BCS-462 glycol fermentation control diagram

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Bensiff

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I'm working on building a fermentation control system with a BCS-462, AC driven glycol bath, 12v motorized ball valves, and a Fermwrap for the cold months. I have looked to find a diagram for this sort of design to no avail. If anyone can point me to one that would be great. This is still in the planning stages so if anyone has gone down this road and have ideas of what works, what doesn't that would be appreciated.

From what I can tell, I need a 20 amp 110v build controlling these:

110vac 5000BTU AC unit
110vac glycol recirc pump
110vac glycol line pump
110vac fermwrap
12vdc power supply
12vdc valves
BCS 462

All I need is to see a basic build on something like this, expanding out to more temp controllers, ball valves, etc is easy once I have the basic down.

Thanks
 
I don't have a diagram, but I can outline my basic setup.

I use a single pump inside the glycol bath plumbed to a common rail that has 3 ball valves. Valve 1 is to fermenter 1, valve 2 for ferm 2 and the 3rd valve controls recirc back to the glycol bath. I use 3 temp probes to measure the temp of ferm 1, ferm 2 and the glycol bath. I put a setpoint on the bath so it maintains a chilled temp in case one of the fermenters requires chilling. If the AC unit kicks on to chill the bath, ladder logic forces valve 3 open so that the glycol recirculates in the cooler. If either ferm 1 or ferm 2 kick on for chilling, their valve opens and ladder logic kicks on the pump. I use one pump for all recirc operations and don't see why you'd need two.

I'm not using heating, but you could either put a setpoint on the fermwrap and make sure it doesn't overlap with the chilling, or you can make a separate state in the BCS and let it jump to that state for heating.
 
Interested to see how this goes. I'd like to move the bcs to a 20 amp fermenter panel with Com link to high voltage, brew day Panel. I am planning a glycol loop with 2 brite tanks and a conical all on the same glycol chiller. I have the conical running now with a black box and a mh1210 to keep the glycol bath set. I am looking for a more eloquent solution. I'll probably my use the lid style display on the fermenter panel for ease of use.
 
I don't have a diagram, but I can outline my basic setup.

I use a single pump inside the glycol bath plumbed to a common rail that has 3 ball valves. Valve 1 is to fermenter 1, valve 2 for ferm 2 and the 3rd valve controls recirc back to the glycol bath. I use 3 temp probes to measure the temp of ferm 1, ferm 2 and the glycol bath. I put a setpoint on the bath so it maintains a chilled temp in case one of the fermenters requires chilling. If the AC unit kicks on to chill the bath, ladder logic forces valve 3 open so that the glycol recirculates in the cooler. If either ferm 1 or ferm 2 kick on for chilling, their valve opens and ladder logic kicks on the pump. I use one pump for all recirc operations and don't see why you'd need two.

I'm not using heating, but you could either put a setpoint on the fermwrap and make sure it doesn't overlap with the chilling, or you can make a separate state in the BCS and let it jump to that state for heating.


That is an elegant solution on the pumps. It will be interesting learning how to program this thing when that time comes on the build.

Do you have switches to bypass the BCS for manual valve and/or pump control or is that something that is pointless in practice?
 
That is an elegant solution on the pumps. It will be interesting learning how to program this thing when that time comes on the build.

Do you have switches to bypass the BCS for manual valve and/or pump control or is that something that is pointless in practice?

I can easily outline the programming for you when you get there. As a matter of fact, there's a thread at the ECC forum where I show my ladder logic for it.

The only external control I have is on my panel in the garage I have a 3 position switch for Chill/Off/Crash where I can put the BCS into normal ferment (chill) mode, stop it (Off) or tell it to crash cool. I have multiple states setup with the set temps and this just keeps me from having to go to the computer to control the states. Also part of the reason I did the manual switch for it is that it forces me to go to the garage and throw the switch when I'm ready to crash cool - which in turn I then remember to pull the blowoff tube while it is cooling (I've had too many suck backs just doing remotely via the computer and not pulling the hose).

I've never found I needed manual controls on the BCS.
 
