ebrewsupply vs electric brewery pre assembled panel

[swackattack]

Which would you get and why?

Im not real handy and will need to buy a preassembled panel. Already made sure my box can handle it and think I can handle installation of probes and elements and will have a electrician install the breaker etc.

Is the electric brewery panel worth the extra? Any other options worth considering? Thoughts on the new boilcoil from blichmann? Seems like a nice turnkey system as well.

 

[brewtime]

Which would you get and why?

Im not real handy and will need to buy a preassembled panel. Already made sure my box can handle it and think I can handle installation of probes and elements and will have a electrician install the breaker etc.

Is the electric brewery panel worth the extra? Any other options worth considering? Thoughts on the new boilcoil from blichmann? Seems like a nice turnkey system as well.

I've been going back and forth between the two for some time it is all in what you want. I am looking to go with the 50A for looks the Electric Brewery all the way for functionality and the web interface eBrew. Tough choice

 

[RazorUK]

I went with ebrewsupply, I wanted a bcs in my panel. You can add most of the looks that theelectricbrewery offers via pid displays as well.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. Just the fact I could control fermentation from my panel as well edged it for me.

 

[brewtime]

I went with ebrewsupply, I wanted a bcs in my panel. You can add most of the looks that theelectricbrewery offers via pid displays as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. Just the fact I could control fermentation from my panel as well edged it for me.

That is one of the features that has me leaning toward toe eBrewsupply panel. I like the all in one functionality of it.

 

[swackattack]

Could someone explain the benefits of bcs vs pids and vice versa. Or point me to a place that does

 

[jpalarchio]

Could someone explain the benefits of bcs vs pids and vice versa. Or point me to a place that does

Think of the BCS as a mini computer that is controlled via a web page. So it's flexible in what you can do with it but that's also going to come with some complexity.

The PIDs are essentially smart temperature controllers, you set a temp and it keeps you there; simple and effective.

I'd say if you like to tinker then the BCS might be for you, otherwise the PIDs are a more simplified route.

 

[cfrazier77]

Ebrewsupply has premade PID panels in addition to BCS. You have to ask for it but I believe I was told it was the same price. I would go with PIDs but that is what I am used to with my RIMs tube.

 

[Ttownbrewer]

I had all the same questions between BCS & PID. I met Ryan from ebrew supply at GABF, and am currently working on somewhat of a custom PID build. His prices are comparable, and the service has been great. Contact him directly if you don't see what you want on his site, as he does to custom work. I'll be posting mine once it's completed.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

I like the idea of BCS, but I worry about my brewery relying on a single company that might not be here in another few years. If something fails, it will never be tricky to find a 1/16 DIN PID controller.

Plus, less things to go wrong (router, computer, etc) mid-brew.

 

[swackattack]

Yeah. Im kind of a KISS guy. Especially bc my knowledge of electrical systems is spotty at best. Pid it is...anyone who has a the electric brewery panel care to chime in?

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

I cloned a large portion of what Kal did on his electric brewery panel and it's dead simple to use once you run the auto-tune and figure out what all the controls do. I love it and won't look back. As others have said, it uses standard COTS parts and doesn't require software or networks to run it. You don't get the full-out bells & whistles capabilities that a BCS might have, but it makes beer and at the end of the day, that's what I was looking for.

 

[swackattack]

After all the advice and doing some pid vs bcs research..PID it is

 

[sennister]

Personally I ordered the 50A BCS DIY kit from Ebrew that he had on sale over Thanksgiving weekend. He is great to work with. In talking to him I modified the "kit" so I am getting the larger panel as I want some more room. I am adding some manual input push buttons so I don't have to use the PC to interface with it. Also I will probably add a Volt/amp meter as well as possibly the PID displays at some point.

I was considering PID but I like to fiddle with things and hey, I work in IT. I have tons of computers but no right or wrong answer. Do what works best for you.

Since you have decided on PID route. Here is something to ask about. I get you are doing a buy an assembled product. I am not sure where they get their PIDs but Auber Inst is very popular. The thing to ask about is that there are two PIDs that Auber sells for this application.

One is the traditional one. You set the temp and in automatic mode it does its thing or put it in manual mode and run it in duty cycle mode. You definitely want this one for the BK PID because it has the manual duty cycle mode. When doing your sparge, wait for the element to be covered, then put it on auto @ 180 or so until ready to boil. Then flip to manual and bring it to boil and run around 70-80% duty cycle depending on element size, altitude and such. By doing this you are holding your liquid close to boil and you not standing around waiting for it when you are ready. This PID can also work for MT/RIMS/HLT depending on what you are doing and is the one I have normally seen used in most designs.

The other type is a newer one that has a build in ramp soak mode. This PID would be nice for a MT/RIMS/HLT application. It allows you to (optionally) program it. You can say hold 140 for 15 minutes, step to 150 for 45 minutes, step to 170 for sprage. that might be kind of nice if you want to do a step sparge. The problem with it is that you don't want this PID for the BK as there is no manual duty cycle mode. You can only set the desired temp manually or run the program.

It is worth checking into if it is something you are interested in if you think you might want to do a step mash. A little more complex if you program it but you don't have to. It can be run like the traditional one as well since in the MT/RIMS/HLT you probably are not going to use the duty cycle mode but rather select a desired temp. While not as flexible as a BCS it adds some of the features.

It may be an option in both products. I would ask as it might be a point to differentiate them as well in terms of features.