Upgraded and Simplified Brutus 10 Control Panel

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Irrenarzt

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I wasn't stoked on my original control panel as I never ended up using all the switches as the Love controllers changed since Lonnie's original build in BYO. So I decided to move the controllers down a bit to better clear the main support and I engraved the necessary info to get rid of the labels. I also red anodized it to better match up with my other bits. I also shortened it as it didn't need to be as long as it was. Lastly I added nifty on/off nubs from Mcmaster so if someone unfamiliar with the system needed to turn on/off a pump the switches were marked.

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Here's the old one in comparison.

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If anyone wants the old one (which is more or less the same layout as Lonnie's original design) they can have it if they paypal me 11 bucks for shipping. The red powdercoating alone was 50 bucks not to mention the machine work to CNC the Love cutouts...
 
do you have any pictures inside/backside of your simple panel? I am looking to do something simple. dont see the need for all the bells and whistles when things work the same way without.
 
It's just an open panel with cutouts for the Love controllers and thru-holes for the switches. Take the dimensions for the Love cutouts from the sheet that comes with the controllers. Piece of cake...
 
Yes, I use a power distribution block and both switches and love controllers are wired into that. Don't overthink it, it's super simple stuff.

No pics of that part of the rig handy. I'll try to remember to take some over the weekend as I'll be doing maintenance on the rig hopefully.
 
i know this is an old thread, but I've been looking at making a similar panel. I like the simplicity of the Brutus 10 wiring, but I've had others who have pointed me towards using transformers and fuses and so on. Is that needed? Right now my power source is based off of a GFCI outlet.
 
I don't use any fuses or transformers in my set up. I plug into a GFCI and that is good enough for me. Over 100 batches and no issues.

Just in case, I can kill the main as I'm close to my box when I brew and I also have 2 fire extinguishers on hand as well. Never hurts to be prepared but so far there has been no need. I like to keep it as simple as possible as often as possible.
 
here come some basic questions.

1. so is see the switch for the controller, which i'm assuming supplies power to the controller. Does the switch after the controller override the love controller and power on the heat? or do they both need to be on in order to have the asco valve powered by the love controller.

2. I'm guessing I could use an Auberins PID in replace of the Love controller??
 
In my set up show in the OP of this thread, the switches are for the pumps, not the Love controllers. The Love Controllers are on their own.

You can use whatever controllers your heart desires I would guess. It's all the same electrons flowing in your wires. I went with Love for the simplicity and low cost. Hard to beat the price and simplicity of the Love controllers. They work and do so for a fair price. The Auber stuff is well priced as well so I can't knock their controllers either. Either way, you'd be in fine shape I reckon. That said, the Loves have handled a fair amount of abuse in terms of washdowns, etc. You should really probably have them in a waterproof enclosure but I got lazy and didn't do so. I've been impressed with them and the amount of abuse they can withstand.
 
That whole row of switches did nothing. I wired it up originally based on Lonnie's plans but those switches didn't do anything as they had changed the Love controllers from the time Lonnie wrote up his plans and the time I got Love controllers it seemed. All those switches were useless so I simplified the whole panel to the engraved/anodized gen2 panel.

Ideally I would build a box around the back of the panel to protect the controllers and switches from splashing but like I said, I got lazy.
 
gotcha. awesome. thanks. one lasssst thing. What solenoid valve are you using on your system. I'm guessing a 120V? Thanks. You've been a huge help.
 
Yep, 120V one. Any of them will work more or less. it's just an on/off kind of deal and the best seal for propane is nitrile (buna-n) so whichever one you can get for the best price that uses nitrile seals is the one you want.
 
Hey Irrenarzt, off topic here but noticing a little of your brew stand in the controller photos, any chance you could post a few photos? That thing looks pretty bad ass!
 
Hey Irrenarzt, you mentioned earlier that the Love controller has changed sence Lonnie's build. In what way? I'm a major rookie to electronics, and the original BYO instructions are very confusing to me, that combined with the Love controller changing I'm lost as to how to wire this panel. I you wouldn't mind mentoring a member could you explain a little more on how you wired you're new panel that has less switches? And if you could post a few photos of the back of the panel, a photos worth a thousand words. Thanks.
 
Well, I can't remember all the details but I know for sure you don't need all the switches Lonnie has on his original plans/control panel. It overly complicates things and makes it more difficult to wire. I recall his plans not working even after multiple attempts and I'm usually pretty good about getting things to work.

Everything you need is right on the Love controller. My labels are toasted but yours probably won't be. You need on/off for the pumps as well.

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The Love controllers come with a sheet with the proper wiring diagram. Use that as it may have changed from my model as apparently they have changed from time to time. The wiring shown in the schitty pic I posted is identical to the Love controller diagram I had at the time I built my second control panel. You'll need a short jumper (shown here in black) between the hot and neutral wires shown in the pic to make the switching/relay action work. The probes are the ones on the left of the controller with the brown and blue leads and are the easiest part. I don't recall all the numbers of each slot but if you have new controllers, the labels should still be on the back there.

You'll need common hots, common neutrals and common grounds for the controllers and the solenoids to be wired up correctly. It's all going to depend on your system and how you are achieving the connections etc. But just work it out in your mind and you should be all set.

