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LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 3:35 pm
by Andre
Before we go out and spend the money on a Hosehead I thought I'd see if anyone would have something they are looking to sell.
We're looking for a control panel for our electric brewery. We're going 2 vessel with a single 5500w element.
Let me know if you have anything.
Thanks.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 4:59 pm
by jimboh
You may not be into DIY but I just finished building myself a controller using CraftbeerPi.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:11 am
by oceanic_brew
Not a helpful response but I’m using the hosehead with craft beer pi 3 have about 5 batches under my belt and I absolutely love it.
Saved me about 4-5 days on my setup not having to build and trouble shoot a control panel. I’ve found too many posts of people not knowing what they are doing building those things, they all figured it out and learned a lot on the way which is valuable but I just didn’t wanna hold myself up anymore.
Learning the skills to build one of those things is very valuable if you ever wanna upgrade to new features and automation. The other angle is that if anything breaks on my hosehead I have no idea what to do with it.
Cheers and keep us updated on what you decide
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:20 am
by Andre
jimboh wrote: ↑Thu Mar 15, 2018 4:59 pm
You may not be into DIY but I just finished building myself a controller using CraftbeerPi.
That was actually our plan, but after compiling a list of parts it gets really close to the price of a hosehead.
Do you have a build or details on your build? I'm curious perhaps we are over building.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 12:24 pm
by jimboh
I personally get a lot more pleasure out of DIY, but I was an electronics engineer in my early career and can understand it would be a big deal for someone with no prior. But there are lots of people on the craftbeerpi FB group trying it out. Here are some pics of my design. Feel free to ask questions.
There are many other designs out there and the guys on the FB group are always willing to hep the newbie. My controller also controls my Fermentation chamber (upright freezer).
As you can see, I am not overly obsessed with tidy wiring.
In my design the power key switch applies power to Pi but I have separate switches to apply 120v and 240v to rest of circuit. That way I can leave Pi running while ensuring nothing else can get power by glitch/lock up etc. The 240V switch applies power to a contactor giving 240v to the SSRs for Element power control.
I have a 3kw element in a corny as my HLT just for sparge and a 5.5kw in my 20G kettle. I can control power to both with PWM and it works great.
Pump can be set to auto/off/manual so when cleaning I use manual, when brewing its on auto and controlled by the Pi. Also it means I can turn it off which is useful to prevent it coming on dry for any reason when I have 120v switched on for fermentation control.
I have an unused relay which I labeled Aux and use this to provide power to the tablet and the ventilation fan speed controller. If I did not already have the speed controller I would have controlled the fan from the Pi with another SSR.
I have not used any 'Hats' or special CraftbeerPi boards.
Parts:
Suitable case (many are using a IKEA medicine cabinet!)
Pi +psu +sd card and jumper cables,
40A contactor,
4ch Relay board
2 SSRs and heatsink(s)
6 Temp sensor (2 for ferm, 4 for brew)
Switches/indicators and plugs/sockets and cable
In my case an old unused tablet
I got most parts from Amazon.ca and spent around $400 inc hst but that includes power cables and plugs which aren't cheap. Most parts can be ordered direct from china via aliexpress and will give big savings (although caution on the SSRs apparently).
Anything I would have done differently? Starting again I would probably build a separate controller for fermentation chamber to save long cable runs from brew area to freezer, but it works great as is.
20180316_113251.jpg
20180316_113301.jpg
20180215_125927.jpg
20171220_161126.jpg
Brew Controller 1.1.png
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:16 pm
by LeafMan66_67
Nice build!
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:31 pm
by jimboh
Thanks. One regret was skimping on the case. Cost around $60 on ebay shipped. Was an alarm power supply so came with electronics for supply and 12/24v charge, which may come in handy on another project. But the bigger cases as found on TheElectricBrewery would have been much nicer, I would have had room to fit power sockets for 120v instead of fly leads and also build in an LCD if I wanted later and would have been worth the extra $.
Should point out, some guys have even built their controllers in sandwhich boxes, tupperware containers etc to keep the price under control because it sure can ramp up.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:59 pm
by Andre
Thanks, this gives us some ideas. It's a very nice build for sure.
