Sweet!Latest upgrade: an LED backlight behind the sight glass.
http://www.brewershardware.com/TC05FERRULE10FLANGE.html
Found this, ordered 2. Hoping to solder to my stainless CFC that I desoldered the brass 1/2npt fittings from. I'll report back BrunDog
Nice! I look forward to your report. This looks good but I would prefer a shorter stem so you could make bends tighter. Also, 1/2" and 5/8" ID options so you could use larger tubing.
1. I determined early on that I wanted to minimize hardware and leverage some control from automation. This certainly isn't at the level of full automation of many high-end builds on this forum, but I wanted something at reasonable cost/size. I realized I could eliminate the HLT and just use the RIMS tube for heating strike and sparge water. This allowed for a smaller footprint and an off-the-shelf stand. I live in FL, where a basement brewery is not possible, so this was built to reside in my garage. I wanted this to be portable, so a cart design was selected. Luckily my electric panel is in my garage, so I installed a 50A outlet to power this (justified by potential for electric car charging in the future). The kettles are cheap Bayous. The MLT has a Norcal false bottom and a Loc Line sparge ring. The BK has a ripple element, a BrewPi element enclosure, and whirlpool arm, a DIY trub dam, and a borosilicate sight glass.
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2. As mentioned, I wanted to have a good controller. I researched many different homegrown options, initially planning on using a USB data acquisition board and writing my own interface, but ultimately decided I couldn't pump the time into it, and an off the shelf option would fit the bill. The BCS is a solid device at low cost, and the support is reasonable. The biggest problem is the NTC thermistors it uses (not RTD's which are more accurate and more common of most PIDs). I did not like the hardware probes that BCS offered, so I ordered Auber's probes for the RIMS TC end cap, the BK, and the MLT and chiller ports, and I replaced the RTD's inside with high quality thermistors.
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Latest upgrade: an LED backlight behind the sight glass. I bought this LED: https://www.adafruit.com/products/1626 and installed it there to provide light during whirlpool, oxygenation, and fermenter transfer.
Soldered in a 1500 ohm resistor to wire this to the same 24VDC which powers the valve which allows flow through the chiller/oxygenation circuit:
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Then installed it behind the sight glass:
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Looking forward to trying it out!
Hello Brundog,
What thermistors did you use and where did you purchase?
Cheers,
Todd
You have got to post pictures of this in use..
Thanks guys. I find my own voice puts me to sleep, but appreciate the positive feedback!
Good idea JonW, I will add an index.
... and do a walk through on my system.
cleaning cycles, look at you mr fancy over there. I might have to do a video too. and make a cleaning cycle.
Thanks guys. The big question is... What's my next upgrade? I will be doing the built in RasberryPi / touchscreen but then what?
LOL, that's what I did!In a few month's you'll find something to be unhappy about, sell and rebuild.
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