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I have a dumb question:

You spent some serious buckazoids building this bad boy but you still built it around keg based vessels. Why didn't you spring a tiny bit (compared to what you spent already) on some real pots? I say this as an all-electric keggle brewer BTW.
 
I have a dumb question:

You spent some serious buckazoids building this bad boy but you still built it around keg based vessels. Why didn't you spring a tiny bit (compared to what you spent already) on some real pots? I say this as an all-electric keggle brewer BTW.



I haven't spent that much, did a lot of searching on eBay and friends in the field helped source parts.

I like keggels, mostly for the bottom drain and they are built far better than most kettles. If I went the blichmann route, I would have to spend time cleaning the pots more because of the drain design, sight glass, etc...

All I have to do now is flush it down. I will be using a sealed analog float sensor on the HLT and MLT. So no sight glass.
 
I hear you on the better built thought. They're damn near indestructible but also really heavy which is why I'll eventually change mine out for pots. To each his own though, nice rig.
 
Just got the standpipes installed and labeled.

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your system is coming along great and the new display panel looks awesome. What can you tell us about this band heater? I think I may like to add something like that to my electric HERMS set up.



Thanks, and keep up the great work


I got it on eBay. It's a 4kw heater @ 480v so for us it's like 1900w.
 
your system is coming along great and the new display panel looks awesome. What can you tell us about this band heater? I think I may like to add something like that to my electric HERMS set up.



Thanks, and keep up the great work


I got it on eBay. It's a 4kw heater @ 480v so for us it's like 1900w.
 
Here is the first of many versions for the overview screen. Any suggestions??
You've got a pretty cool system going. :rockin:

Have you considered taking a "High Performance HMI" approach? Even though all the bright colors and numbers look cool, they don't provide a lot of immediately useful information. And recognizing that it might not look as pretty, you can take another approach that uses more grey-scale graphics and more graphs to provide useful information.

Here's a link to a good white paper and several other sources with very similar information:
http://www.marinetech.org/files/mar...hnhmidesignreviewed-110722135448-phpapp02.pdf
http://isawwsymposium.com/wp-conten...d_BillHollified_HighPerformanceHMIs_paper.pdf
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/r...s/automation-fair/2011/psug/afpsug11_ed09.pdf
 
Good read, thanks for the info. The plasma is my quick look overview. I also have an automation direct Cmore that will actually do the control interface, and that one is more in line with the docs you provided. I'm a ex Navy nuclear trained guy, so that's all understood. The green/ red run indication is something I always used and still will because that's what we looked for, a green or red board.
 
Actually I used to refuel nuclear reactors and was on a Submarine in the Navy.
That breaks it... I'm suing the Air Force!
Originally a 6 year enlistee for nuclear power & wanted to get that "SS" rate. Morning I was to swear in and ship out the Marine recruiter had apparently put a gun to the Navy man's head the night before and forced him to do the pub crawl til dawn, so the A.F. guy was the only one to show up in time. When I mentioned being a 6 year enlistee he jimmied the Navy guy's office door and got my test (guess he didn't believe I qualified). Next thing ya know I'm headed to San Antonio to become an avionics electronics specialist (y.a.w.n...). Kept volunteering and ended up as a Survival Training Instructor (very cool job) but absolutely no useful civie job skill training... or more importantly, applicable brew skill technology. Didn't realize I had missed out on a triple major in nuclear propulsion, electrical and mechanical engineering.

No kidding? I live in Peters.
Lived down the street from a guy named Chuck Noll, just "don" Rt. 19 from Nikola. Ever heard of him? Believe it or not there was a time when folks used to throw garbage on their front lawn (like after he burned a first round pick on a big, Black, D-lineman the Post Gazette called "Joe Who?" - think I still have that headline). Didn't get much better when he benched the local boy who'd won the national championship with Notre Dame in favor of some hillbilly from Louisianan Tech. Ahh, what did he know?

Probably a shrine and monument there now. ;)

Miss "The Burg". Great people and places. Still take the kids and grand kids to the world's greatest amusement park there... on our way to visit Steeler training camp of course. :)


Steeler trivia:
Name of the guy who Bradshaw was behind on the depth chart at Louisiana Tech?

Phil Robertson, the Duck Commander dude.

Good read, thanks for the info. The plasma is my quick look overview. I also have an automation direct Cmore that will actually do the control interface, and that one is more in line with the docs you provided. I'm a ex Navy nuclear trained guy, so that's all understood. The green/ red run indication is something I always used and still will because that's what we looked for, a green or red board.

