Kill-A-Watt Brewery Build Compilation

[The Pol]

Awesome quote


lol

When crap goes wrong with the plane, you pull the RED handle. If you are at the gate, you shut it down, and power it back up.

Okay, for the price I will get one for each pump and one for my duplex! Thanks BK

 

[Hermit]

Yes. NEVER fuse the neutral. If you are serious about the fuses I'll check the amperages. I've had them over 25 years so I guess I'll never need them at this point. I think they are the standard 'lamp base' type.

I had the face off of my breaker box adding a circuit and the neutral and ground are tied together. The electrician that installed the new box went through great pains to provide redundant grounds. Ran one outside and drove a rod into the ground and ran another to my outdoor water line feed.

 

[IrregularPulse]

When crap goes wrong with the plane, you pull the RED handle. If you are at the gate, you shut it down, and power it back up.

Okay, for the price I will get one for each pump and one for my duplex! Thanks BK

haha
"Stand by folks, there seems to be an issue with the landing gear. REBOOT, alright lets go.
Reboot is always the answer.
Yes, just fuse the hot.
240V, Don't know.

 

[The Pol]

Yes. NEVER fuse the neutral. If you are serious about the fuses I'll check the amperages. I've had them over 25 years so I guess I'll never need them at this point. I think they are the standard 'lamp base' type.

I had the face off of my breaker box adding a circuit and the neutral and ground are tied together. The electrician that installed the new box went through great pains to provide redundant grounds. Ran one outside and drove a rod into the ground and ran another to my outdoor water line feed.

Thanks for the offer, I am going to RS across the street and picking up a few inline fuses to splice in. Cheap and it keeps the HBT Gastapo off my back!

 

[The Pol]

haha
"Stand by folks, there seems to be an issue with the landing gear. REBOOT, alright lets go.
Reboot is always the answer.
Yes, just fuse the hot.
240V, Don't know.

Seriously, every cold morning powering up an EMB175... "Brake Control Fault". Power down, power up, power down, power up... keep doing it until it goes away. It is a glitch.

I am only doing the 120VAC stuff, thanks guys for busting my balls.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Seriously, every cold morning powering up an EMB175... "Brake Control Fault". Power down, power up, power down, power up... keep doing it until it goes away.

At least your brew rig won't be built in Brazil by monkeys.

 

[The Pol]

At least your brew rig won't be built in Brazil by monkeys.

Right it is built in Indiana by a Pol.

 

[whalenutz]

I dont know I FLY PLANES!!!

HAHA im going but i grew up flying a deHavilland Beaver, i miss that plane. started at the ripe age of 6 and continued till 14 then my dad sold the plane and started flying gulfstreams, i am still pissed about it but what do you do....so that is my off topic moment...any way build looks great and the wife wants to know if i will be doing the same?:rockin:? do i take this as a go ahead and purchase the electronics or price them out and go to her and say that the ss brutis ten system will cost more at this point, she really likes the way it looks. i have one 15 gal pot and hopefully i get my 20 gal in soon...so there im done and going to go and cry about the Beaver now.

 

[whalenutz]

Thanks for the offer, I am going to RS across the street and picking up a few inline fuses to splice in. Cheap and it keeps the HBT Gastapo off my back!

in line fuse are for wimps go with a circut breaker

 

[beerocd]

When crap goes wrong with the plane, you pull the RED handle. If you are at the gate, you shut it down, and power it back up.

You know that bugged the crap out of me - I couldn't believe that was the fix. 3 or 4 reboots because a warning light was on, then take off eh? Rebooting a plane!!!

What's the red handle do?

 

[Brewmoor]

Seriously, every cold morning powering up an EMB175... "Brake Control Fault". Power down, power up, power down, power up... keep doing it until it goes away. It is a glitch.

I am only doing the 120VAC stuff, thanks guys for busting my balls.

Hey if you ever get to fly to EGE let me know. I only live a few miles down the road. I saw you sometimes fly to denver, not sure if vail routes are only done by the small outfits or not. They just redid the runway this summer. They can get 747's in there now.

