Show us your panel

[Veritas]

So I spent the weekend doing some long-overdue projects in the brewery; one of which was to finally customize my brew controllers. Here are a few pics. Feel free to stop by my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PineGroveBrewWorks/) to see more.

 

[LarMoeCur]

Minor upgrade to my panel. It's now able to brew Kessel Run Ale in less than twelve parsecs.

Kal

The Brew Force is strong with this one.

 

[shibby38]

Bcs 460 based system. I need to get some tags on the selector switches. Bottom of panel are the pump selectors and indicators. Working your way up is the element selector in the middle and then element on, off, and manual selector for each element. Almost ready to brew on it. Just getting the final wiring and ventilation installed.

View attachment 1457491408823.jpg

 

[shibby38]

I'm going to mount a tablet off to the left to control/monitor it via the bcs interface.

 

[d3track]

Simple, I need to add labels for the switches

 

[DevildogJn]

I just finished my RPi control panel. These pictures show the panel during the build without everything 100% complete. I plugged it in last night and ran it for about an hour in a 30 gallon kettle. Worked great. I have a 200 gallon kettle coming soon. It runs 4 6000watt elements. On the front of the panel it has a key on/off and four switches to turn elements on/off. That way if I'm doing a 5 gallon batch and only need 1 element I can and so on all the way up to a 4 bbl batch. Let me know what you think. BTW it's touch screen and extremely user friendly running the Strangebrew Elsinore by Doug Edey. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457538673.611554.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457538688.327487.jpg

 

[cod3ck]

I just finished my RPi control panel. These pictures show the panel during the build without everything 100% complete. I plugged it in last night and ran it for about an hour in a 30 gallon kettle. Worked great. I have a 200 gallon kettle coming soon. It runs 4 6000watt elements. On the front of the panel it has a key on/off and four switches to turn elements on/off. That way if I'm doing a 5 gallon batch and only need 1 element I can and so on all the way up to a 4 bbl batch. Let me know what you think. BTW it's touch screen and extremely user friendly running the Strangebrew Elsinore by Doug Edey. View attachment 343031View attachment 343032

Is this a home brew build?!

 

[DevildogJn]

Yes. Someday I do want to open my own brewery so I built the panel to do it all.

 

[WI_Wino]

I just finished my RPi control panel. These pictures show the panel during the build without everything 100% complete. I plugged it in last night and ran it for about an hour in a 30 gallon kettle. Worked great. I have a 200 gallon kettle coming soon. It runs 4 6000watt elements. On the front of the panel it has a key on/off and four switches to turn elements on/off. That way if I'm doing a 5 gallon batch and only need 1 element I can and so on all the way up to a 4 bbl batch. Let me know what you think. BTW it's touch screen and extremely user friendly running the Strangebrew Elsinore by Doug Edey. View attachment 343031View attachment 343032

Please report back if you have any issues with the ssr heatsinks in the enclosure like that.

 

[DevildogJn]

Last night a simulated a 15 gallon batch testing for leaks and stuff and started thinking about heat in the enclosure. To combat that tonight I am adding two computer fans to the exterior of the box. One pushing air in and one pulling air out. I will definitely report back on how it does when I finish building my 200 gallon kettle and run all four elements at one time. That's when the system is really going to be tested.

 

[WI_Wino]

When you ran the test batch, was the interior enclosure temp noticeably hot?

 

[DevildogJn]

I'll run another one tonight or at least this weekend and I'll check the ssr temps. I'm going to set up a temp probe for the box. Elsinore comes with an internal heat shut off setting so that you can prevent a blow up.

 

[WI_Wino]

I'll run another one tonight or at least this weekend and I'll check the ssr temps. I'm going to set up a temp probe for the box. Elsinore comes with an internal heat shut off setting so that you can prevent a blow up.

Hell yeah. Real data points rock.

 

[kal]

Elsinore comes with an internal heat shut off setting so that you can prevent a blow up.

Even if the temp's not near the "maximum" they recommend, the cooler you run things the longer the parts will last. This is especially true for electrolytic caps as they dry out faster in higher heat. They may still last years, but you can easily cut the life expectancy by 50% with more heat

Cutting holes for a push/pull fan setup like you mention is a good idea. Only caveat is that you loose any panel water resistance with big holes like that. So something to keep in mind with future builds. (This is why I put the heatsink on the outside of my panel).

Good luck!