I'm a little disappointed that you haven't put a mirror shine on those kegs and created an interactive virtual reality 3-D interface with holographically rendered display... slacker!

Be honest though... the kegs are jacketed with lead and the coils are just for show right? Where'd ya get the fuel rods? ;)

I am so way over my head it's pathetic. Think I'll head back to electric brewing. Can't hang with the fission/fusion crowd.

Here's an idea for your logo instead of the alien Serb (and I don't mean from another country). Or maybe replace the ship's bow with a beer vessel?
Awesome job swab. :)

submariner.jpg
 
My can of never dull is retired. As for the LOTO, I'm a human danger tag..... In reality it would be too damn hard to get the tag out approved, no duty officer or approved drawings.
 
Got some more work done, been doing some boring leg work for the last couple weeks, but I got the tankless hot water tank in and plumbed, the auto HLT fill done and the vent system done. MLT band heater installed.

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Well I got the wort chiller head torqued and the chiller leveled and installed
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Also got the boil kettle mass flowmeter installed
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Got the O2 absorption column/ trim chiller installed
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And finally the dissolved O2 probe and wort throttle valve installed
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It looks like you have a heat exchanger for the mash, so what is the band heater for?


I call it active insulation, it's there to help with the step temp increases and to make up any heat lost through the mash tun walls during the rests.

Seems simple, but that's going to be some tough logic to program.
 
I call it active insulation, it's there to help with the step temp increases and to make up any heat lost through the mash tun walls during the rests.

Seems simple, but that's going to be some tough logic to program.

Maybe a secondary PID loop? That or if both heaters are on same probe make your pulse widths shorter for the band heater or enable/ disable based on primary loop error. If you really want to use both you'll just have to make sure the scan time for each is such they don't fight each other.

Cool system!
 
Maybe a secondary PID loop? That or if both heaters are on same probe make your pulse widths shorter for the band heater or enable/ disable based on primary loop error. If you really want to use both you'll just have to make sure the scan time for each is such they don't fight each other.



Cool system!


The problem so far is, I want to set up a loop for O2 injection and a loop for temperature all being controlled by the output throttle valve. So wort flow controls both. I do have a SMC electro pneumatic regulator, but I don't know if it's O2 safe. I would assume they would use viton orings on all of them, might pop it open and clean it myself....

So anyway, 2 loops independent of each other if I can verify the smc part is O2 clean....
 
Got some more goodies in from Brewers Hardware. This completes the cold wort side of the system.

Left to right. DO probe, temperature probe, and throttle valve. The output to the fermenter is capped until ready for use
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This is the RTD for chill water ( tap water) temperature.
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This weekend is mass flowmeter wiring
 
Well got the fermenter control panel hung and talking to my PLC.
Basic program on the touchscreen. Will get better.
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My pile of grain and wine kits has grown since I'm now devoted to getting the brewery done
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Well, I feel like Clark W Griswald. Your looking at 25 black cables each containing one twisted shielded pair of 18awg, 3 RTD wires, 1 IFM flowmeter cable and 1 4c DO probe cable. This whole project never really kicked in until this..... Got some work to do!

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Just redid my math on max current draw for the system. 78amps. With the air compressor running if needed to keep the tank above 120psi, that's another 17.5, so total max draw is 95.5 amps! More realistically it's going to be about 30-40 amps avg.
This setup is a monster!
 
Ok MLT mass flowmeter is set up, just need to do a density calibration.
BK mass flowmeter is next.
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Float level sensors installed in HLT and MLT.
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This thing is some serious enginerding. Nice job, don't forget to calculate amp draw on the power washer for hosing down the bilges. That's gonna be important. Looks almost like the new RO setups back aft. almost. Don't forget to lay on the SF Green and Monkey **** for the junctions. Great build!
 
This thing is some serious enginerding. Nice job, don't forget to calculate amp draw on the power washer for hosing down the bilges. That's gonna be important. Looks almost like the new RO setups back aft. almost. Don't forget to lay on the SF Green and Monkey **** for the junctions. Great build!


RO? No more 10k?
 
I guess i'm not really supposed to talk about that stuff but no. Sonar Showers/Hollywood showers for all!
 
Lol, glad to hear you're a coner too. Yeah, things are different now. Very different. When did you get out?
 
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