EvilGnome6
Well-Known Member
First post here but I've been scouring these forums for information for the past month and figured it was finally time I showed my face (so to speak).
After just 2 all-grain batches, I knew I wanted to set up a HERMS, so the first step was to build a control box. Basic design considerations was to make it clean, simple and completely self-contained. I also wanted to have the outlets facing away from the mash tun and heat exchanger (the box will be set to the right of both).
Components:
Love TS13010
Project Box
Terminal Strip
Illuminated Rocker Switches
2 Duplex Receptacles (Split)
1 IEC Receptacle
Red, Black and Green 14 AWG solid wire
Started with a wiring diagram:
Once I found a sizable box (Radio Shack has a nice selection), I made all my cutouts using a router bit on my Dremel. Any round holes were done with a step bit. Then I mounted all the components and wired them:
Here is the top view. Love controller on top. The four rocker switches control power to the four outlets. Heater goes to the Heat Exchanger (A 1500W heater element mounted in a 2 Gallon cooler), Access is for any accessories (plug in my radio or whatever I may need in the future), Pump 1 is for the mash recirculation pump and Pump 2 is for the Heat Exchanger agitation pump. The wire coming out of the left side is for the temperature probe which will be mounted in a thermowell at the return point in the mash tun.
The front side shows the outlets for the two pumps:
The right side show the outlet for the Heater and Accessory:
The back side has the IEC receptacle for power in:
I plugged it in and nothing blew up! I tested switching each outlet on and off. I then programmed the Love Controller to heat a few degrees over room temperature. Grabbed the probe and it shut off the outlet once it got to temperature. Once the probe cooled down, it turned it on again. SUCCESS!
Hopefully I can get my brew stand and all the plumbing done for a first try tomorrow.
After just 2 all-grain batches, I knew I wanted to set up a HERMS, so the first step was to build a control box. Basic design considerations was to make it clean, simple and completely self-contained. I also wanted to have the outlets facing away from the mash tun and heat exchanger (the box will be set to the right of both).
Components:
Love TS13010
Project Box
Terminal Strip
Illuminated Rocker Switches
2 Duplex Receptacles (Split)
1 IEC Receptacle
Red, Black and Green 14 AWG solid wire
Started with a wiring diagram:
Once I found a sizable box (Radio Shack has a nice selection), I made all my cutouts using a router bit on my Dremel. Any round holes were done with a step bit. Then I mounted all the components and wired them:
Here is the top view. Love controller on top. The four rocker switches control power to the four outlets. Heater goes to the Heat Exchanger (A 1500W heater element mounted in a 2 Gallon cooler), Access is for any accessories (plug in my radio or whatever I may need in the future), Pump 1 is for the mash recirculation pump and Pump 2 is for the Heat Exchanger agitation pump. The wire coming out of the left side is for the temperature probe which will be mounted in a thermowell at the return point in the mash tun.
The front side shows the outlets for the two pumps:
The right side show the outlet for the Heater and Accessory:
The back side has the IEC receptacle for power in:
I plugged it in and nothing blew up! I tested switching each outlet on and off. I then programmed the Love Controller to heat a few degrees over room temperature. Grabbed the probe and it shut off the outlet once it got to temperature. Once the probe cooled down, it turned it on again. SUCCESS!
Hopefully I can get my brew stand and all the plumbing done for a first try tomorrow.