I just can't wait to get away from the stove top.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 3:13 pm
by oceanic_brew
Very nice!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:13 am
by FrankB
I have one I made and used before I got one of the Electric Brewery panels. You're welcome to come look at it.
I live in Riversdale, its between Truro and New Glasgow on the TCH.
Frank
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:52 pm
by John G
Nice work. I'm redoing my electric panel into a stainless box and this is something I'd like to do. Where did you get your Pi parts? In particular, the Pi +psu, 4 ch relay and temp sensors.
Thanks,
John
jimboh wrote: ↑Fri Mar 16, 2018 12:24 pm
I personally get a lot more pleasure out of DIY, but I was an electronics engineer in my early career and can understand it would be a big deal for someone with no prior. But there are lots of people on the craftbeerpi FB group trying it out. Here are some pics of my design. Feel free to ask questions.
There are many other designs out there and the guys on the FB group are always willing to hep the newbie. My controller also controls my Fermentation chamber (upright freezer).
As you can see, I am not overly obsessed with tidy wiring.
In my design the power key switch applies power to Pi but I have separate switches to apply 120v and 240v to rest of circuit. That way I can leave Pi running while ensuring nothing else can get power by glitch/lock up etc. The 240V switch applies power to a contactor giving 240v to the SSRs for Element power control.
I have a 3kw element in a corny as my HLT just for sparge and a 5.5kw in my 20G kettle. I can control power to both with PWM and it works great.
Pump can be set to auto/off/manual so when cleaning I use manual, when brewing its on auto and controlled by the Pi. Also it means I can turn it off which is useful to prevent it coming on dry for any reason when I have 120v switched on for fermentation control.
I have an unused relay which I labeled Aux and use this to provide power to the tablet and the ventilation fan speed controller. If I did not already have the speed controller I would have controlled the fan from the Pi with another SSR.
I have not used any 'Hats' or special CraftbeerPi boards.
Parts:
Suitable case (many are using a IKEA medicine cabinet!)
Pi +psu +sd card and jumper cables,
40A contactor,
4ch Relay board
2 SSRs and heatsink(s)
6 Temp sensor (2 for ferm, 4 for brew)
Switches/indicators and plugs/sockets and cable
In my case an old unused tablet
I got most parts from Amazon.ca and spent around $400 inc hst but that includes power cables and plugs which aren't cheap. Most parts can be ordered direct from china via aliexpress and will give big savings (although caution on the SSRs apparently).
Anything I would have done differently? Starting again I would probably build a separate controller for fermentation chamber to save long cable runs from brew area to freezer, but it works great as is.
20180316_113251.jpg
20180316_113301.jpg
20180215_125927.jpg
20171220_161126.jpg
Brew Controller 1.1.png
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:42 pm
by RubberToe
Thread hijacked.
I'm going down this route too, planning on converting my panel. The normal CBP build uses 1-wire sensors but I got some pt-100 amplifiers so I can use my good probes.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:05 pm
by jimboh
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:02 am
by Andre
FrankB wrote: ↑Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:13 am
I have one I made and used before I got one of the Electric Brewery panels. You're welcome to come look at it.
I live in Riversdale, its between Truro and New Glasgow on the TCH.
Frank
Any details? Picture, price, specs?
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:12 am
by John G
Thanks!
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 11:45 am
by FrankB
I'm looking for $200.00. You'll need to hook it up to a 30amp GFCI breaker. It has an Auber controller for the brewpot, cheap chinese readouts for the HLT and mash tun. PT100 temp probe, twist lock connectors, switched 110v for the pump.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 10:33 am
by Andre
Thanks, but we actually just started ordering a few parts to do a DIY controller with craftbeerpi.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 9:02 pm
by FrankB
Ok, good luck. Post some pics when you're done!
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 1:13 pm
by jimboh
Just received these new panel lights complete with integrated Voltmeter. Brilliant!
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Electri ... 71536.html
2 for $7.06USD inc shipping Took 43 days std shipping, next time I will cough up the extra $1.55 for epacket.
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20180327_130337.jpg
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 1:14 pm
by jimboh
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 4:36 pm
by Andre
That's neat.
Re: LF: Electric Brewery Control Panel
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 1:50 pm
by jimboh
Just discovered they do an ammeter as well..... Its on order.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/22MM-TO ... 87743.html