane cooker using a programmable PID, pilot light, and a solenoid of some kind...

I have found various valves on eBay, but I am hesitant to act. I am using 15psi LP and a turkey cooker...
 
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