Will BruControl Work for Me?

[Gravitysucks]

When I started my build last April it was supposed to be a fun project to get back into brewing after a long absence. I decided to go electric to make it more practical to brew year round and converting some of my old equipment turned out to be fairly easy. The biggest problem I had was figuring out how I wanted to control everything. After reading the forums here and watching videos on youtube to get some ideas I bought a build manual from Electric Brewing Supply and settled on using their 30amp BCS layout but replacing the BCS with a RasberryPi. I actually had the panel about 2/3s done when one of those "life happens" things came about.(It amazing how much damage a washing machine flood can do to a house) Anyway, after an 8 month delay I'm finally back working on my build and I'm really rethinking the direction I've taken with my control panel. I've always been into the DIY thing and CraftbeerPi seemed like a great way to go when I started out, but after seeing how it has progressed and how fragmented it seems to have become, I don't think it's for me. Honestly, I'm old and not as sharp as I used to be and after all the frustrations of home repairs I'd much rather throw some money at a problem rather than have to figure out every little detail myself.
That brings me to my question, will BruControl work for me? I have a pretty standard 3 kettle HERMS setup with themowells in each kettle, 2 pumps, a CFC, etc. I'm wired for a 30 amp controller with a 30 GFCI breaker in my main panel so only one element will be used at a time. I don't plan on automating valves or anything of that nature. My original panel has been disassembled since I ruined the plastic enclosure by over tightening the set screws on several of the switches and created a bunch of hairline cracks in the door. My new metal enclosure already has the door drilled to mount switches and LEDs as seen in the Electric Brewing Supply 30 amp BCS layout but the backplane hasn't been touched yet. I have all the components to build a panel other than the "brains". So, basically what I'm asking is what exactly do I need to make BruControl work for my system and can I go to the BruControl site, buy these components, buy the BruControl software, wire everything up, then turn the thing on and be able to set mash temps, adjust power for the boil kettle, monitor temps in all the kettles, etc or am I going to have to source other components and write/ download scripts to get basic things to work? I would really like to do things right this time around so I might actually be able to start brewing rather than sitting around regretting past design choices.

 

[clearwaterbrewer]

BruControl requires a PC run the software that continually talks to and programs interfces devices, such as an arduino mega2650 whereas the pi could do everything you want with a PiZeroW

where you would want the BC over the CBP3 is if you had a lot of stuff going on in addition to a basic 3 vessel herms/rims system.. you could control 4 brewing systems with auto hop droppers, have custom graphical interfaces, etc.. but it comes at a cost, the decision is up to you..

or you could get a used BCS 460/462 and build the panel as intended and get back to brewing beer...

The big deal is if you have an investment in probes, if you have thermistors like the BCS needs, or PT100 RTD's then you will need a amplifier board for either the pi or arduino.. if you have 1-wire DS18B20, then, you are all set.

 

[BrunDog]

BC, like any automated systems, does take a good bit of time and DIY. It is very flexible, but flexibility comes with the need to put in the time and work to build what you want. If you are looking for quick and easy and don't plan on much automation, I'd suggest a turnkey PID system. If you want a digital interface and won't automate much, CBPi might be a good option. If you want a digital interface today and an unlimited upgrade path to automate and control more devices, BC can bea good fit.

 

[Gravitysucks]

Thanks for the replies. In hindsight I probably should have gone with a Kal clone and been done with it. It's unfortunate that I bought my second enclosure pre drilled. It would take some major butchering to change it over to PIDs at this point. As far as CBPi goes, I already have a Pi, hats, relays board, 1-wire sensors, etc so hardware isn't an issue. The issue is that CBPi is a "work in progress" that the community have been working to fix but before it's made it to a finished product they are already moving on to the next version which will likely go through the same growing pains as the current one has.
I guess I'm just looking for a system where you take a specific group of components and combine them with a reliable software package and it just works rather than having to hunt down fixes and addons just to do the simplest tasks. So, other than having a table covered with electrical parts I don't know what to do with I'm pretty much back to where I was 10 months ago when I started this project.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Sounds like a BCS might be the direction for you... plug in and go more or less. Downside is limited flexibility compared to say BruControl, but seems like a better answer for where you are and what you are desiring.

 

[Gravitysucks]

Sounds like a BCS might be the direction for you... plug in and go more or less. Downside is limited flexibility compared to say BruControl, but seems like a better answer for where you are and what you are desiring.

After checking out the BCS makers Embedded Control Concepts site I'm not sure BCS is an option anymore. Their product page doesn't look like it's been updated in almost a year since it only lists the BCS-460 and BCS-462 which on another page from Feb. of last year they announced have been been replaced by the BCS-482 which isn't on their product page. All the BCS panels and controllers are sold out on the Electric Brewing Supply and it looks like they've been replaced with a Brewtroller panel and a couple of touch screen operated panels. The BCS forum is a ghost town with very few posts for the last few months that I could see. Brewers Hardware is the only place I found that still carries any BCS controllers but at this point I'm not sure I want to take a chance on something that may turn out to be an orphaned product with no support.
Back to research.

 

[clearwaterbrewer]

That is why I said *used* BCS.. they are very solid devices, the bugs have been worked out of those, and the forum has lots and lots of knowledge... Homebrewers are the poster child of using orphaned products, hello, pepsi kegs!

 

[augiedoggy]

BTWIt seems bcs units are used for other devices too.. our newspaper plate processors appear to use them (they are oemed by an italian company) to control the machine. (they also use the mkII pumps for chemistry) I'm sure they were designed for many purposes like a low cost plc.

I use brucontrol both at home and at a brewpub im opening. short of some scripts I sometimes use for automated fermentation temp profiles I dont use scripts yet and the panel works fairly well with a touchscreen but you still need a keyboard and mouse for it to be practical at this point.

BC uses arduino hardware so its kind of meant for those with the diy mindset IMO however brundog has been working on hardware platforms that will change that it seems which will make it much easier for those who want to use it.