My electric brewery build

[WAORGANY]

Looks like a great start will keep following your progress and yes PJ is the man on the wiring he helped me on mine to include a few phone calls! Thanks PJ

 

[MadGus]

Another delivery yesterday. PIDs, RTD probes, timer and two 40A SSRs.

 

[castermmt]

Subbed! Looking good so far. I can't wait to see what panel design you go with. I built the Kal panel and love it, every time I have friends over all they can say is "Wow". You will enjoy the panel build the day if fires up and everything works (lol). Christmas day is coming fast, hope to hear your brewing on schedule. Castermmt

 

[MadGus]

Here's another "turn of the crank" on what I'm looking to build for the control panel. At this point, I'm planning to source parts for this directly, rather than go with the ebrewsupply.com kit.

First .jpg is a P-J diagram for a 50A setup with two 5500W elements, using 3 PIDs (monitor only for MLT) - this is the baseline for what I'm trying to build

Second .jpg is another P-J diagram for a 50A setup with two 5500W elements (I drew a box around the upper right portion, as this is the only part that I want to incorporate) - I need a 3-way switch to send heat either to the HLT or the BK, and not both like the first diagram would allow (assuming I'm reading it correctly)

Third .jpg is the interlock wiring from Kal's setup - I like the idea of being unable to "start the car when the transmission is in gear"

The only other thing I'm planning to do with my build is to add a dedicated timer (in addition to the three PIDs).

Would love thoughts from folks on the direction I'm headed here...

 

[MadGus]

Installed the three sight glasses today, and punched two additional holes in MLT for ball valves. RTD probe leaked at first, so pulled, retaped, reinstalled and ran another leak test. Everything looks good now.

Also, got female disconnects from morebeer.com today, so got to test out a hose to drain MLT.

Still left to do on the mechanical side:

1) eye bolts for sight glasses
2) calibrate sight glasses
3) order false bottom (does anyone know if Blichmann has a false bottom that is 19 5/8"?) - will probably order from midwest

After that, it'll be heads down on control panel build... feeling good about brewing on Christmas day. Think I'm going to brew a SN Celebration Ale Clone as the first batch.

 

[castermmt]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I would not put my RTD in a site glass. You may not get a good reading because the site glass is pretty static as it relates to temperature and flow. If it was seeing flow like we use in the discharge lines of the HLT and Mash tun I'd be good with it, but like I said, site glass is not the best place to install the RTD. My two cents, Castermmt

 

[MadGus]

Hadn't thought about that, castermmt. The end of the RTD probe is practically in the kettle (2.5" probe). I'll need to do some testing on this.

Happy T-day!

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Your build is nearly identical to mine, with 3 PIDs, 50A service, etc. If you have two 5500W elements and 50A you could run both at the same time. I put a 4500W in the BK and a 5500W in the HLT just to give me a little more cushin when I run both at the same time. Would save you from needing the 3-way switch and you could go with the first diagram. Which - is that the one PJ did for me?

I'm also going with the Safe Start - maybe I'm just paranoid like that...
-Kevin

 

[MadGus]

Hey BadNews - The only reason I want the 3-way switch is that I'm not comfortable with a panel that would allow a 92% draw on the 50A service. My process will not include back to back batches, but since I'm not going to swap out the 5500W elements already installed in my kettles, I feel compelled to design under the 80% load.

You're right about our systems being nearly identical... looks like you're making great progress on your panel... keep posting, I've learned a lot from watching your build thread.

-Gus

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Fair enough on the 3-way switch. If you don't plan to do back-to-back though, at most you'd have both elements on very briefly until you realized your error, so that may limit your concern. But if you want the 3-way switch, make it happen!

I plan to do some wiring this weekend, we'll see if SWMBO has other plans for me though.
-Kevin

 

[MadGus]

Gus,

I took out the pause/reset circuits on the timer. I set up the timer alarm circuit to the common buzzer. I also added the fuse for the PIDs.

On your follow up e-mail (quoted below), you mentioned the missing neutral to the PID. I totally missed that and fixed it with the attached new version. By the way, it has a new name so that both diagrams still exist. I also fixed the original diagram with the missing neutral. If you refresh that drawing you will see the change.

This is the small image and the link below it to see (and save) a full scale diagram that is printable on Tabloid paper (11" x 17")

http://www.pjmuth.org/beerstuff/images/SwiftCreekBrewery-SYL-2352-5500w-2b.jpg

Again, I hope this is what you are trying to achieve.

Paul

 

[MadGus]

Really excited to have the wiring diagram complete... Time to start melting the credit card again!

No surprise, but P-J is the man! :rockin:

-Gus

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

No surprise, but P-J is the man! :rockin:

I believe the Mythbusters tested that one and it came back CONFIRMED!

 

[MadGus]

Here's what I'm envisioning for the CP front view. 16"x16"x8" enclosure (drawing is not to scale, obviously).

 

[Garyr2973]

Would you need the PID on/off lights? Wouldn't you know if they were on or off if the display was lit up? I know it's only $10 in lights but sometimes less is more.

 

[MadGus]

Great point, Garyr2973! Going to drop that LED from the plan.

 

[MadGus]

Updated...

 

[castermmt]

You shouldn't need the PID power switch as well. I have mine powered anytime the panel power is on. It would look much cleaner if you added the MLT alarm switch(Pretty inexpensive). That's about the only thing your missing of a Kal clone, like the one I've also built. Just My two cents, Castermmt

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

You could also use illuminated swithces or buttons for the pumps and combine the LED into the switch, if you wanted. I agree that a PID power switch isn't really needed as there doesn't seem to be a reason to have your panel turned on if you have your PIDs turned off.

 

[MadGus]

Good points, fellas. Updated again...

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

I can find no major flaw with your current design decision. Not how I opted to do mine, but you're not brewing on my panel and I'm not brewing on yours! On to fabrication!

 

[tovelo]

I really admire all this camaraderie among brewers and builders. I am in the midst of building a system like this and am stumped by the panel and what I really need vs what i want. I am moving forward with my build slowly and love seeing all these schematics that P-J puts together. I am trying to use some of the drawings P-J did for badnewsbrewery and piece together a rims and multiple timers. Anyway thank you for sharing all your thoughts it keeps me going.

 

[MadGus]

tovelo - this is a great board! Post up a thread about your build, as you get going, and I'm sure you'll receive all kinds of thought provoking feedback. Also, searching for RIMS in the electric forum should turn up some useful builds from other folks. Good luck!

 

[Poobah58]

Looks great. I would cut the sight glass so the top is below the rim. That way you can turn them over to dry out without breaking the glass.

 

[MadGus]

Pooobah - cutting the sight glasses is on the list, for sure. Also still have to mount the pumps, and complete the heating element electrical wiring.

Parts for control panel should arrive mid-week, so I could be assembling CP next weekend!

 

[MadGus]

So... my March 809 pumps came with 3' power cords on them... light reading on the interweb suggests that I should use a junction box to extend these cords to the control panel. Thoughts?

 

[P-J]

So... my March 809 pumps came with 3' power cords on them... light reading on the interweb suggests that I should use a junction box to extend these cords to the control panel. Thoughts?

Just install a plug on the end of the cable and then use an extension cord of the length you need from there on.

 

[MadGus]

But that would be so simple!

 

[Poobah58]

Don't know where your control panel is going to be but I hard wired outlets on my stand for pumps and RIMS.

 

[castermmt]

Don't know where your control panel is going to be but I hard wired outlets on my stand for pumps and RIMS.

That's a great idea. I like it