Hope this helps.
 
The aluminum started to anneal after about 100 batches. I was not planning on upgrading as I was going to replace my upper cross members with a double wide profile member (like a 2x4 instead of a 2x2) which were starting to sag. But I was the steel place picking up a section of stainless rectangular box to make new legs for my conical (cheaper to buy a 10 foot stick and make your own leg extensions than to buy the OEM extensions) and they offered me a screaming deal on 2x2 box section SS so I bought enough to build a new frame on the spot. It was too good a deal to pass up.

I'm glad I made the new frame as the SS is much nicer. It doesn't get nearly as hot and I was able to upgrade my solenoids as well as replace all my steel parts with SS ones. Overall, I'm much happier with the SS frame and do not recommend aluminum unless you have a bunch of it sitting around gathering dust. If you brew a lot, then aluminum isn't a great choice. If you brew about 10 batches a year, the aluminum is probably sufficient. If you brew 50 batches a year, then it will not hold up.

The aluminum frame was far lighter which was a bonus for lifting the rig onto the trailer for offsite brew days (think Big Brew etc), but it gets insanely hot on the top level and made it really easy to burn yourself. You do learn to not touch the frame but you still get the occasional rub then sizzle. Much less chance of this with SS. And I was always geeking out over the integrated gas beam so I was able to do that this time around.
 
Irrenartz,do you know the model number of the love controls used in your build, I'm at the point were I am ready to run my gas and build my panel.Im glad I came across this thread I'm going to order the gas valves you mentioned earlier in this thread and build the panel like yours, can't wait to finish. Thanks for your help,Joe
 
Thanks, I will stop by Mc Master Carr for the solenoids,is there a particular type of thermo couple used ,I guess I am referring to the probes themself.
Thanks for your help,Joe
 
I have another question,I bought Love controllers(ts-010) and they did not come with probes,are the probes that came with your controllers stainless steel ends or plastic?
 
Wow!! Hope mine looks that nice when completed. Thanks for all the information in these threads. I have been gathering up all the material for my own Brutus 10 and hope to start fabrication this weekend.
 
The aluminum started to anneal after about 100 batches. I was not planning on upgrading as I was going to replace my upper cross members with a double wide profile member (like a 2x4 instead of a 2x2) which were starting to sag. But I was the steel place picking up a section of stainless rectangular box to make new legs for my conical (cheaper to buy a 10 foot stick and make your own leg extensions than to buy the OEM extensions) and they offered me a screaming deal on 2x2 box section SS so I bought enough to build a new frame on the spot. It was too good a deal to pass up.

I'm glad I made the new frame as the SS is much nicer. It doesn't get nearly as hot and I was able to upgrade my solenoids as well as replace all my steel parts with SS ones. Overall, I'm much happier with the SS frame and do not recommend aluminum unless you have a bunch of it sitting around gathering dust. If you brew a lot, then aluminum isn't a great choice. If you brew about 10 batches a year, the aluminum is probably sufficient. If you brew 50 batches a year, then it will not hold up.

The aluminum frame was far lighter which was a bonus for lifting the rig onto the trailer for offsite brew days (think Big Brew etc), but it gets insanely hot on the top level and made it really easy to burn yourself. You do learn to not touch the frame but you still get the occasional rub then sizzle. Much less chance of this with SS. And I was always geeking out over the integrated gas beam so I was able to do that this time around.

I hate to hear this as I was making up a list of 80/20 components as we speak. Where actually were you having issues? I use this product alot at work but never arpung heat. I mau jave to think about strut or sometjing else.
 
An 80/20 frame will still work but you'll need to re-engineer the top of the frame where it sees the most heat to either a 2x4 or 4x4 profile. I was using 2x2 cross members on a 2x4 main top perimeter and these cross members were what started to soften and sag. The main 2x4 frame showed no signs of annealing but if you heat aluminum long/hard enough, it will anneal/soften.

But if you are buying all new 80/20 for a frame, you might want to go SS as the costs are similar including welding. You just need to find a good welder who won't gouge you or learn to DIY. But if you are looking to save money, either SS or 80/20 are not the cheapest options.
 
Money wasnt really the issue as much as asthetics and adjustabilty/functionality. With the 80/20 slot design adjustments are endless. Now I am thinking maybe a 3 tier with a 4 x 4 center 80/20 post. Something similar to a Top Tier but my own design. Thanks for the info.
 
The beauty of the 80/20 frame is you can slap anything on it without issues. Anything can be bolted right to it with ease. And it can be moved. And it's light. I could pick up the fully loaded frame and put it in the back of my truck myself. The SS is not as easy to lift.

On the SS frame, I had to machine a new pump clamp and have it welded on there, which was not a trivial exercise. For the rest of the stuff, I had to drill and tap holes, which wasn't a big deal but I cannot move these things ever.

The Top Tier style should work out OK. I was thinking of building one as a travel rig so I can bring stuff to other places to brew without so much hassle.
 
I love this panel. Simple and elegant. I have a couple of questions. Where do you buy the anodized aluminum and who cuts and engraves it?
 
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