 

[The Pol]

Hey if you ever get to fly to EGE let me know. I only live a few miles down the road. I saw you sometimes fly to denver, not sure if vail routes are only done by the small outfits or not. They just redid the runway this summer. They can get 747's in there now.

I only do Denver International... that is it. We get some nice long layovers in Denver.

 

[The Pol]

You know that bugged the crap out of me - I couldn't believe that was the fix. 3 or 4 reboots because a warning light was on, then take off eh? Rebooting a plane!!!

What's the red handle do?

Issue is, there is no "problem". You have all these computers talking to each other using very precise monitoring systems for EVERYTHING, one small tolerance out of place and, boom, no go. There is no problem, except you have to get the computers to play nice

Closes the hydraulic shut off, fuel shut off, engine bleed, etc... and removes the mechanical stop so that you can fire Halon into the engine.

 

[rca]

Yes. NEVER fuse the neutral. If you are serious about the fuses I'll check the amperages. I've had them over 25 years so I guess I'll never need them at this point. I think they are the standard 'lamp base' type.

I had the face off of my breaker box adding a circuit and the neutral and ground are tied together. The electrician that installed the new box went through great pains to provide redundant grounds. Ran one outside and drove a rod into the ground and ran another to my outdoor water line feed.

So my understanding is the neutral and ground should always be tied together at the main box but never at the sub panel. You only tie them together at the service entrance. Since the subpanel is an extension of the main panel if you tied them together again you create the potential for an energized ground. I'm not an electrician so don't quote me on this, but I think you are supposed to have additional grounding for an outdoor subpanel, but it may not be required for an internal one. Definitely makes sense and is an added safety feature to ground the subpanel if you can.

 

[humann_brewing]

So when is blast off for this rocket ship? By they way, this has way more bling than NASA

 

[Ohio-Ed]

We started about the same time, wheres the drawing?

You are building like a man on fire!!! You are gonna finish way ahead of me. I'm gonna brew with mine on the 20th, but it will be in a "proof of concept" setup . I haven't even thought about a stand yet, beyond what you also realized... with all electric it doesn't have to be metal.

The attached zip files contain the latest PDF's (the PDF's are to big to post here).
The first one is the "logical design", the second file is the physical wiring diagram.

Trust me... I'm not trying to bust your balls. I don't think anybody's rig is gonna be inspected for UL approval (they'd probably all fail). You're a smart guy, I know you will assess the the situation and do what's right for YOU.

View attachment Visio-Panel v5.1.zip

View attachment Visio-Panel v5.1 Wiring v1.5.zip

 

[The Pol]

Got everything fused today... the "kids" at Radio Shack were useless, by the time the guy turned away from the game on tv I had already found my stuff and was ready to check out.

Anyhow, fused, wired the pumps and the BK elements. The only thing to wire now is the RIMS heater and all the outputs from the BCS. MAYBE tomorrow I will be done, depends, some days are fruitful, others not so much.

Thanks for the help today guys.

 

[The Pol]

So when is blast off for this rocket ship? By they way, this has way more bling than NASA

Well, I am finishing up some wiring, I should have the wireless bridge in a couple days now... I leave to go to work tomorrow. So, I am guessing a week or so?

Of course that will be testing, probably a couple days of just testing with water and such, getting the BCS programmed etc.

This is by far the most complex thing I have ever designed and built... and it is the "A" model, so there will be a curve.

It is looking pretty complete, I just have to wire in the RIMS heater today, then get all of the already attached signal wires from the SSRs to the BCS. Easy work.

 

[The Pol]

Heavy wiring done, signal wires to go... not a tough job. Here is the "finished" look inside there. Kept the wires concealed in those wire protector tubes, makes it look cleaner. The only "loose" wiring is in the very bottom of the E-bay as shown a few pages back.

 

[Layne]

This project amazes me more everytime I read it.
The combination of beauty and functionality is only topped by the originality.

 

[TheAleMaster]

I agree with Layne.

Nice job on the wiring. I'm going to have to copy it for mine.

 

[Layne]

I could just see this beauty sittin' on this...

finished pic.

 

[The Pol]

Today was EPIC...

