Another E-Brewery Build

[BigJim_inFLA]

So I still have to wire the temp sensor for the PID, solder the connections onto the HLT, mount and wire the pump, assemble the silicone hoses. Guess I'll be busy tomorrow. I haven't brewed since I moved and I am running out of home brew!

 

[jtkratzer]

Stick with it. I took a 6 month break from my build and then smashed through to the finish in a fairly short time. I brew my first batch on it yesterday. Keep going.

 

[BigJim_inFLA]

Some more progress to report. Mounted water filter and pump on brew stand. Made a dip tube for the boil kettle from some left over tubing, started soldering fittings into the HLT. Also wired together my temp probe which left me with a question. Where to put it? Here is my problem. I am using a PWM for my boil kettle that has a dial thermometer in it. No temp probe for the boil at all. I have one PID that I will use to control the element in the HLT. For strike water I would want to monitor the temp in the HLT, but for mashing I want to monitor the temp of the water leaving the mash tun. I have an extra probe, and can put one in each. Will I be able to switch which probe is connected to the PID depending on which step in the process I am in? Can I monitor mash temps with a thermometer and just set the HLT temp accordingly? I was also thinking of mounting the probe in a tee fitting after the QD, I guess it would be in the hoses so to speak, and it would move to the proper tank when I switched the pump configuration. Any suggestions?

 

[jtkratzer]

Some more progress to report. Mounted water filter and pump on brew stand. Made a dip tube for the boil kettle from some left over tubing, started soldering fittings into the HLT. Also wired together my temp probe which left me with a question. Where to put it? Here is my problem. I am using a PWM for my boil kettle that has a dial thermometer in it. No temp probe for the boil at all. I have one PID that I will use to control the element in the HLT. For strike water I would want to monitor the temp in the HLT, but for mashing I want to monitor the temp of the water leaving the mash tun. I have an extra probe, and can put one in each. Will I be able to switch which probe is connected to the PID depending on which step in the process I am in? Can I monitor mash temps with a thermometer and just set the HLT temp accordingly? I was also thinking of mounting the probe in a tee fitting after the QD, I guess it would be in the hoses so to speak, and it would move to the proper tank when I switched the pump configuration. Any suggestions?

I don't have a temp probe or thermometer "in" my mash tun. I only have a thermometer in a tee fitting after the ball valve on my mash tun. When I'm recirculating the mash through the HERMS coil, I can see what the temp of output from the mash tun. I set my temp on the PID controlling the temp in the HLT a degree or two above my mash to account for a degree or two of temp loss in the pumps/tubing between the output of the HERMS coil and the return to the MLT.

I only have temp probes in my HLT and my BK. I put one in the boil kettle because I can run both elements at the same time and use the boil kettle to heat my strike water while the HLT is heating up my water to maintain mash temps. If you get the panel mounts or the deluxe cables from Auber, you can easily swap which probe is plugged into the PID.

If you're not recirculating the mash, is there any reason to monitor the output of the mash tun with a temp probe connected to a PID? I see switches on your panel for two pumps, are you planning to recirculate at some point?

 

[BigJim_inFLA]

Ah yes, I see I left out some information. Yes I am planning to recirc during the mash. This will be set up as a HERMs system so I assumed you recirc through the HERMs to maintain mash temps.

 

[jtkratzer]

Ah yes, I see I left out some information. Yes I am planning to recirc during the mash. This will be set up as a HERMs system so I assumed you recirc through the HERMs to maintain mash temps.

Yes, I use one pump to recirculate through the HERMS coil and the other to recirculate the water in the HLT while mashing.

 

[BigJim_inFLA]

Here are some pics of the finished control panel wiring. Hopefully only a few days away from a full test run!

 

[BigJim_inFLA]

Got my control panel labels today. This build is just about done. I have brewed two 10 gallon batches on it so far and I am quite happy. I'm having some growing pains learning a new system and all grain brewing all at the same time. I am still tweaking my process and changing things, but the rig is about finished. I'll get out and snap some finished photos tomorrow.