Craftbeerpi Controller Box questions

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rkhanso

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I didn't want to add to the enormity of that 96 page Craftbeerpi thread. It's hard to find what you're looking for in there. I did search it and found some useful info and probably missed some even more useful info.

I need to start building a controller box to house the Raspberry Pi, Terragady 4.2 board, SSR, Relay, power protection, on/off and other stuff.

I am nearly finished with my BIAB system otherwise.

  • Spa panel for GFCI power and protection feeding the element
  • 1-kettle with a 240v/5500w element run by 40A SSR
  • Kettle lid has a bulkhead fitting to pump the liquid back to the top of the bag.
  • Kettle has an output with a ball valve, pump and another ball valve to control liquid flow.
  • 12v pump for recirculating during mashing to keep temp steady - run with a DC relay
  • 2 one-wire temp probes. One at the kettle output and one at the lid input
  • CFC Chiller

I now need to build a box to put all things related to the Raspberry Pi and wiring up the control, as well as any safety measures. I found this post on that huge Craftbeerpi thread on HBT. Now, my setup is a bit different than that one since I'm using the Terragady 4.2 board, am doing BIAB with just one heat element and don't plan on using a touchscreen at first (but want to add one later) - but I'm guessing that I can use that example as a starting point. I'm planning on using my phone or a laptop to control the system for now instead of adding a touchscreen right away.

I can eliminate all the indicators and most of the switches on the controller box right, since I get all the indicators from the Craftbeerpi GUI interface on the phone/laptop. I can just use a smaller box to mount the SSR, relay, RaspberryPi and Terragady board and a some sort of safety or on/off switch? I'd like to have a separate power/safety switch for the Raspberry Pi vs. power to the heating element.

I plan on using simple RJ-45 jacks for connecting the 2 temp probes to the box and then wiring the jacks to the Terragady board. Same for the 12v pump connecting to the controller box with relay inside.

The only thing that isn't wires sticking out of the controller box would be the power/safety switch for the heat element power and the switch for switching 12v DC power to the raspberry pi and lastly the heat sink for the SSR.

The 12v power for the pump and Pi would be coming from a wall-wart plugged into a GFCI outlet (not the Spa Panel). The power from the GFCI protected spa panel would connect to a male receptacle on the controller box. The element in the kettle will connect to a female receptacle on the controller box.

Are there any problems in my planning? Things I am missing? Way off base?

Sorry, I don't have a nice diagram of my plans. I don't have the patience for using that type of software. I'm more of a draw on paper and take a picture type person.
 
Not sure if you use Facebook, but they have a page there you can join. Seams to get a fast response to questions. Sorry I can't help you. I just ues a Hosehead that I added CBP 3.0 to.
 
The possibilities are endless. I have a CraftbeerPi system that I'm getting ready to install in a 12x12x4 alarm panel box. I was planning on mounting the Pi on the outside (for wifi operation) and mounting the rest of the electronics (small interface board, small pump relay board , 2 SSRs, Kill Sw.) inside the box. the ribbon cable from the pi will run through a small slot to reach the electronics inside.
 
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