I can easily outline the programming for you when you get there. As a matter of fact, there's a thread at the ECC forum where I show my ladder logic for it.

The only external control I have is on my panel in the garage I have a 3 position switch for Chill/Off/Crash where I can put the BCS into normal ferment (chill) mode, stop it (Off) or tell it to crash cool. I have multiple states setup with the set temps and this just keeps me from having to go to the computer to control the states. Also part of the reason I did the manual switch for it is that it forces me to go to the garage and throw the switch when I'm ready to crash cool - which in turn I then remember to pull the blowoff tube while it is cooling (I've had too many suck backs just doing remotely via the computer and not pulling the hose).

I've never found I needed manual controls on the BCS.

Thanks for the offer to help program. It will probably be a while before I get there as progress is slow due to other life priorities. All I have right now is the BCS, need to figure out what to order to put it all together.
 
I don't have a diagram, but I can outline my basic setup.

I use a single pump inside the glycol bath plumbed to a common rail that has 3 ball valves. Valve 1 is to fermenter 1, valve 2 for ferm 2 and the 3rd valve controls recirc back to the glycol bath. I use 3 temp probes to measure the temp of ferm 1, ferm 2 and the glycol bath. I put a setpoint on the bath so it maintains a chilled temp in case one of the fermenters requires chilling. If the AC unit kicks on to chill the bath, ladder logic forces valve 3 open so that the glycol recirculates in the cooler. If either ferm 1 or ferm 2 kick on for chilling, their valve opens and ladder logic kicks on the pump. I use one pump for all recirc operations and don't see why you'd need two.

I'm not using heating, but you could either put a setpoint on the fermwrap and make sure it doesn't overlap with the chilling, or you can make a separate state in the BCS and let it jump to that state for heating.

Can you recommend a power relay and power supply to run the motorized ball valves? I would prefer to use DIN mountable. I want to run everything at 12v to make life easy, with the step down for the BCS of course. I figure this should be pretty easy, one relay board to switch the DC valves and one to switch the AC items (air conditioner and pump).

I also saw on one of your posts on ECC that the motorized ball valves generally have two different wiring schemes with one being better in your opinion, do you have a link to valves wired in the "better" way?
 
Many BCS users have used relays from http://stores.ebay.com/Electronics-Salon . I'm looking to build a new rig soon and will likely use their DIN rail mountable ones.

I agree with your wanting to use 12V for both the relays and valves as that is what I did. I have no specific reference for a power supply though. Anything in the 1 amp area should be sufficient.

Many of valves refer to their wiring diagrams as B2, B3, BD3, etc. I prefer the B3 setup. You can use a single pole double throw relay to switch the power. Somewhere floating around here is a schematic of a modified relay board I created where the common pole (input) was modified to supply the ground connection and the other two poles were wired to supply the power. This made it so each valve connected right to the 3 terminals on the relay board. I just thought it made the wiring cleaner.
 
Many BCS users have used relays from http://stores.ebay.com/Electronics-Salon . I'm looking to build a new rig soon and will likely use their DIN rail mountable ones.

I agree with your wanting to use 12V for both the relays and valves as that is what I did. I have no specific reference for a power supply though. Anything in the 1 amp area should be sufficient.

Many of valves refer to their wiring diagrams as B2, B3, BD3, etc. I prefer the B3 setup. You can use a single pole double throw relay to switch the power. Somewhere floating around here is a schematic of a modified relay board I created where the common pole (input) was modified to supply the ground connection and the other two poles were wired to supply the power. This made it so each valve connected right to the 3 terminals on the relay board. I just thought it made the wiring cleaner.

The only 12V SPDT relay I see on electronics salon is a 10amp module. When all I want to do is power 12V motorized ball valves drawing around 80mA that seems like a little overkill. Or is the extra headroom good as it will keep the SSR's cool and extend their life?

I was looking at this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIN-Rail-Mo...004?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5673d74c0c

Then, I was going to use the Aubur connectors, using only 2 of the 3 wires, for quick connects for the temp probes, from what I understand this should work just fine, but want to double check as all I have ever used are RTD's, it seems like the 10k thermistors can take some abuse in how they are wired:

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_43&products_id=118

If you happen across your wiring diagram that would be great if you could share.

