My brewing rig has evolved a lot over the last 10 years as I have added more and more automation. I recently completed a major overhaul, but that doesn't mean I'm done making changes. I used to brew in the back yard. As I added more and more features to my brewing rig, it became exponentially more of a PIA to setup and tear down for brew day.
This was my setup after the previous overhaul when I was still brewing outsitde.
My control panel was originally built for a BCS-460. Here is the original layout of the control panel from 2014.
I have had the goal of slowly getting to an almost completely automated brew day for a long time. However, the landscape for feature rich/flexible homebrew automation control systems was lacking. It seemed that everything out there had some sort of significant limitations and/or the development path was non-existent/too slow. The other alternative would be to go with a PLC based setup, but that is a bit out of my price range. Luckily BruControl came along. With the data exchange protocol, I can work around any currently unsupported interfaces.
After playing around with BruControl on the desk, I created the following setup to replace the BCS in my control panel. From bottom to top we have.
1. FR4 board with DIN mounts on the bottom.
2. 16 channel relay board
3. FR4 board for mounting more stuff
4. 6 channel Thermistor input/filtering board (left), Arduino Mega (right)
5. On top of the Thermistor board is another board with:
A. pump PWM speed control FETs
B. Control circuitry for time sharing heating elements since I only have a 30A power source
6. On top of the Mega is a terminal breakout board with an ethernet shield on top.
Now to replace the BCS. Since my panel is way too small, I used a DB50 connector for the ball valves and counter flow meters.
Most of everything on the front panel is no longer functional, but I was too lazy to rip out all of that wiring and re-wire some of the low voltage control signals that go through some of the switches.
At this point I was back up and brewing. I created a basic brew day script that was identical to the process/steps I had setup in the BCS. The only new feature I had at this point was PWM speed control for my pumps. The more I planned for electric ball valves, new sensors and plumbing, the more daunting the thought of hauling all this crap out of the garage and setting it up became. I rent the house we are in, so installing a vent hood and large hole in the garage was out of the question. Luckily @BrunDog posted his initial results of a homebrew sized steam condenser right around this time. BAM, no more brewing outdoors. After getting rid of a few things I cleared out some space in the garage to build a brew stand that I don't have to tear down between brew days. It was time to rethink all of this. Instead of trying to stay lean and light, I could add as much as I wanted to make things easier. For example, CIP and automating the cleaning became a must.
This was my setup after the previous overhaul when I was still brewing outsitde.
My control panel was originally built for a BCS-460. Here is the original layout of the control panel from 2014.
I have had the goal of slowly getting to an almost completely automated brew day for a long time. However, the landscape for feature rich/flexible homebrew automation control systems was lacking. It seemed that everything out there had some sort of significant limitations and/or the development path was non-existent/too slow. The other alternative would be to go with a PLC based setup, but that is a bit out of my price range. Luckily BruControl came along. With the data exchange protocol, I can work around any currently unsupported interfaces.
After playing around with BruControl on the desk, I created the following setup to replace the BCS in my control panel. From bottom to top we have.
1. FR4 board with DIN mounts on the bottom.
2. 16 channel relay board
3. FR4 board for mounting more stuff
4. 6 channel Thermistor input/filtering board (left), Arduino Mega (right)
5. On top of the Thermistor board is another board with:
A. pump PWM speed control FETs
B. Control circuitry for time sharing heating elements since I only have a 30A power source
6. On top of the Mega is a terminal breakout board with an ethernet shield on top.
Now to replace the BCS. Since my panel is way too small, I used a DB50 connector for the ball valves and counter flow meters.
Most of everything on the front panel is no longer functional, but I was too lazy to rip out all of that wiring and re-wire some of the low voltage control signals that go through some of the switches.
At this point I was back up and brewing. I created a basic brew day script that was identical to the process/steps I had setup in the BCS. The only new feature I had at this point was PWM speed control for my pumps. The more I planned for electric ball valves, new sensors and plumbing, the more daunting the thought of hauling all this crap out of the garage and setting it up became. I rent the house we are in, so installing a vent hood and large hole in the garage was out of the question. Luckily @BrunDog posted his initial results of a homebrew sized steam condenser right around this time. BAM, no more brewing outdoors. After getting rid of a few things I cleared out some space in the garage to build a brew stand that I don't have to tear down between brew days. It was time to rethink all of this. Instead of trying to stay lean and light, I could add as much as I wanted to make things easier. For example, CIP and automating the cleaning became a must.
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