Kal

 

[DevildogJn]

Thanks Kal. I thought about the holes in the box for the fans so today I've been looking into a water cooled system like in a computer for the CPU. It's not to late for me to flip them up and put a heat sink on the top or back.

 

[kal]

I would be a lot cheaper to put the heat sink on the top or back than to do water cooling, not to mention any failures/issues that could occur with water cooling. Passive is (IMHO) best as it can't fail.

Kal

 

[BrunDog]

For the record, you can put the heatsink on the side also. I know most designs have it mounted on top, but the side is acceptable (actually will perform slightly better).

 

[DevildogJn]

Well if Kal says put the heat sink on the outside then that's exactly what I'm going to do. Brun the way my layout is I think it's to late to put it on the side. I'm going to build a couple more of these for some friends that want them so my next design will be better and cleaner.

 

[branman]

Everything done except the trim around the wood its mounted too. Also was thinking of getting a tv swivel mount so i can move it closer to me a bit while im brewing.

View attachment 1457803295633.jpg

 

[dmcman73]

Everything done except the trim around the wood its mounted too. Also was thinking of getting a tv swivel mount so i can move it closer to me a bit while im brewing.

I have mine mounted to a TV mount arm and I love it. It allows me to adjust the panel as I need and when done, fold up and out of the way.

 

[daveMN]

First panel ever. Single vessel BIAB. Lots of fun to make. Can't wait to add to it.

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[homebrewdude76]

Everything done except the trim around the wood its mounted too. Also was thinking of getting a tv swivel mount so i can move it closer to me a bit while im brewing.

I see you have a HLT or Boil switch. I was planning on having a mash/boil switch.

My thought is I can recirculate heated mash and prep sparge water.
Then I wont need the mash heat when I am sparging and can heat the boil as soon as element is covered.

And if I have an oversized batch I can use my HLT to boil also.

 

[rlhvegas]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457898768.294822.jpg

 

[chessking]

Well if Kal says put the heat sink on the outside then that's exactly what I'm going to do. Brun the way my layout is I think it's to late to put it on the side. I'm going to build a couple more of these for some friends that want them so my next design will be better and cleaner.

Minor thought. If you do move the ssr's and heat sinks, It might help to separate them some. Allowing an air gap between them would help dissipate the heat, especially for the two in the middle that are bordered by heat on two sides. Even if you left them inside with the dual fan setup, it would help to separate them.
Cheers!

 

[DevildogJn]

I put the heat sinks on the back so you can't see them but the panel is done. I'm brewing a 15 gallon batch right now. Please let me know what you think. I plan on trying to sale a few of these to fund this brewing habit of mine. Lol. Btw it can control up to 4 6000 watt elements. I ordered all the material to build my 4bbl kettle with stand. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1458506247.399358.jpg

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Btw it can control up to 4 6000 watt elements. I ordered all the material to build my 4bbl kettle with stand. View attachment 345766

I assume your GFI breaker is in your main panel? What size GFI is feeding your control panel? I ask because it sounds like you want to run these elements concurrently, but that would require a 100-110a breaker, and I've never seen a GFI breaker that size before.

Also, where'd you source your breaker panel mount for your control panel?

 

[DevildogJn]

It's fed by two 60 amp spa panels and this is the breakers on the inside. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1458510673.596593.jpg

 

[DevildogJn]

I bought a 125amp breaker panel from ace hardware and took the breaker mount set up out of it and mounted it in my panel.

 

[Huaco]

So, if you have a failure between your panel and the wall, the control panel will assume everything is ok, relying on the non-GFCI breakers in your house's panel to trip? Am I reading that correct? That seems a bit dangerous as regular breakers are NOT designed to protect human life, but save wires from burning.

I'd rather have my GFCI protection AT THE SOURCE of power. I have actually had a GFCI trip while brewing in a slight spill situation and I'm glad the power tripped at the wall.

 

[kal]

So, if you have a failure between your panel and the wall, the control panel will assume everything is ok, relying on the non-GFCI breakers in your house's panel to trip? Am I reading that correct? That seems a bit dangerous as regular breakers are NOT designed to protect human life, but save wires from burning.

I'd rather have my GFCI protection AT THE SOURCE of power. I have actually had a GFCI trip while brewing in a slight spill situation and I'm glad the power tripped at the wall.

That is definitely the preferred approach for the reasons you state. Best it have the GFI in an electrical panel upstream and separate from the control panel touched by operators.

If the GFI breaker is right in the device being protected, a current leak before the GFI could still pose a danger to the operator.

Kal