Got the RIMS wired up, got the BCS completely wired up! Plugged the BCS directly into my netbook since my wireless bridge is STILL not here. Went through all of my connections (turning on each accessory manually in the BCS) and all of my little SSR lights lit up when they were commanded to!

I am so glad!!!! The wiring is done, mechanical is done. When I get home from my trip, testing will begin. Welcome to the Kill A Watt proving runs!

 

[illin8]

Nice job Pol!

Especially like the recent "yousuck.com" search! lol

Envious.!

 

[Julohan]

.........:rockin:

 

[The Pol]

I will mount the work top once I have the wireless bridge installed and everything configured there. I CAN FINALLY CLEAN UP MY DINING ROOM! 100% built indoors

 

[humann_brewing]

I am so excited about this, I can't imagine what you are like

 

[The Pol]

I am so excited about this, I can't imagine what you are like

I am on cloud 9... my biggest worry was that after all this planning and wiring that SOMETHING was not going to work. A light wouldnt light up...

I am really excited, HUGE load off... taking the rest of the day to enjoy my baby and my wife before I head to work in the morn.

 

[beerocd]

Maybe the BCS guys (I know you're reading) should/could come up with a version that has a USB port that would accept a wireless adapter? Yes the cost would increase but probably less so than buying a separate piece of networking equipment.

 

[The Pol]

Maybe the BCS guys (I know you're reading) should/could come up with a version that has a USB port that would accept a wireless adapter? Yes the cost would increase but probably less so than buying a separate piece of networking equipment.

You know what I DO want... more GROUND TERMINALS... by the time you get 4 inputs and 6 outputs crammed into (3) grounds... man... I want more grounds

I almost tied 3 grounds to 1 commmon and then inserted them.

 

[The Pol]

The bridge cost me $62 shipped... so I can handle that. It would be cool to sell it with an easy wireless adaptability, but I am happy.

 

[beerocd]

The bridge cost me $62 shipped... so I can handle that. It would be cool to sell it with an easy wireless adaptability, but I am happy.

We don't all print our own endless supply of money like you.

 

[The Pol]

We don't all print our own endless supply of money like you.

Ha ha I wish... just been busy the past year at work, paying bills and funding retirement with regular pay, frees up OT for more fun things.

 

[beerocd]

You know what I DO want... more GROUND TERMINALS... by the time you get 4 inputs and 6 outputs crammed into (3) grounds... man... I want more grounds

I almost tied 3 grounds to 1 commmon and then inserted them.

How about running 1 to a ground bar, then you got all you want? Couple dollar fix - unless I am misunderstanding something.

 

[Baron ken]

You know what I DO want... more GROUND TERMINALS... by the time you get 4 inputs and 6 outputs crammed into (3) grounds... man... I want more grounds

I almost tied 3 grounds to 1 commmon and then inserted them.

Terminal strip:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103229

Jumper for above:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103227

 

[The Pol]

Terminal strip:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103229

Jumper for above:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103227

Well, it is wired now, and out of sight (behind the wireless thingy, because it blinks!)

 

[The Pol]

How about running 1 to a ground bar, then you got all you want? Couple dollar fix - unless I am misunderstanding something.

No, you are correct, you can... just wish it had more grounds built in.

 

[JayInJersey]

The simple fact this can be run off an iPhone makes me begin to reconsider the Binford Tools style PID panel I was thinking about...

 

[The Pol]

The simple fact this can be run off an iPhone makes me begin to reconsider the Binford Tools style PID panel I was thinking about...

It is full of sweetness huh?

 

[eccsynd]

Maybe the BCS guys (I know you're reading) should/could come up with a version that has a USB port that would accept a wireless adapter? Yes the cost would increase but probably less so than buying a separate piece of networking equipment.

We've looked into the USB adapters. One thing that I like about them is that they're small. The problem is that each one requires a different driver to function. I'm pretty sure that they support Windows, OsX, but not the BCS embedded operating system . It would be impossible to support them all. Adding a USB port is easy, but the software sitting behind it would take some time. And honestly they're not that much cheaper than Ethernet port based bridges. They're both separate pieces of networking equipment.