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@Inspire, the fins are channels, and the heat causes a behavior similar to a wick. It actually creates a vertical movement of air over the fins. On top, it is just passive radiation. I'll look to see if I can substantiate what looks like a voodoo claim.

@Inspire, I would suggest mounting the heatsink on the side of the box. The heatsink that Kal sells is a really nice one, and it is more efficient and effective if the fins can act like a convective chimney to help extract the heat away from the fins. They are OK mounted on top, but they are...

@Wizard_of_Frobozz and others, I fixed the pump issue...I think:

From Volume I of the Book of Unintended Consequences: As soon as you bring a 30-gallon kettle half-full of barley syrup to a boil, every dog and toddler in the neighborhood will flock to your brewery to start playing "catch the doggy by the tail" right next to said kettle. I think I'll find a...

Hadn't considered that...why a trivet?

Because it would be easy?

It will offend the crap out of my OCD, but do you think a 15 deg. tilt towards the inlet side would eliminate the bubble?

All the hoses are camlock at both ends. Should be pretty easy to drain when necessary. I'm also going to run a CIP cycle after each brew. Re: pump orientation...I guess I'll try it the way it is and see if it cavitates. If it does, I'll reorient it.

Well, everything is now assembled, and I've gotten started testing. I found one pair of relay triggers that I had crossed. That was a pretty easy fix. One valve is being stubborn. I can see the correct voltage at the junction box where the valve leads terminate, but it won't operate. I...

@Kmo4040, I don't mind at all! @BrunDog is the source. Keep an eye on his website.

Plumbus interruptus: The valves arrived!!!! I dug out my bag of camlock stuff that I ordered from Brew Hardware several months ago and nosed around in the garage for a bit until I found about a roll and a half of teflon tape. I set everything up on the kitchen counter and started dry-fiitting...

I guess Life decided that me running the wonky RTD issue to ground was too much fun for one week, so it decided to start tossing wrenches where it felt they would do the least good. After spending five or so hours this evening fixing a flat tire and changing the alternator on my son's pickup, I...

@TenaCJed Pics, or it never happened!!

Never a doubt!

Update: It seems that the platform board has a fault of some kind. When I removed the RTD amp and ran jumpers from the RTD amp pins to the screw terminals on the platform board (bypassed the headers and traces), everything stabilized. I have already contacted @BrunDog for a replacement. Once I...

Yes, but the guy that developed the original system doesn't get the godlike feeling that five thousand people are following in his footsteps!! Forge your path, have fun with it, and be safe!

I concur with this. Inspectors are going to be concerned with shock and fire hazard mitigation. As long as there is: Proper overcurrent protection Ground fault protection Proper cable specification Proper grounding Protection against accidental contact with hazardous (120VAC or greater)...

@augiedoggy, do you have all of your 0V stuff on a common bus? I have my AC grounding and DC negatives (12, 24, and 5V) sharing a common bus that is referenced to the main house ground. I have the AC neutrals on a separate bus, but it is referenced back to the main house ground at my main...

I've been troubleshooting and testing, and haven't run it to ground yet. The PT100 is OK. The wiring between the PT100 and the RTD amplifier is OK. The Mega port is OK. The RTD amplifier board is OK. The only thing suspectable at this point is a platform board, but the odds of that being bad...

I'll volunteer to run a 3V HERMS batch. You know, for science and stuff. Somebody pick a recipe that is easily scalable, and has a simple grist and hops bill. Something we can all have a reasonable expectation of producing as similar a wort as is practical.