I wish I knew those relay boards existed before I built my brewery control panel. I didn't even think to look before I built my own relay board for 12vdc led switches.
 
The only 12V SPDT relay I see on electronics salon is a 10amp module. When all I want to do is power 12V motorized ball valves drawing around 80mA that seems like a little overkill. Or is the extra headroom good as it will keep the SSR's cool and extend their life?
The 10A rating is because you could switch either low voltage or high voltage with the relays. Also, they are mechanical relays, not SSR's. You only need SSR's if you are doing PWM for electric elements.

Then, I was going to use the Aubur connectors, using only 2 of the 3 wires, for quick connects for the temp probes, from what I understand this should work just fine, but want to double check as all I have ever used are RTD's, it seems like the 10k thermistors can take some abuse in how they are wired:
If you want plug & play connectors/temp probes, Brewers Hardware has a whole line of probes and connectors using the M12 connectors.
http://www.brewershardware.com/M12-Quick-Disconnect-Components/

If you happen across your wiring diagram that would be great if you could share.

I wish I knew those relay boards existed before I built my brewery control panel. I didn't even think to look before I built my own relay board for 12vdc led switches.
I don't have a wiring diagram - never did one. I've covered portions of it for people, but never did a full one. If you break it down to components, it's pretty straight forward.
 
If you want plug & play connectors/temp probes, Brewers Hardware has a whole line of probes and connectors using the M12 connectors.

http://www.brewershardware.com/M12-Quick-Disconnect-Components/





I don't have a wiring diagram - never did one. I've covered portions of it for people, but never did a full one. If you break it down to components, it's pretty straight forward.


Are the M12 superior or is it a matter of taste so long as one is using shielded wire?

I thought when you talked about a wiring schematic you meant the entire thing not just the module, I see now. But, the one you spoke of would cover the particular area I'm interested in seeing. The rest of the wiring is stuff I have done before.

Thanks for your input.
 
Many BCS users have used relays from http://stores.ebay.com/Electronics-Salon . I'm looking to build a new rig soon and will likely use their DIN rail mountable ones.

Jon, am I correct to assume that the power relay boards at Electronics Salon have electrically isolated contacts so if I were to buy something like the 16 SPDT relay module I could use it as a big hub for all AC and DC switching instead of having two seperate boards, one for the 12VDC valves and another for the air conditioner and pump?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-SPDT-Pow...741?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e74ad1ba5
 
Yes, most relay boards have completely isolated contacts. The "common" input to a single relay is what is fed back out to either to NO or NC contacts (normally open or normally closed).

My personal preference though would be to use 2 relay boards with one dedicated to high voltage items and one to low voltage items.
 
@jonw. Great thanks. Yeah I'm split on going as you said. More expensive but I think I could have more elegant wiring.
 
I'm working on building a fermentation control system with a BCS-462, AC driven glycol bath, 12v motorized ball valves, and a Fermwrap for the cold months. I have looked to find a diagram for this sort of design to no avail. If anyone can point me to one that would be great. This is still in the planning stages so if anyone has gone down this road and have ideas of what works, what doesn't that would be appreciated.

From what I can tell, I need a 20 amp 110v build controlling these:

110vac 5000BTU AC unit
110vac glycol recirc pump
110vac glycol line pump
110vac fermwrap
12vdc power supply
12vdc valves
BCS 462

All I need is to see a basic build on something like this, expanding out to more temp controllers, ball valves, etc is easy once I have the basic down.

Thanks
Why not use 110 VAC Motorized Valves as well? Why mess with the power supply?
 
Why not use 110 VAC Motorized Valves as well? Why mess with the power supply?

12V relays needed the power supply, so it was going to be there anyway. It is making wiring things up pretty clean and keeping the wall worts out of the build. I'm still slowly working on finishing things up, I don't have much time to work on it lately, but will toss up some pics sometime in the future once I get the thing fully wired and powered.
 
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