My All Grain Semi-Automated HERMS Build

[minnino]

I finally made the decision to get myself in home brewing and wanted to jump in head first and see where it takes me. After doing a ton of research on here and across the web I thought it would be pretty wild to try and build a HERMS system and get some computer automation in there. I am an IT nerd by day, and love working with my hands building things, so why not put both of those passions together, and in the end have beer to drink!

I looked into building an electric setup, but at my house I am unable to get the required power to my garage, and I am far from an electrician. I decided to use propane since it was readily available and pretty cheap. NG was an option as I have it in my house, but propane ended up winning in the long run due to portability. My original goal is to have a single tier frame, 2 chugger pumps, 2 low pressure propane burners, Blichmann kettles, and to have the temperature probes, gas valves and pumps controlled using a BCS-460 computer.

Most of my equipment has been purchased and a ton of it has been built. I have had some extra time on my hands and wanted to start putting my project on the forum and get feed back from other users. This forum has been invaluable in my quest to do this project build, and I wanted to do everything I could to give back as much as I can to everyone else. I will thank all the members in advanced for all the great knowledge I have gained along the way, I wish I could remember where all the bits and pieces I found came from so I could give those individuals props!



Anyways, on to the build. My frame is not exactly your typical build you see. I work in a datacenter and was able to acquire a pile of metal cage walls for free, which is mainly just angled steel with mesh over it. You cant beat free, so i figured this was the perfect opportunity to get a frame built. I worked with a buddy of mine who is a mechanical engineer on the design of the frame. He put together a CAD drawing and made it so that the frame can be fully disassemble in order to transport it when/if the time comes. Basic sections were welded together, and then those pieces were bolted together to make the final product.

The raw materials:



Bolting some already welded pieces together:


Checking placement of burners:


And of course my buddy had to weight test his design:


Add on some casters:


And finally get some paint on it:

 

[hopjunkie26]

So this is textbook "go big or go home". Nicely done!

 

[minnino]

You got it. I had the opportunity to pretty much do what I want with few restrictions, so I took full advantage of that. When I go all out, I go all out. Thanks for looking hopjunkie!

 

[Roadliner]

Looking good.. I always like to see new builds. Especially the semi automate ones now, since I'm looking into going that route this next year. Welcome to brewing beer!

 

[starrbri]

Can you give some insight on the pump control? Are you just turning them on/off or controlling the flow rate? I am debating on building a peristaltic pump so I can automate flow rate, as I believe magnetic dries should be run at full speed and controlled with a valve. I am having trouble finding a linear responsive control valve.

 

[minnino]

Hey there starrbri, in my setup I am not using automated plumbing valves, only automated gas vales to control heat on the HLT and boil kettle. The BCS I am using can control plumbing valves but I believe you need to have an expansion board on it. I was looking into this at first, but figured I had enough on my plate already. I do plan to adopt this feature later on down the road as I have seen some awesome rigs with them and it seems like whoever has them absolutely love them!

How I am controlling my flow rate is by using ball valves. I open all vales on the path I am trying to move liquid in order to get the pump primed, then before turning on the pump itself, i throttle back the ball valve located on the outlet of the pump. Once liquid starts moving I can have full control over the flow rate by using a single valve. This method works good just so long as you get the chugger pump good and primed before you crank the thing wide open.

 

[minnino]

For the gas system I went with two Banjo BG14 low pressure burners. The frame was designed so that the burners could be adjusted as needed to get the correct distance away from the kettle bottoms. Eventually a wind shield will be put around them to direct the heat better, and prevent any wind from blowing the pilot light out. Each are connected using a Honeywell VR8200A2132 which were converted to be used with LPG. Each one has a pilot line running to the burner itself, and is using a thermocouple for a safety measure. If the thermocouple cannot detect that the pilot light is actually lit, it will not allow the BCS to open the gas valve. On the back of my frame I installed a T connector that stems from the regulator hose. From there I used those pre made yellow gas lines from Home Depot. They were way more expensive than I was planning on, but made the install much easier, and very clean looking. The vales were hung using normal pipe hangers which allowed for a little bit of adjust-ability. Eventually each gas valve will be connected to a control box which will house the BCS in order to automate the control the of gas.


As for the chugger pumps I was at a toss up between center feed and inline, so i opted for one of each to give them a shot. A lot of people were stating that the center feed was easier to prime than the inline. So far both have been quite easy to prime but I will admit the center feed is a bit easier. I have found that if I start opening my ball vales in reverse order of the flow of liquid (starting by opening the valve on the outlet of the HERMS coil, then the valve on the inlet of the HERMS coil, then the valve on the outlet of the pump, then finally opening the valve on the outlet of the kettle) it makes priming much easier. Each pump will also be plugged into a duplex outlet on the control box, allowing the BCS to control power to each one as needed.

Adjustable housing for burner:


Mounting rails for pumps:


Gas valves mounted on the back of the frame:


Close up of one connected gas valve:


Entire gas system put together:

 

[JKoravos]

Well, that's one way to start brewing. :rockin:

 

[Genuine]

So far so good! Keep up the great work!

 

[brian4508]

sub'd

 

[The_Gerbil_Brewer]

Looking good. I'm in the middle of a similar build. Do you have your electrical planned out yet? I'm very much lost on how to wire the BCS with 2 chugger pumps and 2 Honeywell valves.

I noticed you said you were going to mount the BCS in a box with the Honeywell control boards - I read that the Honeywells can interfere with the BCS, so if you decide to go that route and run into issues I'd suggest looking there first. RonRock indicated he had a heck of time identifying issues with that on his build.